Thomas is a fantasy sleeper right now
By: Jake Rajala
The New Orleans Saints illustrious wide receiver Michael Thomas won Offensive Rookie of The Year in 2019 (w/ a record-setting 149 receptions, 1,725 yards, and 9 touchdowns) and was the top fantasy wideout by over an astronomical 100 points. Gary Davenport of B/R even nicely noted that Thomas was well-rounded in fantasy in 2018. Gary stated, “In 2018, Thomas was first in the league in receptions (125), sixth in receiving yards (1,405), 10th in touchdowns (nine), and sixth in fantasy PPR points. After the year that the “Amazon burned”, he transcended into a ghost. MT played in a mere seven games in 2020 and then was called out by Stephen A for having surgery late in the 2021 off-season and missing the entire 2021 season.
With that said, Cantguardmike is healthy, hell-bent on finding gold, and he’s playing with an underrated signal-caller in Jameis Winston. I really believe that Thomas is undervalued by countless analysts and that he is honestly poised to be a Pro Bowl-caliber WR in 2022. Fantasy Pros pegged Thomas as the 32nd best wideout right now — which is behind Darnell Mooney, Elijah Moore, and Adam Thielen.
The healthy Saints WR1 has been utterly electric in training camp as of late. Nick Underhill of NOF noted how Thomas was impressive on Day 1 and Day 2 of training camp. Winston won’t only be focusing on MT on short and intermediate routes, but Winston can make more magic happen than even the 2019 version of Drew Brees with Thomas’s deep running ability.
The Saints may not have Drew Brees or Sean Payton, but they still have the offensive master-mind, Pete Carmichael (who has been with the Saints since 2019). Carmichael understands the quick passing concepts for MT, how to get him the pig-skin in space, and his best situations against divisional foes. Carmichael has been one of the most underappreciated and mysterious profiles in the league over the past decade.
Thomas has shined while playing injured w/ Taysom Hill at QB. Although, it’s quite safe to say that Who Dat Nation is happy that he’s back to 100% and playing with a mega-arm, healthy QB. He has stated that he is “very confident” that he will return to being a cream of the crop WR moving forward. The Saints highly motivated and gifted WR is set to be a FA in 2025.
