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The Cincinnati Bengals don't typically drat injured players who figure to miss the start of the next season, so Clemson's Brandon Thomas might not be on their board any longer.
Thomas, a 6-3, 320-pound offensive lineman who could pay both tackle and guard, reportedly tore his ACL last week in a workout, according to ESPN's Adam Caplan:
G Brandon Thomas (Clemson), who is rated as one of the top interior OLs for this year's draft, suffered a torn ACL last week, per source.
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) April 7, 2014
Brandon Thomas would have gone by the early part of 2nd round, pre-ACL tear. I think the latest he goes would be top of 4th now. Likely 3rd
— Lance Zierlein (@LanceZierlein) April 7, 2014
Thomas suffered the injury while working out last week.
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) April 7, 2014
Thomas was outstanding during Senior Bowl week; had at least 6 pre-draft visits so far.
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) April 7, 2014
As Caplan mentioned, Thomas has seen his stock significantly rise this offseason, and he's even been tabbed to the Bengals in a number of mock draft.
Thomas was regarded as a second-round pick, but a torn ACL will kill any chance of being drafted that high. He'll be luck to not fall to Day 3 of the draft, but that unfortunately is what will probably happen.
It's likely he'll open the year on the PUP, and probably end up staying there after the first six weeks are up and miss his entire rookie season.
The bengals cold certainly still look to draft him, as they're pretty set as far as their starters go. They do need some backups to develop for 2016, when Kevin Zeitler, Andrew Whitworth and Andre Smith's contracts expire, not to mention Clint Boling's deal ends next year.