Tag: Stantley Thomas Oliver

The Panthers used their last pick in the draft to select FIU corner Stantley Thomas-Oliver lll. They met with him a couple of times throughout the pre-draft process, including a Zoom meeting, so this is not a huge surprise.

Let’s get to know Thomas-Oliver a little better and look at how he fits in with a radically remade secondary.

Strengths:

Thomas-Oliver measured in at six-foot, 192 pounds at the NFL combine. He tested well as he ran a 4.48 forty yard dash, jumped 34 inches vertically and posted 127 inches in the broad jump. Thomas-Oliver is a converted receiver, and has only spent the past two seasons at corner. However, he has shown quality growth during that time and has some promising attributes. He does well breaking on the ball and has good ball skills to deflect a pass or pick it off. Thomas-Oliver also plays with tremendous physicality and toughness and is not afraid to stick his nose in to make a tackle or disrupt a pass. He possesses some pretty good hip flexibility and quick feet. The problem is that he doesn’t know quite know how to use that to his advantage. However, he is a good athlete that has all the standard traits that you expect from a pro corner.

Weaknesses:

Like most seventh-round draft picks, Thomas-Oliver is about as raw as it gets. Yes, the ball skills will translate and be a huge plus for him, but he will need to concentrate on improving his hip fluidity and footwork. He is naturally sticky in coverage and if he improves his ability to transition and flip his hips open fluidly, he will improve his coverage abilities. It will take a few years, but he could develop into a quality corner.

Fit with the Panthers:

Thomas-Oliver won’t provide much value in the first year or two, but if the Panthers stick with him he could turn into a quality defender. He has the size, athleticism and ball skills to become a solid outside cornerback. The best-case scenario is for him to follow the Josh Norman path and become a regular starter some day down the line.

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In the end, the Panthers went 7-for-7 on defense with their picks in the 2020 NFL draft. Their last selection of the day (No. 221 overall) was used on Florida International University cornerback Stantley Thomas-Oliver III.

Thomas-Oliver is a converted wide receiver who gives Carolina an infusion of size at the cornerback position. He checks in at 6-foot-1, 192 pounds.

After switching over to defensive back in 2018, Thomas-Oliver totaled two interceptions, 18 pass breakups, two sacks, seven tackles for a loss and 65 solo tackles. At the combine, he ran a 4.48 second 40-yard dash, keeping with theme of speed on defense that we’ve seen all weekend.

It’s difficult to say at this point exactly where Thomas-Oliver will fit in on defense with so many of the new pieces being positionless. Our best guess is he will serve as one of the backups for either Donte Jackson or fourth-round pick Troy Pride Jr. on the outside.

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