Thomas Perry-OG/C-Middlebury

Phoenix49ers · 2025-03-13T15:05:44-07:00

Ever since the Shrine Bowl this guy has been one of my favorite sleepers for the draft. He came out of nowhere, having played at a tiny D3 school that only plays 9 games a year and more than holding his own at the Shrine Bowl. Ridiculously strong with a wrestling background, he was able to transition to center at the Shrine Bowl after just a few weeks of training at the position. On the field, off the field, he's the exact kind of guy you want on your team. He seems like he's going to be a very nice catch for someone. Don't see many LG's have to battle thru own RG, crush the force player, and then climb to 2nd level lol …nice.Thomas Perry. Middlebury. pic.twitter.com/mfu9OmZUx1— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) February 14, 2025Thomas Perry, a D3 OL from Middlebury, has been turning heads at the Shrine Bowl.@BigDuke50 called him one of the STRONGEST players in the draft. He's a tireless worker and it shows in his demeanor.(h/t @clay_fink, @dpbrugler) pic.twitter.com/NWLFwCsfLp— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) January 28, 2025Division-III Middlebury vs. Georgia 👀Advantage: OG/C Thomas Perry@BigDuke50 calls him "Thomas the Tank" bc he's one of the strongest players in the draft. Tireless worker. Just needs reps and development. Has improved each day at EW practices. pic.twitter.com/FfgQeL3lGA— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) January 28, 2025Thomas Perry, Middlebury Center. Phew. https://t.co/FG0dQI4c3K pic.twitter.com/lpdiXsGCYj— Clay Fink (@clay_fink) January 26, 2025Easy to find on film! Hah always finishing someone out there. Thomas Perry a pulling savant! pic.twitter.com/e3CvNjQdTw— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) February 14, 2025My guy Thomas Perry Rolling!!! 18.5mph on the @SHREDmillSpeed @just_BryanM pic.twitter.com/nN5LyKbipe— Duke Manyweather (@BigDuke50) February 3, 2025"Thomas the Tank" 725lbs "Thank you Coach" https://t.co/GYuRkj2nPy pic.twitter.com/pn53PEoq7X— Duke Manyweather (@BigDuke50) January 28, 2025 He's done 28 reps of 250 pounds (and 12 of 380) on the bench, has a near-600-pound squat, a 715-pound deadlift and explosion numbers in the 98th percentile for his position. He also can do the splits. A "one in a million" weight room wonder with power everywhere and the flexibility of someone a hundred pounds lighter, the 6-foot-2, 311-pound Perry was an elite wrestler in high school. He speaks about the torturous hours spent inside his team's sweat-soaked, foul-smelling wrestling room the same way the rest of us might talk about our favorite things to do at the beach. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6141640/2025/02/25/nfl-draft-2025-sleeper-prospect-thomas-perry "Let's paint this picture, OK," Manyweather says. "Thomas played DIII ball at a school that really isn't a DIII powerhouse, like Wisconsin-Whitewater or (Wisconsin-)La Crosse. They play nine games per year, they practice 20 times for fall camp and don't have spring ball. There are no organized summer workouts. "Yet, here we have a kid who — literally through his own process — has found a way to go about his business and work like a professional. Every elite guy I've ever worked with, from All-Pros to Hall of Famers, is detail- and process-oriented. That's Thomas. And when you take (his career in context with regard to experience), he's actually like a sophomore, football-wise." Perry's arguably also the most diligent notetaker Manyweather has ever seen. During one of his group film sessions, Manyweather threw in a joke while discussing a rep, drawing a laugh from most of the room. Perry, though, wrote down the joke in his notebook, not realizing (or caring) that it wasn't part of the lesson. And on one of the first days of Manyweather's 2025 draft training camp, when he rolled into the parking lot around 4 a.m. to get an early workout in before the rest of the day started, he found two people standing on the curb, in the dark, waiting for him to unlock the building. One was LSU star Will Campbell, likely OT1 in the upcoming draft. The other, of course, was Thomas The Tank.

Mar 13, 2025 at 3:13 PM

BYisGod
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Posts: 16,188

Loved the article on him in the Athletic a few weeks ago! Not sure he gets drafted, but he'd be worth taking a stab at in the 7th or as an UDFA. Dude is a freak.

Mar 13, 2025 at 4:17 PM

Hoovtrain
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Posts: 34,813

Weren't we talking about him being a future C?

