Where did R Mason Thomas rank in top 50 NFL prospects list?
· Yahoo Sports
The 2026 NFL Draft is a little over a month away, and the Oklahoma Sooners have a total of 16 players that are eligible to be selected this year. Of those 16 players, 14 participated in OU's pro day earlier this month. Only WR Major Melson and TE Will Huggins did not participate in the pro day.
The player who is likely to hear his name called first out of any OU player is DL R Mason Thomas, who was one of Oklahoma's best players last season. He was one of 10 former Sooners who were invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, and his tape is impressive, despite missing three full games and most of another due to injury last year.
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ESPN's Field Yates updated his list of the top 50 overall prospects heading into the draft, and Thomas earned a high mark. He was ranked as the 24th-best prospect in the class, and the No. 6 edge rusher in the draft.
"Thomas is another fringe first-rounder who brings a distinctive build to the table. He has sub-32-inch arms, but he has extremely powerful hands and is one of the better prospects at using his lower center of gravity to get underneath offensive tackles. Thomas' pass-rush acumen is what will get him drafted this high, but his heavy mitts to set the edge and reduce running lanes also stands out. He had a combined 21 run stops over the past two seasons. An injury limited Thomas to only 10 games this past season, but he still posted 6.5 sacks and 23 pressures on 173 pass-rushing snaps. He has burst off the edge that will appeal to any NFL defensive line coach." - Field Yates, ESPN.
Thomas' skills as a pass rusher burst onto the scene in his breakout 2024 campaign, and they were re-affirmed during his senior season in 2025. His 6.5 sacks in a little over eight and a half games were a strong follow-up to his nine-sack junior season in '24.
Thomas' best performance may have come against Auburn when, despite only playing half the game due to a targeting ejection from the week before, he reeled in two sacks, including the game-clinching safety late in the fourth quarter.
While it looks like Thomas may be on the bubble of being a first-round draft selection or not, it's clear that draft analysts and talent evaluators alike see him as a player that can get after the quarterback and wreck plays at the next level, just like he did with the Sooners.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Where is R Mason Thomas on ESPN's ranking of top 50 draft prospects?