National Football League

Bucs WR Deven Thompkins, 5-7 and 151 pounds, has one big advantage on the field

Published Aug. 9, 2023 1:53 p.m. ET

Still sweating after a two-hour practice in August in Florida, Bucs receiver Deven Thompkins is nice enough to not only take a few questions from a pint-sized junior reporter, but to take an odd request without skipping a beat.

Thompkins takes a step back, checks behind him and coolly does a standing backflip, then goes back to answering questions.

His dad taught him to do a backflip when he was "like 4," and in the past year, he's earned a reputation for ridiculous acrobatic skills, able to contort his body in mid-air to make incredible catches. The Bucs went indoors for a night practice last week, and when quarterback Baker Mayfield heaved a long pass deep downfield, Thompkins twisted mid-leap and was nearly horizontal in coming down with a wild catch.

"Oh, my goodness," quarterback Kyle Trask said, looking in the distance as he was mic'd up in a video on the team website. "DT?"

"DT" is locker-room shorthand for a player who needs no abbreviation. Thompkins is listed at 5-foot-7 and 155 pounds, a weight many NFL (and college) teams might secretly bump up to 170. That's 22 pounds lighter than his closest teammate, and literally half the listed weight of 10 of his Bucs teammates. That's what he was listed at as a rookie last year, so surely he's added some weight in the past year, right?

"I'm lighter, actually," he said with a grin. "A hundred and fifty-one."

At 151, he's arguably the lightest player in the NFL. The Rams' Tutu Atwell, who weighed 155 at the combine two years ago, is now listed at 165, and the Cowboys' KaVontae Turpin, a Pro Bowl returner last year, is listed at 155. The lightest kicker in the league is Saints rookie Blake Grupe at 156, and six NFL teams don't list a single player at less than 180 pounds.

And you can imagine, if Thompkins was getting jokes about his size in high school, he's definitely getting them in an NFL locker room, and even from his head coach. Asked about Thompkins' leaping ability last week, Todd Bowles laughed out loud.

"To be his height, he better have great leaping ability," he said. "That puts him at 6 feet if he has a 39-inch vertical. He does a great job, he's a very good athlete. We tease him a lot about his weight, but he plays a lot heavier. He's a very tough guy, he's a very strong guy, and I like where he's at."

Thompkins not only embraces the short/small jokes, he welcomes them, knowing part of his game is trusting that opponents will underestimate him.

"It's been the same thing forever," Thompkins said. "To me, it allows me to build my confidence, because I'm able to come out here and play among a whole bunch of big ol' men, to still be a man amongst men. That's my biggest thing."

That size didn't stop him from getting a scholarship out of Fort Myers, and he wasn't any bigger when he had a breakout season in 2021 at Utah State, catching 102 passes for 1,704 yards and 10 touchdowns. He got just a $16,000 signing bonus from the Bucs last year after going undrafted, and was among the team's final cuts but earned a spot on the practice squad.

He got his first NFL action in December, taking over as the Bucs' primary returner for the final five games of last season. His NFL debut included a 54-yard kickoff return, the longest for any Bucs player in more than a decade, going back to 2012. He had just two offensive touches — one carry, one catch — before getting five in last year's regular-season finale, totaling 58 yards. Now he's trying to keep his return job and find ways to help on offense as part of a deep young receiving corps.

"I'm way more confident," he said of his changes from a year ago. "I know what to expect more than anything, so I'm embracing my role on the team, wherever that may be, as the starting returner or getting more reps in on offense. ... I understand my skill set more than anything, so when the opportunity shows itself, I'm able to highlight that ability. When the jump balls come, nobody's expecting me to go up there and get it like that."

Thompkins' ability to adjust his body in mid-air is more than just having a small, athletic frame — he's more at ease in flight than he is on the ground.

"What's weird is I feel more confident catching a ball in the air than on my feet," Thompkins said. "It's usually different, but when I'm in the air, my concentration is more there. From the eyes to the ball to the catch to the tuck, everything."

Mayfield is still getting to know his receivers in his first year in Tampa, but when asked about the young prospects in the group, he started with Thompkins and his athleticism.

"Deven can jump out of the gym," he said. "He's not the biggest guy by any means, but he can really, really jump. He made a play like that in mandatory minicamp with me, just kind of a 50-50 ball where he goes up. His body control is unbelievable."

Special teams is likely Thompkins' ticket to making the Bucs' 53-man roster, but Bowles made it clear that he can help them on offense as well as he continues to develop and improve.

"He is not just a punt returner, he is a very good receiver," Bowles said. "He plays bigger than his size and we like the things he does from a pattern standpoint. He has outstanding hands and we're just looking for him to get better and better. He's starting to make those plays look routine."

Greg Auman is FOX Sports’ NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience