Chiefs hope speedy De’Anthony Thomas thrives as a wide receiver

Sean Smith is coming off his best NFL season, and at 27 years old, he is in his prime.

So when he talks, glowingly, about how difficult it is to cover De’Anthony Thomas at his new position of wide receiver — despite Thomas’ lack of size — it is enough to perk one’s ears.

“He’s fast — you’ve got to respect his speed,” said Smith, who is 7 inches taller and roughly 50 pounds heavier than the 5-foot-8 Thomas. “Ideally, you want tight coverage but you don’t want that kind of speed running by you. So I know for me personally, I’m a bigger guy. I have to get out there and build a little early, so routes like hitches and curls will be big for him.

“So that’s why I try to tell him, ‘Work on your pad level coming out of your breaks, coming back to the ball, because guys have got to respect your speed.’ So those little short routes are going to be open all day.”

The Chiefs are betting on it, in hopes of building on a rookie season in which coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Doug Pederson used Thomas, their 2014 fourth-round pick, in a multitude of creative ways.

Though he was listed as a running back, Thomas often lined up in the slot. And while he did not run many traditional receiver routes — the overwhelming majority of his catches came on short targets and screens — he was a key factor on the Chiefs’ assortment of packaged plays, which give quarterback Alex Smith a run-pass option.

As a rookie, Thomas carried the ball 14 times for 113 yards and a touchdown, caught 23 passes for 156 yards, returned 34 punts for an average of 11.9 yards and a touchdown and returned 14 kicks for an average of 30.5 yards. In February, he was given the Mack Lee Hill Award as the Chiefs’ rookie of the year.

But after reviewing the way Thomas was utilized a year ago, the Chiefs made the decision to move him to receiver this offseason, since he basically spent more of his time at that position, anyway.

“I was surprised when they told me I was in (receivers) coach (David) Culley’s room,” Thomas said.

But to the Chiefs, it just made sense.

“Really, last year, he ended up being more of a receiver than running back,” Reid said. “He is still taking the ball-handling, still doing stuff in the running back position, but the majority of his snaps were from that receiver position.

“So we said, ‘You know what? Let’s just put him there.’ We ... put the major emphasis on him getting to know those routes better as a receiver.”

Reid said Thomas, who primarily played running back in college, is growing more comfortable in the latter area.

“Yeah, he’s getting better at that,” Reid said. “He worked like crazy at it. He and Jason Avant sit next to each other, they talk all the time. Jason is one of the great route runners in this business, so Jason has been a great help to him, I think. And he’s been working his tail off like a wild man.”

Thomas made sure people knew that, as he tweeted several pictures of his beach workouts from his native Los Angeles all offseason.

Thomas, who said he’s been working out on the beach ever since he was 9 years old, reveled in the opportunity to, for the first time in his life, focus his attention solely on football training.

“(I did it) pretty much everyday, getting explosive in the sand, running routes in the sand … with childhood friends,” Thomas said, cracking a smile. “It was amazing, dedicating all my time to football stuff and getting better.”

Thomas has certainly achieved that goal this offseason. He has always been fast and quick, but over the first six practices of organized team activities, he seems even quicker, if possible. His acceleration and burst upfield remains, perhaps, the best on the team, even if says he’s checking in at a lighter weight than he’s listed at.

“I just got a lot stronger and I feel like I’m good right now where I’m at,” Thomas said. “I weigh about, probably, 167.”

Putting a man that size at wide receiver essentially begs for press coverage, but pressing Thomas is easier said than done.

“I think the first thing is the speed and footwork, I think that’s where he makes it up,” quarterback Alex Smith. “I don’t know for you guys, but it’s definitely apparent for us. You watch out here, the guy’s feet are remarkable.

“So him in and out of cuts, the speed he has, the burst, those are all things that I think can help compensate because yeah, maybe he is a little undersized, but all of a sudden guys are scared of his speed, so he does get cushions. Guys are afraid of being able to get a hand on him and all of a sudden he’s going to be gone. He’s got that kind of physical ability, I think, to make up for that.”

Thomas is also deceptively tough, as he bounced right back up whenever he took a big hit last season (as the .gif below shows).

“Quickness and speed, that’s what he’s got,” Reid said. “And he’s really strong. For being small, he’s strong. You don’t want to miss with him. He is one of those guys you put in that category (where), if you’re a defensive corner or safety and he’s playing on the inside, you do not want to miss if you’re playing press coverage on him. You’re probably not going to catch him.”

Even in off coverage, Thomas can be difficult to cover. His 30-yard catch against the Chargers in the season finale was an example of this, as he ate up the cushion given by cornerback Chris Davis and exploded past him vertically on a wheel route.

It was the kind of play, in a traditional receiver role, the Chiefs would like to see more of this season.

“I feel like I’ve got a big year coming up ahead of me,” Thomas said. “Learning from the ‘X’ to ‘Zebra,’ all these different positions, it’s going to make me more valuable.”

The Chiefs, obviously, are willing to bet that’s the case, even though the NFL is filled with corners who are big, fast and physical — Smith is the prototype — all of whom will be looking to smother Thomas at the line of scrimmage.

Smith, however, offers a word of warning for corners thinking they can do just that.

“That’s the plan until you miss,” Smith said. “It’s a track meet from there. You don’t want to be chasing (No.) 13.”

This story was originally published June 6, 2015 at 3:06 PM with the headline "Chiefs hope speedy De’Anthony Thomas thrives as a wide receiver."