How Falcons’ Cameron Thomas became one of NFL’s best bargains

FLOWERY BRANCH — Cameron Thomas thought he was on top of the world, poised to win the Super Bowl and play a big role in doing so. Three months later, his career hit rock bottom.

It was August 2024, and Thomas had just been traded from the Arizona Cardinals to the Kansas City Chiefs. Given the draft-pick compensation, Thomas assumed he would get a healthy snap count. But he joined the team at the end of training camp, when roles were assigned, snaps were taken and there simply wasn’t room for the 6-foot-4, 265-pound defensive end.

Thomas still remembers the exact number of snaps he played — six — while spending more games as a healthy scratch (six) than active player (five). The Chiefs waived him in November. Any positive momentum he built in his first two years with the Cardinals appeared squashed.

His career, only in its third year, was at a crossroads. But Thomas never stopped believing these days — starting for the Falcons, harassing opposing quarterbacks and playing for a staff that sees what he’s long known — were possible.

“Not a doubt, honestly,” Thomas told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “There was never a moment I thought my career was wrapping up.”

Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski, then with the Cleveland Browns, jumped at the chance to claim Thomas. Thomas arrived in Cleveland on a Wednesday and played five days later.

“I knew I still had it,” Thomas said, and he produced in a small role, recording one sack, five tackles for loss and four quarterback hits in only 63 defensive snaps across six games. Thomas returned to Cleveland in 2025 and played in all 17 games.

When Stefanski arrived in Atlanta this year, he often brought names he found interesting to defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. Thomas was among the first he referenced. Stefanski raved about Thomas’ character and intangible traits.

“I was able to paint a picture of who the person is,” Stefanski said. “So much of free agency is finding guys that are fits for your football team — physical fit, schematic fit, personal fit. I think Cam is all those things.”

So, Ulbrich turned on Thomas’ film and saw a player who strained, played hard and, above all else, fit the Falcons’ defensive identity.

“I knew a guy from the tape that showed backside chase, edge setting, run thug, effort, strain,” Ulbrich said. “All those things jumped off the tape and there was no denying any of that. So, I knew from the style of play, he was going to check every box for us.”

Thomas signed a one-year, $3.1 million contract at the start of free agency, and thus far, he’s checked every box.

But he’s also shown the Falcons that perhaps their initial checklist didn’t include enough categories — specifically pertaining to his skill set as a pass rusher.

Ulbrich wasn’t alone in his assessment. When Falcons outside linebackers coach John Timu spoke during training camp, he called Thomas a “rugged” run defender and touted his edge-setting skill set. There was no mention of a pass rush bonus.

Yet through five games, Thomas has been a force.

He leads the Falcons and is tied for seventh in the NFL with 10 quarterback hits, already a career high. He’s third on the team in both sacks (two) and pressures (19), the latter tied for 17th in the league, and he has a team-leading seven pressures in less than 2½ seconds, according to Next Gen Stats.

Still only 26 years old and in the midst of his fifth NFL season, Thomas is ascending to a key role on the Falcons’ defensive front. He’s played more snaps (213) than any other defensive lineman or outside linebacker on the team, and he’s on pace to exceed his previous career high in snap count by Week 9.

And he’s capitalized on it.

“Very excited for Cam for this larger role, and I think he’s responding in kind,” Stefanski said. “That’s what’s in him. He’s got a great combination of size … power, speed, but he also plays really, really hard. I think that’s one thing that you cannot teach, is just effort and the will to play each play through the whistle.

“I think that’s what you see from Cam, coupled with a young player that’s getting better.”

Falcons linebacker and team captain Divine Deablo didn’t pay much attention to Thomas’ past. All he knew is what he saw in his first interaction with Thomas this spring.

“I knew from Day 1 that he was going to have a great year,” Deablo said. “He’s been practicing his ass off since he got here. And I could see it in his eyes — he was very hungry.”

After losing their two young stars at outside linebacker in Jalon Walker (torn ACL) and James Pearce Jr. (eight-game suspension), the Falcons thrust Thomas into a bigger role in their pass rush. Ulbrich speculated it was the first time he’s ever been in a featured position. Thomas, in fact, has — it’s actually the first responsibility he had in the NFL.

An All-American and the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year in his final season at San Diego State in 2021, Thomas entered the league with the reputation of being a pass rusher. The Cardinals drafted him to attack opposing quarterbacks. He had three sacks as a rookie, then watched his entire coaching staff get fired. He failed to record any sacks the rest of the season.

Once he landed with the Browns, where he first learned the attack-style defense he now thrives in for the Falcons, he started loading the weight in his hands and launching into contact, which helped him become an efficient run defender.

Now, Thomas has married his initially strongest asset — pass rushing — with a newfound ability to stop the run. And playing in the Falcons’ attack front, where he aligns with more width on the end of the line of scrimmage, has helped unlock the player who tallied 20½ tackles for loss and 11½ sacks in his last college campaign.

“I feel like this has just been the best schematically for me in my career,” said Thomas, who is relishing a breakout season. “I’ve always kind of known what I’m capable of.”

And that, really, is what this season is all about.

“It’s just more proving it to myself,” Thomas said, “than the world.”

If nothing else, Thomas has proven it to his teammates. Each week, the Falcons’ leadership committee gets together and chooses a sixth game captain, which it announces to the team every Saturday night. That player joins the five permanent captains at midfield for the coin toss.

In the Falcons’ “Sunday Night Football” bout with the Baltimore Ravens, it was Thomas.

“We voted for him because he’s been playing really hard,” Deablo said. “He’s been making a name for himself. He gives 100% effort every play, and we just felt like he deserved it this week.”

Stefanski agreed.