Laurel native and standout Thakarius Keyes was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs Saturday evening in the seventh round as the 237th pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.
After playing football as a junior and senior at Laurel, Keyes committed and signed with Tulane University.
Keyes did not see much playing time in his first two seasons with the Green Wave, appearing in seven games as a true freshman and nine games as a sophomore. In those two years, Keyes totaled 10 tackles.
Keyes became a starter in 2018, starting all but one game of the season. He intercepted one pass and broke up 11 others while making 38 tackles. Keyes was named as an honorable mention All-American Athletic Conference selection as a senior. During his senior campaign, Keyes started in 13 games and made 47 tackles, caught one interception and broke up five passes.
NFL Analysts Lance Zeirlein had this to say about Keyes: “Tall cornerback with good competitive streak who uses rare arm length to his advantage in press and catch disruption. He has adequate instincts and anticipation, but lacks functional makeup speed to cover-up for missteps in coverage. Keyes tends to play too free and easy with his footwork in space. He will need better discipline and bend to improve his balance and transition quickness. Scouts are very concerned about his long speed, but zone-heavy teams may view his length and ball skills as moldable traits to work with on the practice squad.”
