Breakdowns

4/25/22

2 min read

Utah State WR Deven Thompkins: Undersized and Underrated

Deven Thompkins NFL Draft

The 33rd Team sat down with Utah State WR Deven Thompkins, who is coming off an historic season with the Aggies. Thompkins has been through a lot of adversity in his time as a college WR. He rests on his great relationship with his parents as a foundation for him as a father to his two children. Juggling being an amazing father and a college athlete has not deterred him from putting forth maximum effort towards his goal of becoming “the best short WR in NFL history.”

Thompkins came to Utah State as an unranked recruit from Dunbar High School in Fort Myers, FL. Thompkins played in all 13 games his freshman year with most of his impact being seen on special teams, including 6 punt returns for 55 yards and 2 kick returns for 68 yards. In his sophomore campaign, Thompkins carved out a role for himself as a receiver, finishing third on the team with 40 catches for 536 yards while also tying for second on the Aggies for receiving TDs (4). In a COVID-shortened year, Thompkins only played in four games where he finished with 20 catches for 214 yards and 1 TD.

In his final season with Utah State, he broke out to the tune of 102 catches for 1,704 yards and 10 TDs while being the second player in school history to be named a Semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Trophy. He was also named a Third Team All-American as an all-purpose player while being named to the First Team All-Mountain West as a receiver.

Deven Thompkins is a developmental prospect with active roster potential who wins with his change of direction ability, explosiveness, and prowess on special teams. He will need to get stronger in his lower half to break out of more tackles, play with more urgency on his routes, and improve his ability to fight through contact on passes in traffic. He will most likely need to carve out a role on special teams, as he excelled in doing such in his NCAA career.


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