Former Oklahoma defensive end R Mason Thomas is running out of time to impress before the 2026 NFL Draft starts on April 23.
After previously accepting an invite to participate in the Senior Bowl, Thomas is no longer on the roster ahead of Saturday's game in Mobile, Alabama. It's unknown why Thomas is not in Mobile this week as practices have begun.
Former Oklahoma DE R Mason Thomas removed from Senior Bowl roster
Depending on the mock draft, Thomas is a fringe first-round selection in the 2026 NFL Draft. Multiple outlets have recently predicted Thomas to come off the board late in the first round, but most still have him as an early second-round pick.
NFL Draft Countdown has by far been the highest on Thomas recently, with Paul Guillemette having him go No. 14 to the Baltimore Ravens and Brian Bosarge creating a dream scenario for OU fans with Thomas joining Baker Mayfield with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the 15th overall pick. Thomas being predicted to go that high is rare, though.
Sporting News, Fantasy Pros, FOX Sports, CBS Sports and Todd McShay all have Thomas going late in the first round as one of the final 10 picks.
According to Tankathon's latest mock draft, Thomas was projected to go early in the second round as the No. 45 overall selection to the Baltimore Ravens. That outlet has also recently had Thomas going as high as 36th to the Las Vegas Raiders.
ESPN's Mel Kiper also has Thomas outside of the first round, and FanSided's Cody Williams just dropped Thomas from his latest first-round mock draft. Williams currently predicts a whopping five edge rushers to go in the first round ahead of Thomas, including Rueben Bain (Miami), David Bailey (Texas Tech), Keldric Faulk (Auburn), Cashius Howell (Texas A&M) and Akheem Mesidor (Miami). None are participating in the Senior Bowl, which would have given Thomas an advantage.
Even more so than an impressive showing at the NFL Scouting Combine, going head-to-head against some of the top draft prospects at the Senior Bowl would have been Thomas' best chance to solidify himself as the Sooners' first player since Tyler Guyton in 2024 to get their name called on Day 1.