CLEMSON in the NFL

Thomas taken with the last pick of 3rd round by 49ers in NFL Draft


by - Assoc. Editor -

Clemson, SC -- Clemson OT Brandon Thomas Brandon Thomas
Offensive Line (2009 - 2013)
#63 6-3, 305
Spartanburg, SC

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was selected with the last pick (No. 100 overall) of the third round of the NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers.

Overall, Thomas started 36 games at Clemson and played in 49. He was a first-team All-ACC tackle each of the last two years, the first Clemson offensive tackle to be a first-team selection twice since Barry Richardson in 2006-07. Richardson has gone on to play six years in the NFL.

Thomas, who was the only Clemson player selected on Friday, suffered an ACL injury one month ago in a NFL workout. At the time, he was considered a possible second round pick.

Thomas is the first Clemson offensive lineman taken within the first three rounds of the NFL draft since Joe Bostic was selected in the third round with the 64th pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1979 draft. Thomas is the first Tiger drafted by the 49ers since Derrick Hamilton was a third round selection as a wide receiver in 2004.

"It’s interesting when they brought up the name Brandon Thomas down in the pit," NFL analyst Mike Mayock said right before the pick on the NFL Network. "On my Top-100 board, I put Brandon Thomas at 100 thinking he could be a compensatory pick. I think he’s a starting guard. If you watch him against Clowney – he was a left tackle at Clemson – he looks like a first-round left tackle. Teams are going to move him inside. He had that horrific ACL injury working out for one of the teams [New Orleans Saints] a few weeks ago. I feel badly for him. I’m hoping he goes in the third round. He’s a super kid and a heck of a player."

The 49ers had four picks in the third round of the NFL Draft Friday and the Thomas pick allows the team to place him on Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) List, where he will not count against the team's roster limit this season.

Thomas told TigerNet earlier this week that he hopes to begin running sometime in October, but likely won't be cleared for football activities until after the season.

The fourth round of the NFL draft will begin at noon Saturday.

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