Solomon Thomas was the first draft selection that John Lynch made as general manager of the San Francisco 49ers.
So far, there’s been no buyer’s remorse on Lynch’s end.
“He’s been everything we wanted and more,” Lynch said on the Tolbert and Lund show on Thursday. “His first practice was in training camp so there was a learning curve to get used to the way we do things and Solomon has been excellent.”
Taken third overall in the 2017 NFL Draft, the defensive lineman out of Stanford hasn’t waited long to make his impact felt in game action.
“I think we all saw that on display at Kansas City. So much that even against Denver in his early reps when he was in there, they were sliding the line towards Solomon,” Lynch said. “He’s already garnering the respect that we thought he would.”
In his first snap against the Chiefs in week one of the preseason, Thomas brought pressure that led to an interception. Following the strong start, Thomas was all over the field and his energy clearly stood out.
Not only did the 49ers select a player with strong physical attributes, it’s becoming apparent that they selected an A+ person as well.
“The coolest thing is to watch him come out this week. He gets better every day. He’s got some unique qualities. You don’t get drafted that high unless you have unique qualities,” Lynch said. “We think he’s going to wreak havoc for years to come.”
Thomas has a chance to grow on a 49ers defense that has a balance of youth and experience. The 49ers envision Thomas becoming one of the central contributors on that side of the ball for years to come, but don’t expect him to be thrown into the fire during his rookie season.
“He’s 273 pounds, so he’s not a guy that’s going to play every snap of every game. We’re going to pick our spots as to where we feel like he can be most impactful and effective,” Lynch said.”
“He will make his presence felt, I’m confident of that.”
Listen to the full interview.