Ron Rivera thinks it’s innate because of Logan Thomas’s 6-foot-6, 250-pound frame. Thomas believes it was probably developed well before he got that big, when he played football in the backyard with his grandfather and begged him to throw passes that were difficult to catch.
“I never wanted the easy ones,” Thomas said.
He has always played with a rare physicality — whether as a quarterback at Virginia Tech and early in his NFL career with the Arizona Cardinals or since he has been converted to tight end. It often takes multiple defenders to bring him down.
“Didn’t really shy away from much,” Thomas said of his playing style. “I’m used to getting beat up on a bit.”
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During a game at FedEx Field in 2019, when he was with the Detroit Lions, he ran across the formation to block former Washington linebacker Ryan Kerrigan, now the team’s assistant defensive line coach. Kerrigan left the game with a concussion and bent face mask from the hit.
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Be it innate or learned, Thomas’s physical play is an attribute on the field, and it’s a big reason his expected involvement is so critical to the team’s offensive production.
In 2020, his first full-time season as an NFL tight end, Thomas finished among the top 10 at his position in catches, receiving yards, explosive catches (16 yards or more), receiving touchdowns and touchdown catches on plays in the red zone.
With the frame of a power forward, plus a hand size (10⅞ inches) and wingspan (80½ inches) that place him in rare company — only Darnell Washington had larger hands among the top tight ends this year, and Washington’s 11-inch mitts are said to be the largest in NFL combine history — Thomas has some obviously natural gifts that give him an advantage.
But Thomas also has dealt with injuries in recent years. He missed 14 games over the past two seasons and was out for this preseason because of a calf strain.
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Now healthy and working his way back into practice full speed, Thomas could find himself a central part of Eric Bieniemy’s West Coast offense. The system often uses multiple tight end sets and uses the players in a variety of ways.
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The Chiefs, Bieniemy’s previous team, had Travis Kelce, one of the NFL’s premier tight ends. Thomas is the closest comparison in Washington because of his size, route running and more well-rounded game.
His years as a quarterback have helped there, too.
“He helps others as well as the guys around him,” Rivera said. “But he also has this ability to understand what’s happening as the game’s happening. You know, this is a guy who’s a former quarterback, so he sits there and he looks at the coverages and he knows instantly. It’s from his training that a lot of the things he does will translate into making the right decisions in terms of route running and how to present himself as open to the quarterback.”
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Bieniemy’s system seems to accentuate that part of Thomas’s game; he can react to the coverage or the way a defender is playing him.
“We’re able to sit in zones; we’re able to kind of run the routes the way we see them, the way we feel it,” Thomas said. “There’s a chalk line, but we’re able to break the line and kind of play to our skill set, which is really fun.”
Among Thomas’s biggest assets is his strength at the catch point, allowing him to reliably pull in the ball, bring down 50-50 balls and extend plays. Last season, his 60 percent contested catch rate was tied for eighth among tight ends and 41 percent of his receiving yards were after the catch.
“When people are around him, you can see that he uses his body very well,” Rivera said. “It reminds me a lot of Greg Olsen, who was a guy that could use his body to keep that distance between the ball and the defender.”
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Second-year tight end Cole Turner, who converted from wide receiver, also has the size and route running to be a frequent target of Sam Howell, who is entering his second NFL season and first as the Commanders’ starting quarterback.
Veteran John Bates has developed a more robust route tree, but his strength remains with blocking — and he’s the team’s most technically sound blocking tight end on the roster.
Thomas’s blocking continues to develop, and he has credited positional coach Juan Castillo for helping him improve.
“It’s not the simplest thing in the world,” Thomas said. “ … The hardest part for guys who are tall is being able to block just because of leverage alone. But I’m really thankful for the guys we have in our room because all of us have different skill sets, but all of us have really good ability.”
