Thomas Perry-OG/C-Middlebury

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.

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.

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.

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

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

another expected C from a minor school:


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

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

https://www.49erswebzone.com/forum/nfl-draft/197807-addison-west-c-western-michigan/

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:
https://www.49erswebzone.com/forum/nfl-draft/197807-addison-west-c-western-michigan/

oooooooooooops, didn't see it

310 lbs, 4.53 SS....so close to the 4.47 mark
Also a 0903 broad. Abnormally bad 3C, vert and 40 comparatively