Washington Commanders UDFA steal could be the next Logan Thomas

The Washington Commanders have seen Logan Thomas blossom into a top-flight tight end. Could another UDFA make a successful conversion?

The Washington Commanders have renewed expectations for the 2022 season with a healthy Chase Young and Carson Wentz now under center after a mostly good season in 2022 with the Indianapolis Colts.

From top to bottom, this is one of the better rosters the Commanders have assembled in recent years and Wentz could certainly be the missing piece for a team that has been able to make progress under head coach Ron Rivera.

Over the last couple of seasons, the team has seen Logan Thomas develop into one of the better tight ends in the league after initially starting out his career as a quarterback with the Arizona Cardinals.

As a matter of fact, Thomas was a fourth-round pick of the Cardinals back in 2014 and actually came in against the Denver Broncos back in the 2014 season and completed one of eight pass attempts for an 81-yard touchdown.

After that 2014 season, it wasn’t until 2017 that Thomas actually got a shot as a tight end. His conversion to the position took time, but it showed fruit early on.

For three seasons (with Buffalo and Detroit), Thomas cut his teeth at the position and wound up getting a really good shot with Washington in 2020 where he caught 72 passes.

Could the Washington Commanders be attempting another successful Logan Thomas-like conversion?

Washington Commanders UDFA Armani Rogers the next Logan Thomas?

Meet Armani Rogers, a former UNLV quarterback who holds the school’s record for rushing yards by a QB (1,549) and who also now holds the longest run for an NCAA quarterback at 99 yards.

Rogers is obviously raw to running routes and clearly isn’t going to be road grading as a blocker, but he’s got traits worth developing, for sure.

The Commanders figure if it could happen for Logan Thomas over a six-year process, it could happen for Rogers, perhaps even faster.

The Commanders think pretty highly of Rogers with a $50,000 guarantee on his salary. Although that wasn’t the highest among their UDFA class in 2022. That distinction belongs to Curtis Hodges, another developmental tight end prospect who has some freaky skills and physical traits.

Although Rogers wasn’t exactly a dynamic presence at the QB position (only 58 passing attempts over the last two seasons) he definitely has some speed and length.

The Julius Thomas comparison is fascinating because Thomas didn’t even really play football until later on in his college years. Thomas was a walk-on who played basketball at Portland State before becoming a household name in the NFL in 2013.

Rogers has plenty of background with football and certainly knows what to do in the open field with the ball in his hands.

Hopefully, it won’t take him long to acclimate to the speed of the NFL.

Even if he needs a year or two on the practice squad to continue to grow into his frame, he could be a fascinating player to watch for the Commanders.