Player
Drake Thomas
LB · Seahawks
Drake Thomas: facts drawn from the play-by-play.
From 2 tackles in 2 years to a 52-tackle breakout — an out-of-nowhere Year-3 leap.
TrendThomas by season (SEA)
| Season | Tackles | TFL | Sacks | QB Hits | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2025 | 52 | 11 | 3.5 | 6 | 8 |
Thomas, an undrafted FA out of NC State in 2023, posted essentially zero defensive production in his first two seasons (0 and 2 tackles). The 2025 line is one of the most extreme Year-3 breakouts in the database: 52 tackles, 11 TFL, 3.5 sacks, 6 QB hits, 8 PDs — career-zero to legitimate starter in a single season.
Tackles per season
| Season | Tackles |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 2 |
| 2025 | 52 |
11 TFLs and 8 PDs in 2025 — the rare LB who's elite in both phases.
Rare11 TFL + 8 PDs in a single season is genuinely uncommon. TFLs that high (top-15 LB tier) usually come from edge-blitz-heavy linebackers who don't drop into coverage. Thomas pairing it with 8 PDs — a coverage-LB number — is what separates good starters from Pro Bowl candidates.
3.5 sacks in 2025 — already more than most undrafted LBs total in their careers.
Milestone3.5 sacks for an undrafted LB in his Year-3 breakout is a profile-changing number. Combined with 6 QB hits, it suggests Mike Macdonald's defense found something with him on green-dog and zone-pressure looks. The pass rush production is what makes the 2025 sample look sustainable rather than fluky.
4-game inactive stretch then a starting role — coverage usage exploded mid-year.
SplitAll-up career totals
| Stat | 2023-24 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Tackles | 2 | 52 |
| TFL | 0 | 11 |
| Sacks | 0.0 | 3.5 |
| PDs | 1 | 8 |
The before/after is essentially 52x growth in tackles and 8x growth in PDs in a single year. Every category that was a zero or near-zero became a real number. That's not gradual development — that's a coordinator unlocking a player.
Undrafted FA → 11 TFL season — the kind of arc Seattle has built its defense on.
ComparisonThomas's 2025 line (52 / 11 / 3.5 / 8) compares with starting-tier ILBs across the league. For an undrafted player, that production over a single season is a developmental-pipeline outlier. Seattle's recent history of finding LB hits late (or off-the-board) just added another data point.
FanIQ answers any NFL stats question with receipts, on your phone.
Get FanIQ freeGet it on Google Play