49ers’ player stock watch after Week 15 win versus Seahawks
By Peter Panacy
Stock Up: Defensive End Solomon Thomas
There’s going to be the argument second-year defensive end Solomon Thomas is a bust, particularly after the 49ers selected him at No. 3 overall in the 2017 draft.
Perhaps he hasn’t lived up to expectations. Or, just as possible, he’s taking a bit longer to develop after being miscast as an edge defender instead of playing his natural inside position.
The Niners have changed that a bit as of late, moving Thomas more to the inside at 3-technique positions. And as Better Rivals’ Oscar Aparicio pointed out, Thomas’ work in Week 15 deserves plenty of praise even though defensive tackle DeForest Buckner made the bigger impact on the stat sheet:
DeFo will get the press this wk, but Solomon Thomas had one of the better games of his career.
— Oscar Aparicio (@BetterRivals) December 17, 2018
Played 38 of his season-high 65 snaps from the interior. Both of his pressures came from the interior. And his best play forced a key penalty.
Overall grade from the interior? 80.9.
That penalty came late in the fourth quarter too when the Seahawks were attempting to take the lead before regulation expired.
And while his overall efforts may not show up in traditional stats, where many fans want to see them, it’s impossible to overlook the fact he was a disruptive force in the trenches on Sunday.