NFL Draft
1/5/25
5 min read
Azareye'h Thomas 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Florida State Seminoles CB
Height: 6020 (unofficial)
Weight: 198lbs (unofficial)
Year: Junior
Pro Comparison: Joshua Williams
Scouting Overview
Florida State Seminoles cornerback Azareye'h Thomas is a physically gifted developmental cornerback who has the ability to become a quality starter in the NFL. Thomas has a valuable blend of length, fluidity, and physicality to play in space on the perimeter.
With quality NFL coaching, can eventually become a disruptor in coverage. Thomas played mostly in man coverage and quarters this past season at Florida State and experienced opportunities to play with eyes on the quarterback and straight man coverage. He’ll need to develop his press technique and his sense of when the ball is in the vicinity to reach his ceiling, but he offers a baseline ability for life on the outside.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- Elite length and disruptive ability as a coverage player at the catch point
- Plays with a physical presence as both a press corner and in support of the run
- Impressive fluidity for a player of his stature to make transitions in space
Negatives
- Foot speed is limited due to high cut frame; he lacks sharp & sudden bounce out of his base
- Has lacked the consistent ability to locate the football when targeted, limiting ball production
- Appears to only have sufficient vertical speed, making his technique in the contact window paramount for success
Background
Thomas is from Niceville, FL, and played high school football for Niceville HS. He is the younger brother of former Georgia Tech defender and current Dallas Cowboys safety Juanyeh Thomas. At Niceville HS, Thomas was a two-way talent who earned a 4-star recruiting ranking (247 Sports) and shined as an offensive weapon in addition to his role as a defensive back. Thomas gathered offers from teams such as Georgia Tech, Florida, LSU, Oklahoma, and Florida State, where he ultimately committed.
Thomas appeared in 11 games as a true freshman in 2022, nabbing his first career interception in a win against the Miami Hurricanes. He played in another 14 games with one start in 2023 as the Seminoles enjoyed an undefeated regular season before collecting a starting role in 2024.
Tale Of The Tape
Thomas has all the needle-moving traits for a perimeter corner in today’s NFL. His length is immediately evident in a number of ways — be it how he crowds the catch point, disrupts releases at the line of scrimmage, or the tackle radius that it affords him as a rally and run support defender.
Thomas’ margins in all phases are expanded thanks to the length he possesses and plays with. When projecting more refinement, you get excited about what the ceiling looks like.
Thomas has loose hips for a space defender of his height and mass, which should give him the opportunity to play in a variety of coverage schemes and responsibilities effectively. His ability to flip and unlock his hips to transition into playing in phase further amplifies his appeal as a press corner. Thomas’ hips are high, however, and when playing in a pedal or needing to plant and drive on route breaks or double moves, he should be considered a sufficient mover as compared to it being a true strength.
These movement skills can succeed in zone coverage as much as they can in press man, although he can be aided by better recognition of patterns developing and keeping himself aligned to see through his target to the quarterback. Thomas’ biggest concern in playing man coverage is simply his open-field speed and ability to protect over the top against receivers who successfully stack him on their stem. His ability to mirror and plaster in foot races down the field appears to be functionally modest.
The big looming hurdle for Thomas is how well he can develop his ball skills and sense of when to locate the football. He has just one interception in the last two seasons, which came on an overthrow of an inside route and fell into his lap.
You do see the disruptiveness of which he can play when triggering to the catch point, and he’s done well to deliver hits that dislodge the football or extend to beat a receiver’s hands to the football when playing through the opponent’s frame. If you can unlock another level to his awareness with his back to the quarterback, you’ll see his size and wingspan play an even bigger role in coverage.
Thomas is an impact tackler at the cornerback position and possesses significant “thud” with his pads. You see the necessary appetite for stepping down to attack ball carriers against nub formations or zone looks with motion away that require him to insert into a gap.
His tackling form can be polished, and he has habitually attacked some ball carriers with a pad strike versus a more reliable wrap-up to avoid unnecessarily ceded yardage.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Thomas projects as a developmental starter as an outside cornerback in the NFL. He would be best served playing in a man-heavy scheme and afforded opportunities to play physically in the contact window.
His upside as a physical press corner is where he can be the most impactful as an NFL player, although he does have enough fluidity to play as a match player in space, too.
Grade: 76.00/100.00, Third Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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