To be fair, not much was known about B.J. Thompson from the beginning.
When Brett Veach, the general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs, placed Thompson's name on a draft card and submitted the player's name to whoever would be reading such news from the podium during the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, it wasn't as if the crowd went wild or that Chiefs Kingdom cheered knowingly. Thompson was, by every definition, a longshot.
But Thompson's sophomore season in the NFL has only raised more questions than before—troubling health concerns that had/has Chiefs fans concerned with his long-term well-being as much as his short-term impact. In fact, there's little reason to believe that clarity is coming anytime soon.
Will the Chiefs ever know what they have in B.J. Thompson?
To update the situation, Thompson is currently a second-year edge rusher on the Chiefs' non-football injury list—an injured reserve of sorts for issues that did not happen on the field. Instead, Thompson endured a scary episode at Arrowhead during a team meeting in which he suffered cardiac arrest following multiple seizures on site.
Thompson was fortunate to have endured such a tragedy when surrounded by so many medical professionals. The Chiefs' training staff administered CPR and got him immediate medical help. He was placed on a ventilator and sedated at the hospital but was released within days and said to be in good health.
Since then, the news has been largely silent as Thompson remains present with the team and yet away from the field. Last week, head coach Andy Reid gave an update on Thompson, yet even that was a cloudy message.
"The doctors are monitoring him. He's doing good, to answer your question, he's doing good. He's in all the meetings and he's heading in the right direction. We just have to see on that. Time is a big part of that. We'll see how that goes," said Reid.
The medical questions are the more immediate concern, of course, but those queries are piled on top of all of the initial uncertainty of how Thompson would perform at the NFL level in the first place. That's what makes all of this so intriguing.
Coming out of college, Thompson raised flags and hopes at the same time as a dynamic pass rusher who had an incredible knack for making plays in the opposing backfield in the college ranks. In three years at Stephen F. Austin, Thompson put up 27.5 tackles for loss and 20.5 sacks.
Not only were the numbers impressive, but Thompson's performance during the East-West Shrine Game helped to quell concerns about levels of competition. When you add in his length at 6-6, you get a very intriguing prospect with some proven production, instincts for rushing the passer, and interesting physical traits. That's why the Chiefs invested a fifth-round choice in the first place.
But there were obvious concerns that came with Thompson as well, beginning with the transfer from Baylor to Stephen F. Austin—not exactly a powerhouse known for producing NFL talent. Thompson also weighed 240 lbs. when drafted, and given his build, it was clear he was going to need a lot of time in the weight room.
Basically, everyone knew that the selection of Thompson was to plant a seed for a long-term yield. Then one-year later came a scary medical incident that further pushed back any chance to exhibit how he'd grown on or off of the field. A long-term project was made even more so.
Given their investment, it doesn't cost the Chiefs a thing to keep him around on the NFI list and allow him all the time he needs to return to the field, if that's possible. The long play is the right play. But it's sad that Thompson hasn't gotten a chance to really show what he can do just yet after developing as a prospect for a team with real needs for rotational ends.
Here's hoping for the sake of player and team that Thompson finds a clear way back to the field in good time.
