Former Syracuse football star Shamarko Thomas is still in the NFL after seven years. If you just look at his size (5-foot-9, 205 pounds) you’d be surprised he’s in the league at all.
When you look around the league at the starting safeties they’re simply built differently:
- The average size of a starting safety is at least three inches taller and 20 pounds heavier.
The safety position is incredibly violent and the average lifespan of an NFL player is around three seasons, that number is even smaller for safeties.
Shamarko was selected from Syracuse in the 2013 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round with the 111th overall pick.