Rating: (0 votes - average)

Former Stanford linebacker Chase Thomas saw NFL teams draft players who ran slower 40-yard dash times. He saw NFL teams draft players who compiled similar stat lines also come off the board while he sat without a team once the NFL draft wrapped up.

Thomas said he's finished pondering why he wasn't drafted, even though he'll play with the proverbial chip on his shoulder. His primary focus will be to earn a spot on the New Orleans Saints' regular season roster after the Saints signed Thomas as an undrafted rookie free agent.

He's found out one thing already: Saints fans want him to make the team.

"I can already tell the Saints have a great fan base just in the amount of responses I received on Twitter," Thomas said.

Thomas said he received interest from Green Bay, Houston and Arizona after the draft. But Thomas said he felt the Saints were a perfect fit considering New Orleans is switching to a 3-4 defense, the Saints don't possess a whole lot of depth at outside linebacker and the Saints didn't draft a linebacker.

"He (defensive coordinator Rob Ryan) likes to run a complicated defense with a lot of different blitzes," Thomas said. "He moves guys around a lot, and that's what I see myself doing and he said that's something he saw in me as well. He can put me wherever he wants on the field, especially in the red zone."

Read more: LB Chase Thomas focuses on making New Orleans Saints roster rather than being undrafted | NOLA.com

TwistedTiger

Sounds like he has the right attitude and he should be smart coming from Stanford. I hope he can make an impact.

hagan714

i would not be surprised to see 4 or 5 of the UDFA making this team.

TwistedTiger

There should be plenty wide open position battles on the defensive side. 4 or 5 is a lot but it's possible. First round talent may have been down, but this was an unusually deep draft.

TheOak

I was listening to Pat Kerwin talk this guy up on my way home from work. He will make the team, and play this season... A little undersized but everything else is good. Should have gone 6th but as Pat pointed out, combine 40times hurt him. Walterfootball had him going in the 2nd.

Love the scouting reports
Wayne Chrebet'ish
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/pa...ned-positions-
http://walterfootball.com/scoutingreport2013cthomas.php
http://www.stampedeblue.com/2013/3/7...s-olb-stanford

homerj07

Good luck

|Mitch|

I think Thomas and Reddick both make the team...

Rugby Saint II

Who knows they could all make the team............if not on the practice squad where we can develop them then let them get a hang nail and throw them on IR where we can stash them.

This looks like a talented group of UDFAs. I hope that we can get one or two of those gems that we always seem to find.

saintfan

The veterans are startin' to play back to form, and the rookies are developin' faster than I thought. There's two or three potential all-stars in there. I think we're a contender, right now.

|Mitch|