Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman R Mason Thomas spoke with reporters after practice on Saturday at Missouri Western State University. He revealed his playbook preparation process for training camp.
“I think it’s about knowing the plays, knowing the playbook. That helps you play fast. If you know what to do, you can do it at a high speed. There is no hesitation,” said Thomas. “You can see the hesitation sometimes when I don’t know what to do.” That’s the difference between a sack, a tackle, a tackle for loss, a goal line stance. From OTAs to now, it is really about getting the playbook down.”
Thomas was selected in the second round, 40th overall. During four seasons at Oklahoma, Thomas played in 42 games, collecting 65 total tackles and 17 sacks,
earning AP second-team All-American honors. He sees similarities in defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s game plan approach to his time in college.
“I think it’s similar. I think (Oklahoma Head) Coach (Brent) V (Venables) and (Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Steve) Spags (Spagnuolo) are the same person. It’s crazy. I was just talking to Coach V about that,” said Thomas. “They are aggressive and have similar calls. I think the terminology here is the difference. Some things that Coach V says and what they say mean something different so I usually have to repeat it. That’s one of the biggest things.”
In the 2025 season, Thomas started 10 games, finishing with 26 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, a pass breakup, 2 forced fumbles, and a safety.
This article originally appeared on Chiefs Wire: Chiefs DL R Mason Thomas reveals his playbook preparation process
