Daniel
Thomas.
Daniel
Thomas.
Auburn· 5'10"· 215 lb· 4.51s 40
"He took the last scholarship Auburn had in 2016 and left as a captain; the NFL gave him the same deal, a roster spot earned on special teams and never taken for granted."Pre-draft read
Thomas is a downhill box safety who plays the game between the tackles. Auburn used him as the strong safety in the run fits, and his value shows up in volume tackling: he reads the guard, triggers fast and arrives with enough pop to finish backs one-on-one in the hole. He is comfortable in the nickel alignment over a tight end.
The second layer is ball awareness in zone. He picked off five passes in college, including two in an Iron Bowl and a pick-six against Alabama State, and he times his break on the quarterback eyes rather than on the receiver. Deep range and man coverage against slot receivers are the limits, so his signature is the collision tackle and the read-and-react rep, not the carry down the seam.
Single-gap zone defense that plays its strong safety in the box and keeps a rangier free safety over the top
Year 1 core special teams player and third safety in heavy packages; ceiling is a run-down starting strong safety
A single-high defense that asks its safeties to alternate deep-middle responsibility or to travel with slot receivers in man
He is at his best when the coverage call lets him keep his eyes on the quarterback instead of a body.
Daniel Thomas: Auburn Tiger 2019 Highlights
Senior-season reel of his box run fits, downhill triggers and tackling.
Daniel Thomas (Auburn DB #24) vs. Minnesota (2019)
Full-game cut-up of his final college game in the Outback Bowl.
Daniel Thomas makes a diving interception of Jalen Hurts during the Iron Bowl
One of his two freshman interceptions against Alabama, reading the quarterback from depth.
Thomas is a Montgomery native who nearly signed with Minnesota, took the last Auburn scholarship of the 2016 class three days before signing day and turned it into four years of production. He played 11 games as a true freshman and made a second-team SEC All-Freshman list after picking off two passes in the Iron Bowl, then became a nickel contributor with 35 tackles as a sophomore.
The breakout was 2018, when he started at strong safety and posted 74 tackles, two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, and two forced fumbles. As a senior captain in 2019 he added 65 more tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss, finishing with roughly 190 career stops, five interceptions and three fumble recoveries, and earning preseason All-SEC mention from multiple outlets.
The evaluation was straightforward: a tough, smart, well-coached SEC box safety with average measurables at 5-10 and 209 pounds, no special athletic testing and real questions about covering ground in the deep half. That is a Day 3 profile with a clear special teams floor, and Jacksonville took him at 157 to add depth behind Ronnie Harrison and Jarrod Wilson.
- 01
Run fits
Reads the guard and triggers downhill without hesitation, which is why Auburn trusted him in the box against SEC run games every week.
- 02
Tackling
Finishes one-on-one in the hole and delivers a real hit, posting 74 and 65 tackle seasons as a starter with no reputation for missing.
- 03
Ball production
Five college interceptions including two in an Iron Bowl and a pick-six, all off reading the quarterback rather than the receiver.
- 04
Special teams value
Played with the recklessness and body control that translates instantly to gunner work, the trait that ultimately made his career.
- 05
Leadership
A senior captain who took the last scholarship of his recruiting class and started for three years, with coaches praising his preparation.
- 01
Deep range
Limited closing speed from the middle of the field, so he struggles to cover ground on a two-deep post or a post-corner concept.
- 02
Man coverage
Not quick enough in the slot to mirror separators, which is why Auburn kept him in the box or in zone rather than matching him up.
- 03
Measurables
At 5-10 and around 209 pounds with no standout testing, there is no athletic projection left to develop beyond what the tape shows.
- 04
Angles in space
Gets grabby and overruns targets on the perimeter when asked to tackle in open field rather than in traffic near the line.
Relative Athletic Score (Kent Lee Platte) benchmarks combine/pro-day numbers against every measured prospect at the position since 1987. 10.00 is elite; 5.00 is average.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.51sp50
- Vertical
- 37inp50
- Broad jump
- 125inp50
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- —s
- Bench
- 24repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Auburn | 11 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 2017 | Auburn | 14 | 35 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2018 | Auburn | 13 | 74 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 2019 | Auburn | — | 65 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Career | — | 38 | 190 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
Season splits come from scouting-service season lines; the five career interceptions and three career fumble recoveries match Auburn official releases. Game counts for 2019 and career starts are reported inconsistently across sources, and 2019 pass breakups are not itemized, so those cells are left unset rather than zero-filled. Tackle total is the sum of the four season lines.
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Downhill box safety who found a role as a sub-package and special teams defender.
Day 2 safety whose instincts made him a long-term starter, the outcome Thomas never reached.
Physical safety whose value was almost entirely on special teams.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Thomas got on the field immediately, starting two games as a rookie with 18 tackles and a 53-yard interception, before a season-ending trip to injured reserve in November. He started two more games in 2021 and posted a career-high 27 tackles, then his defensive role evaporated: 32 defensive snaps in 2022 against 237 on special teams. From there he became one of the better gunners in the league, a role Jacksonville valued enough to keep him for five seasons. He signed with Detroit in August 2025 after being released, started two games there, and joined Cleveland in March 2026, entering his seventh season with 83 games and six starts.
This is close to the ceiling of a fifth-round box safety. He never took a defensive job because the coverage limitations scouts flagged were real, but he turned toughness and reliability into a long career in the kicking game, and opposing special teams coordinators named him by name as one of the best punt gunners in football. For pick 157, six-plus years of roster value is a win, even without the starting snaps.