Denver Broncos sign Jhaustin Thomas to practice squad

The Denver Broncos filled out their practice squad, signing defensive lineman Jhaustin Thomas, a former Iowa State defensive lineman…

The Denver Broncos have filled out their 10-man practice squad, signing defensive lineman Jhaustin Thomas who joined the team on Wednesday.

Thomas was an undrafted free agent after the 2017 NFL Draft and has bounced around to a few teams already in his short time in the NFL.

He was initially signed out of college by the Indianapolis Colts, and made it through training camp and the preseason with them before being waived on September 2nd. He’s been on the practice squads of the Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders as well, along with performing workouts for a wide variety of NFL teams.

Thomas is an intriguing blend of size and quickness at 6-foot-5, 292 pounds. A former NJCAA All-American prior to transferring to Iowa State, Thomas moved to the interior defensive line as a senior with the Cyclones, and excelled, racking up 9.5 tackles for loss and three sacks.

He pulled a goin at his pro day workout, but not before running a sub-five second 40-yard dash at almost 300 pounds and posting 24 bench press reps and a 32-inch vertical jump.

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In essence, this is the quintessential practice squad flier. Not only did the Broncos do well to get Thomas out of seemingly nowhere this late in the season, they have done a good job of accumulating talented players onto their practice squad with a month left in the season that can make next year’s roster battles intriguing.

Thomas is the second player the Broncos have poached off of the Indianapolis Colts’ final cut-downs (Deiontrez Mount), but perhaps this one has the higher ceiling.

Thomas jumps off the tape as a rotational interior rusher with intriguing size and athletic ability as a former edge player. He was the Colts’ highest graded defender according to Pro Football Focus this preseason.

With the addition of Thomas, the Broncos’ practice squad is now full. Here is the official list of players:

C Dillon Day
DL Tyrique Jarrett
DE Stansly Maponga
OL Jeremiah Poutasi
WR Tim Patrick
WR Hunter Sharp
FS Dymonte Thomas
TE Brian Parker
CB Michael Hunter
DL Jhaustin Thomas