A fatal flaw could come back to bite a former New York Jets draft pick.
Azareye’h Thomas has a clear path to a starting job with the Jets this offseason at one of the cornerback spots. However, beat reporter Nick Faria from the Jets on SI team pointed out something that could hold him back.
“I don’t know what to make of AZ Thomas. On paper, his size and physicality are exactly what head coach Aaron Glenn wants in a cornerback. He also competes as hard as any fan would want their players to. But there’s a fatal flaw in Thomas’ game, and it showed out throughout Tuesday’s practice. Speed,” Faria revealed.
“Thomas was burned repeatedly by Adonai Mitchell in one-on-one drills. When he was beaten, he would grab and get called for pass interference even when the pass wasn’t connected. The Florida State product is a handsy player. He was like that in college and even during his rookie campaign. While his physicality is something the Jets have liked to see, it’s clear that the penalties and his excessive hand-grabbing will hurt him throughout the year, especially against faster receivers,” Faria explained.
That Criticism Has Been Around
Thomas, 22, entered the league as the No. 73 overall pick in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft.
NFL draft analyst Drew Beatty told me on “Boy Green Daily” that the only reason he wasn’t a first-round pick in that class was because of questions about his speed.
Thomas ran a 4.58 40-yard dash at his Florida State Pro Day. For context, that would have been the second slowest 40-yard dash of any cornerback at the 2025 NFL Combine.
“This is one of my favorite picks of the entire draft period. Taking him at [pick] 73? He is [the] 25th [ranked] player on my board. He was my corner [No.] 2 behind Travis Hunter. So really, corner [No.] 1, if you see Travis Hunter as a wide receiver. I love Azareye’h Thomas, I think his tape is outstanding,” NFL draft analyst Drew Beatty told me on April 30, 2025.
“In my opinion, the best true corner in this draft fell to them at No. 73 overall. He is such a good press corner. [Thomas] is awesome in press-man coverage, and you see it in the frame. He looks like he has 30-inch arms; he can scratch his ankles standing up. So lanky, massive frame, he is an incredible athlete, [and is] super twitchy,” Beatty added.
The Jets Are Betting They Can Work Around That
Following the 2025 NFL draft, head coach Aaron Glenn seemed unfazed by the questions about Thomas’ speed.
“I really start to look at play speed, a little bit more than just time speed. Looking at the player to see how they play on the field, that’s more enticing to me than watching a guy run in their underwear at the Combine,” Glenn said in April of 2025 via SNY. “Football is football, and [Thomas] plays the brand that we want to play.”
“He’s a big physical man, and I’m looking forward to him getting up here and being able to take what he did at Florida State and bring it to us, because that’s how we play,” Glenn added via SNY.
Last season, Thomas appeared in 12 games and made five starts for the Jets. He registered seven pass deflections, 22 total tackles, and two tackles for loss.
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