When Jets defensive lineman Lawrence Thomas lined up at fullback early in the teams match up with the Dolphins two weeks ago, nobody knew if it was a gimmick, a wild experiment, or a tryout.
Whatever you want to call it, the Jets obviously liked what they saw as Thomas got more looks at fullback again the following week against the Jacksonville Jaguars and threw a few key blocks to spring Bilal Powell free to break away and pick up some big gainers.
Now, it appears to be a full-time gig.
Lawrence Thomas changed numbers to 44. He is officially a fullback #NYJ
— Brian Costello (@BrianCoz) October 4, 2017
Thomas emerged at practice in Florham Park today wearing number 44, a switch from his defensive line number of 97.
A former college fullback at Michigan State before switching to the D-line, acting as a lead blocker isn’t entirely new for Thomas. If his early results are any indicator as to how he’ll play moving forward, the Jets may have one heck of a 285 lb battering ram filling the role of lead blocker better than anyone the Jets have had since Tony Richardson.
