Kansas State football will see one highly drafted prospect in RB Daniel Thomas, who is expected to be drafted in the second or third round. Running back by committee is a popular tactic in the NFL these days and Thomas' size -- 6'0", 230 pounds -- make him an attractive between the tacklers runner.
Thomas held a workout for scouts last week in Manhattan, Kan. He had tweaked his hamstring earlier and hadn't been able to participate in any of the pre-draft process. He ran a 4.6 40-yard dash at the workout.
He's visiting several teams prior to the draft including the Rams, Dolphins and Bengals. All three of those teams could use running backs in the near future. The Rams' Steven Jackson is on the decline and will need to be replaced while the Dolphins could lose both Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams to free agency. The Bengals have Cedric Benson who could use a backup and/or future replacement.
Thomas is going to be an interesting prospect for someone. The Patriots are also a team that's reportedly interested. The Chiefs don't have a workout scheduled for him but they do have a potential need at running back with RB Thomas Jones entering the final year of his contract so don't rule them out.
Thomas is a two-year starter and has plenty of game tape so any team selecting him in the 2011 NFL draft will know what they're getting, which is important. He's big, relatively fast and strong. With the two-back systems these days, he should fit in nicely someplace.
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