NFL Draft buzz is continuing to build for Oklahoma Sooners defensive leader as he plans to put himself in first-round conversation
The Oklahoma Sooners haven't produced a first-round defensive prospect in the NFL Draft since Kenneth Murray in 2020. Murray was Oklahoma's first defender to be selected in the first round since Gerald McCoy in 2010, a statline the Sooners would like to change moving forward.
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They could begin turning around the process in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft with one of their best playmakers, who decided to return to the Sooners for this season after heavily weighing entering the NFL last year.
Pass rusher R Mason Thomas has continued to build up steady buzz for next year's draft as summer scouting has gone on, and the NFL scouting world has taken notice.
Pro Football Focus's Trevor Sikkema wrote up Thomas and described him as a "potential impact player in the NFL".
"Thomas' measurables may seem as though they would pigeonhole him into a stand-up outside linebacker role. He can certainly shine there, and does align in that technique at times, but he also produces with his hand in the dirt pre-snap. That role allows him to get incredibly low and almost always win the leverage battle at contact, loading all of his weight onto his quads for maximum explosiveness in his first step off the ball. Big offensive linemen tend to struggle to mirror and stay in front of him. And his fast and active hands only compound the issue for helpless blockers, especially if he deploys a two-handed swipe to stay clean and attack the outside shoulder."
Additionally, Sikkema noted that Thomas had hit 22 plays where he was clocked over 15 mph.
Sikkema wasn't the only draft analyst to take note of Thomas this week, however.
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Daft On Draft's Cory Kinnan also wrote about the standout Sooner, saying Thomas has him "reconsidering just how high he would draft his role."
"The Oklahoma defensive line has the chance to be extremely good in 2025. They have explosive playmakers off the edge and absolute stalwarts along their interior.
The headliner is R Mason Thomas, who may make me rethink how high I would take a designated pass rusher (DPR). He's explosive as heck off the ball and has not seen a corner he cannot bend and take. With quality wins against Will Campbell, Kadyn Proctor, and more, Thomas could be the next in a line of Oklahoma DPRs to make an NFL impact behind the likes of Ogbo Okoronkwo and Nik Bonitto."
While no analysts have outright made the claim he should be a first-round pick, he's firmly put himself just on the outside fringe of round one. Both Sikkema and Kinnan called him a potential DPR in the NFL, but that role has evolved and been selected earlier and earlier in recent years.
James Pearce Jr. was selected in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, with Donovan Ezeiruaku following shortly after at 44th overall. In 2024, Chop Robinson was also selected in the first round, 21st overall. None of these players were considered particularly good against the run to be a true "three-down" pass rusher, thus falling into that DPR category.
If Thomas stays healthy for another season and continues to grow his game, why can't he be next?
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Related: Could the Oklahoma Sooners be getting a massive recruiting win for elite blue-chip talent sooner than later?
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This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Jul 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
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