Mar 13, 2025 at 4:24 PM

frankieuc68
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Posts: 5,907

Yeah, love everything about this young man. Combine with his power and athleticism, he has the heart, perseverance, and drive to achieve his goal. Meinerz found success in the NFL from a small school and
J Kelce was a late round pick that had a long career. I would like us to take a chance on this kid. Let him compete for our LG and develop him to be our future C. Will he be there on one of our 7th rounder?

Mar 13, 2025 at 5:02 PM

49ers808
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Posts: 16,485

Yes please sign me up!

Originally posted by Hoovtrain:
Weren't we talking about him being a future C?

Yup I forget who brought him up; might have been Phoenix, but I've dug a little on him since then and love it. Would love it if we drafted him day 3; I don't care if we used a higher than 7th round pick either.

Mar 13, 2025 at 5:32 PM

Phoenix49ers
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Posts: 131,545

Originally posted by Hoovtrain:
Weren't we talking about him being a future C?

Pretty much going to have to be considering his 31" arms. I would absolutely draft him just on upside. The Shrine Bowl showed he could hang with upper level competition and when someone like Duke is raving about him, that speaks volumes.

Mar 13, 2025 at 6:25 PM

genus49
Moderator
Posts: 28,014

Don't know if this guy will be drafted or not but one upside to us gutting our roster is almost guaranteeing that most of the rookies make the roster. It will also likely lead to us getting a good amount of the top UDFAs since we have a lot of room for rookies to make the team.

Mar 13, 2025 at 6:50 PM

SanDiego49er
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Posts: 52,194

There is a lot to like about the strength and athleticism. But he was a big fish in a small pond. So it may be a big jump from that division level to the NFL. He seems to have the power though and enough size. An interesting prospect to keep an eye on.

Mar 13, 2025 at 7:09 PM

Phoenix49ers
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Posts: 131,545

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
There is a lot to like about the strength and athleticism. But he was a big fish in a small pond. So it may be a big jump from that division level to the NFL. He seems to have the power though and enough size. An interesting prospect to keep an eye on.

He was tossing guys from Georgia and other big league schools around at the Shrine Bowl. At least physically he's up to the task.

Mar 13, 2025 at 7:47 PM

SanDiego49er
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Posts: 52,194

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
There is a lot to like about the strength and athleticism. But he was a big fish in a small pond. So it may be a big jump from that division level to the NFL. He seems to have the power though and enough size. An interesting prospect to keep an eye on.

He was tossing guys from Georgia and other big league schools around at the Shrine Bowl. At least physically he's up to the task.

Maybe a good prospect. Probably will need some development time. So you need to be able to sit him for a while so he can learn in practice, training camp and preseason. But a lot to like there. We do need that position for sure.

Mar 14, 2025 at 2:52 PM

#10

adrianlesnar
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Posts: 6,466

Originally posted by 49ers808:
Yes please sign me up!

Yup I forget who brought him up; might have been Phoenix, but I've dug a little on him since then and love it. Would love it if we drafted him day 3; I don't care if we used a higher than 7th round pick either.

I looked back and I first mocked him to us on October 12th in the prospect thread lol. Hell yea!

Mar 14, 2025 at 4:51 PM

#11

replikante
Veteran
Posts: 211

another expected C from a minor school:

The best player in college football no one talks about:

Western Michigan IOL Addison West 🐴

• 94.0 PFF Grade
• 549 snaps
• 0 sacks allowed
• 1 pressure allowed
• 99.8% pass block efficiency
• 1 penalty
• @seniorbowl watchlist pic.twitter.com/EQbx9JwThA
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) November 10, 2024

they should take both Perry and him,... double chances of hitting,... 1 of the three 7ths should be enough for Perry and West as UDFA,... nothing to lose

Mar 14, 2025 at 5:08 PM

#12

Phoenix49ers
Veteran
Posts: 131,545

Originally posted by replikante:
another expected C from a minor school:

The best player in college football no one talks about:

Western Michigan IOL Addison West 🐴

• 94.0 PFF Grade
• 549 snaps
• 0 sacks allowed
• 1 pressure allowed
• 99.8% pass block efficiency
• 1 penalty
• @seniorbowl watchlist pic.twitter.com/EQbx9JwThA
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) November 10, 2024

they should take both Perry and him,... double chances of hitting,... 1 of the three 7ths should be enough for Perry and West as UDFA,... nothing to lose