Rookie defensive end Solomon Thomas left Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles with an MCL sprain and is expected to miss some time. He has apparently shown enough through eight weeks worth of games to impress ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper.
Thomas is a starting defensive end on Kiper's mid-season All-Rookie team, which is a list of his best rookies in the NFL at each position through Week 8. The other was Carl Lawson of the Cincinnati Bengals. The selection of Thomas, which was third overall in the 2017 draft, was not as sexy a pick as the 49ers' second first-round selection – linebacker Reuben Foster. Of course, due to injuries, Foster hasn't even played two full games yet.
Thomas has appeared in all eight of the 49ers' games this season and started six of the last seven. He has 26 combined tackles and two sacks in those games.
Kiper wrote the following regarding the selection of Thomas to his All-Rookie team:
"With Tank Carradine on injured reserve, Thomas has taken on a much bigger role, starting the past five games. But he hurt his knee last weekend and could miss some time. Thomas has two sacks and eight tackles for loss, and he has flashed the talent that made him the No. 3 overall pick. He played like a veteran at Stanford in 2016, causing disruptions in both the running and passing games. He's also big enough that he can move to tackle in passing situations and get after quarterbacks."
Thomas was the fourth-ranked player on Kiper's pre-draft Big Board back in April.