Scouting Jets rookie cornerback Azareye’h Thomas

The New York Jets drafted former FSU cornerback Azareye’h Thomas in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft. Today we break Thomas down in detail.

The 20-year old Thomas is listed at 6’1” and 197 pounds. He was an honorable mention all-ACC selection in 2024. He had 95 tackles, 19 pass breakups and two interceptions in three seasons with the Seminoles.

Background

Thomas was a four-star high school recruit and headed to Florida State in 2022, where he contributed in a rotational role in his freshman season. He ended up with 14 tackles and an interception.

In 2023, he made the first start of his career and his role increased with 29 tackles and career marks for pass breakups (10) and tackles for loss (5).

He became a full-time starter in 2024 and started 12 games to earn an all-ACC honorable mention. He had a career-high 52 tackles and added four pass breakups and an interception.

Thomas was invited to the Senior Bowl and NFL scouting combine having been regarded by some analysts as a potential first round pick. The Jets selected him in the third round with the 73rd overall pick.

Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Thomas brings to the table as a player, based on extensive research and film study.

Measurables/Athleticism

Thomas has outstanding height and length, and big hands, using these to his advantage on the field.

The concern with him is a lack of elite speed, which may be what prevented him from being a potential first-rounder, as he only ran 4.58 in the 40-yard dash at his pro day. However, some analysts feel he plays faster than his timed speed and that his style of play doesn’t necessarily require him to have elite speed to be successful.

Other than position drills, the only thing he did at the scouting combine was the broad jump, in which he posted a solid 122-inch mark. He also did the short shuttle in 4.21 at his pro day which is also about average for the position.

Usage

Thomas has been an outside cornerback for his entire career, with his only slot reps tending to be when someone else’s player motioned to the outside.

Some will suggest that his timed speed and size would make him a better fit at safety, but he has no experience of this and it doesn’t really seem like something that would suit his skill-set.

He also played on offense at high school, accounting for a total of 17 touchdowns.

Coverage skills

Thomas is a player who is most comfortable in man coverage, often employed in press coverage and disrupting by jamming at the line.

He had good coverage numbers, giving up a catch on just 50 percent of his targets in his last two season. In 2024, he only allowed 141 yards on 33 targets, with no touchdowns and a longest play of just 21 yards.

One of the most impressive things about his film is his movement skills. He has flexible hips and comes out of his transitions smoothly, enabling him to mirror and change direction to stay tight on his man.

Despite the speed concerns, Thomas hasn’t been beaten deep much. He gave up three downfield catches in his career and was draped all over his man on all of them. He tends to look less comfortable when give a zone-based coverage assignment, though.

Ball skills

A concern with Thomas is that he is inconsistent with how early he will turn to locate and track the ball. If he allows a clean release, his recovery speed is not ideal and this can cause him to have to scramble to make a play on it.

When he is in phase, though, Thomas is capable of locating the ball early and contesting at the catch-point.

He only had one other interception in his career, on an underthrown downfield pass that he reacted to faster than the receiver. A potential third interception was negated by a late hit penalty on his teammate.

His length is not just an asset in terms of slowing down releases or enabling him to maintain contact with his man down the field. He also uses it to disrupt at the catch-point, and he had good on-ball numbers in 2023 in particular with 10 pass breakups.

Tackling

Thomas’ tackling has been a minor concern, as he had 13 missed tackles in his career, including eight last season.

Despite this, he closes well and makes solid contact most of the time, although he will sometimes dive at the ball carrier’s legs, which is a habit he should probably try to shake.

On one play last season, Thomas surprisingly chased down the faster Omarion Hampton for a touchdown-saving tackle, although he dragged him down from behind and was flagged for a horse collar tackle.

He had one forced fumble in coverage, jarring the ball loose with a solid hit on the outside.

Run defense

Thomas was much more involved in run support as a starter last year than he had been in his previous two seasons and had showed some improvement in his ability to fight off blocks on the perimeter and willingness to come up from the outside to get in on the play.

There have still been some inconsistencies in his run discipline at times, though, including on this play where his over pursuit led to a long touchdown.

Physicality

As noted, one of Thomas’ best attributes is how he looks in press coverage, preventing clean releases with a jam and leaning on his man to disrupt as he makes his way down the field.

At times, his press technique can get a little sloppy, but you would hope that the Jets coaching staff will be able to build on the solid foundation he already has and his willingness to mix it up and be aggressive at the line of scrimmage.

He can be a little handsy down the field and was called for two pass interference penalties, on a deep ball and at the goal line, in 2024.

In addition to his physicality in coverage, Thomas has also proven to be capable of levelling some big hits on ball carriers.

Blitzing

Blitzing isn’t something that Thomas has done very often but he had good success in generating pressure in 2024 with five hurries on just seven blitzes.

He was only credited with half a sack in his college career, on this play where he did a good job of staying with it after missing the initial tackle.

Special teams

Thomas was a full-time special teamer for his first two seasons, but - other than a few snaps as a vice - was just on the field goal block unit last season.

In those first two years, he covered kickoffs, was a gunner on the punt team, played vice on the punt return unit and rushed some kicks. He only had one special teams tackle but it was a nice play.

In addition, Thomas has also had one special teams penalty and two missed tackles in his career.

Instincts/Intelligence

As noted, Thomas is most comfortable when in man coverage assignments. If required to pass off his man and pick up another target, he can be slow to react.

With that said, his route anticipation is sound and he made some good plays where he made a quick read to blow it up.

Thomas was an all-ACC academic team selection in 2022 and was also on the ACC honor roll and named as a Seminole Scholar that year.

Attitude

The Jets are obviously happy with the attitude that Thomas brings, with general manager Darren Mougey praising his character, toughness and leadership. He was a three-time game captain last year and won the Bobby Bowden Leadership Award.

Thomas describes himself as a great teammate and dealt well with the adversity of being on a losing team last season.

His on-field discipline has been solid with just six defensive penalties in his career, including three last season.

Thomas’ older brother, Juanyeh, is also in the NFL as a safety with the Dallas Cowboys.

Injuries

So far, Thomas doesn’t appear to have been affected by any significant injuries in his career. He played in 40 games in his three seasons with the Seminoles.

Scheme Fit

The Jets have obviously identified Thomas as a fit for their system, although with Sauce Gardner, Brandon Stephens and Michael Carter II all ahead of him on the depth chart, he might not see much action in his rookie season unless there’s an injury.

He was a teammate of current Jet Pokey Wilson at Florida State.

Conclusions

It would be nice to be able to compare Thomas with another former Florida State Seminoles cornerback who ended up with the Jets in Antonio Cromartie. However, while there are some clear similarities, Thomas is nothing like the kind of elite athlete Cromartie was.

The one thing Thomas does have that Cromartie doesn’t, though, is equally important. Press coverage comes naturally to him and he trusts his technique whereas Cromartie was reluctant to jam at the line, preferring instead to rely on his athleticism when dropping back. Thomas’ willingness to do this could make him a useful asset in the Jets’ long-term plans.

Ironically one player his film - specifically his highlights and ability to stay with his man - is reminiscent of is Stephens. It’s possible that the Jets identified similarities in their games, or just that they have been targeting players with certain traits that were destined to overlap.

There isn’t much pressure to perform on Thomas this year, but hopefully if he’s called upon, he can hold his own and put his name in the mix to be a starter by 2026. It’s worth noting, though, that Gardner, Stephens and Carter are all under contract in 2026 too so it may be a while before we see the true value of this pick.