Jamari Thrash, WR Louisville: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Thrash was a three-star recruit from Troup County High School in LaGrange, Ga. in the class of 2019

Georgia State transfer Jamari Thrash is thriving at Louisville. The star ACC wide receiver showcased his speed, contact balance, and route running over the first few weeks of the season. Thrash projects as an early day three selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.

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Jamari Thrash, WR Louisville: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Redshirt senior wide receiver from LaGrange, Ga.

Background: Thrash was a three-star recruit from Troup County High School in LaGrange, Ga. in the class of 2019. He was the No. 1,679 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 1,587 for On3.com. Thrash was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked recruit for ESPN without a star rating or grade out of 100. He transferred from Georgia State to Louisville for the 2023 season. Thrash made 37 receptions for 888 yards and 12 touchdowns as a high school senior. He amassed 61 receptions for 1,410 yards and 13 touchdowns as a junior and 36 receptions for 541 yards and six touchdowns as a sophomore. Thrash earned First Team All-State honors in Class AAAA from both the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Georgia Sportswriters Association and was a First Team All-Region 5-AAAA selection three times. He was born on Dec. 19, 2000.

Injuries & Off-Field: N/A

Awards: 2022 First Team All-Sun Belt, 2022 Honorable Mention All-American (Phil Steele)

Pros: Arm length, above-average agility, elite acceleration and burst, burst to overtake off-man defenders, explodes through the routes first ten yards on verticals, speed to stack cornerbacks, corners in press-man must respect his speed, hesitations and stutter steps to freeze DBs early in his stem, stutter-go toasted Georgia Tech’s Jaylon King for an easy TD (2023), some success vs. South Carolina’s Marcellas Dial (2022), nuanced route runner, crosses the DBs face mid-route, quick to gear down and flip hips on comeback routes, sinks hips well at the top of the stem, easily navigates crowded space over the MOF, separates on crossing routes, nice hands catcher, downfield ball tracking, good tracking the ball over his shoulder, competitive at the catch point, makes late adjustments to box out defenders, adjusts for throws that are low or behind him, surprising contact balance for his size, jump cuts and sidesteps to make defenders miss one-on-one in space, combo of contact balance and elusiveness, spin move, willing run blocker, utilizes full arm length when blocking, drives his legs while blocking

Cons: Committed six penalties in 2022, limited special teams experience, limited slot experience, lean build, long speed might not match impressive initial burst, flashes of corners sticking with him vertically, more straight line burner than twitchy athlete, limited route tree, not very sudden going into or out of cuts in routes, still developing his understanding of leverage and how to exploit it, schemed touches at Georgia State, play strength is an issue vs. press coverage, doesn’t always high point the football, some body catching, won’t break too many tackles with power, block angles and framing could improve, celebrates before reaching the end zone

Overview: Thrash is an outside receiver for Louisville with limited experience operating in the slot or on special teams. He has long arms and a lean build. The first things that stand out about Thrash are his elite acceleration and burst. He overtakes defenders in off-man coverage with the explosive first ten yards of his route. Thrash stacks corners with pure speed but also throws in hesitations and stutter steps early in the stem to freeze defenders before blowing past them. He deployed a stutter-go at Georgia State that he has perfected at Louisville. Thrash crosses the defensive back’s face mid-route, but this sometimes disrupts his leverage advantage. He needs to become better at understanding leverage and how to maximize it. The redshirt senior sinks his hips and is quick to gear down on comeback routes. He easily navigates the crowded middle of the field and separates on crossing routes. Thrash is a nice hands catcher, but he doesn’t high point the ball consistently and sometimes defaults to body catching. The Georgia State transfer tracks the ball well downfield and over his shoulder. He is competitive at the catch point and makes adjustments to box out the defender. Thrash has above-average agility and surprising contact balance to generate yards after the catch. He makes defenders miss one-on-one in space with jump cuts, sidesteps, and spins. The Georgia native is a willing and sometimes effective blocker, but he needs to improve his blocking angles and framing. His long speed might not match his impressive initial burst since there are flashes of corners sticking with him vertically. Thrash is more of a straight line burner than a twitchy creator. He runs a limited route tree that features a heavy dose of shallow crosses (Georgia Tech, 2023), and he was schemed touches at Georgia State. The former All-Sun Belt selection hasn’t faced many elite corners, but he had some success against South Carolina’s Marcellas Dial in 2022. Thrash isn’t very sudden going into or out of cuts in routes. His play strength will be an issue against press coverage, and he won’t break many tackles with power.

Overall, Thrash’s explosive acceleration and burst make him a vertical threat, but he also possesses the route running chops and YAC ability to be a versatile weapon. Despite his limited experience, Thrash projects best primarily as a slot receiver at the NFL level with some outside versatility. Ideally, he will open his career as a WR3 and win more targets over time.

Role & Scheme Fit: Fourth Round

Round Projection: Early career slot receiver

Size: 6'1", 185 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 09-20-23