Former Virginia wideout Keytaon Thompson has signed a rookie free-agent deal with the Detroit Lions.
Thompson, a 6’5”, 216-pounder, moved from quarterback to wide receiver when he transferred to UVA in 2020.
A former four-star recruit at QB, Thompson was used in 2020 primarily as a Taysom Hill type, getting snaps at QB, running back and wideout.
In 2021, Robert Anae, then the offensive coordinator at Virginia, now at NC State, moved Thompson to wide receiver full-time, and KT blossomed there – catching 78 balls on 112 targets for 990 yards, with a Pro Football Focus grade of 85.5.
In 2022, in the offense of new coordinator Des Kitchings, which didn’t work for anybody involved, Thompson was still able to haul in a team-high 53 catches on 77 targets for 579 yards and a 72.2 PFF grade.
With his size, at 6’5”, you could see him getting some looks as a pass-catching tight end, if a team would want him to move over there, and invest some time into him to allow him to bulk up.
He could also just continue being a matchup problem lining up in the slot, where he logged 327 of his 478 offensive snaps in 2022.
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Chris Graham
