It’s that time of year once again! Football Absurdity will bring you a breakdown of every notable fantasy football-relevant player throughout June, July, and August. We continue with the wide receivers. Today, we take a look at a wide receiver who was once the fantasy WR1 but has fewer than 450 yards since the world found out about COVID-19. What can we expect from Michael Thomas in 2022 fantasy football leagues? We have no idea! Well, let’s look at his player profile, anyway!
Michael Thomas ADP and AAV:
Average Draft Position: WR38, 89 overall
Average Auction Value: $5.9
Michael Thomas Statistics:
| Year | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yards | TD | Tgt/G | Rec/G | Rec% | Yds/Tgt | Yds/Rec |
| 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2020 | 7 | 5 | 55 | 40 | 438 | 0 | 11.00 | 5.71 | 72.7% | 7.96 | 10.95 |
| 2019 | 16 | 15 | 185 | 149 | 1725 | 9 | 11.56 | 9.31 | 80.5% | 9.32 | 11.58 |
| Year | Std Pts | HPPR Pts | PPR Pts | Pts/G | HPPR Pts/G | PPR Pts/G | Pts/Tgt | HPPR Pts/Tgt | PPR Pts/Tgt |
| 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2020 | 43.9 | 63.9 | 83.9 | 6.3 | 9.1 | 12.0 | 0.80 | 1.16 | 1.53 |
| 2019 | 225.6 | 300.1 | 374.6 | 14.1 | 18.8 | 23.4 | 1.22 | 1.62 | 2.02 |
| Year | Air Yards | aDOT | YAC | YAC/Tgt | YAC/Rec | AYMS | Tgt MS |
| 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2020 | 524 | 9.5 | 82 | 1.49 | 2.05 | 48% | 30% |
| 2019 | 1488 | 8 | 583 | 3.15 | 3.91 | 40% | 32% |
2022 Michael Thomas Fantasy Football Overview:
I mean, who knows what we can expect from Michael Thomas in 2022? He is supposedly going to be healthy for the season, which is the same thing we heard last year before he quietly ended up going on season-ending IR about halfway through the year. Even if he does come back to play, he no longer has Drew Brees force-feeding him the football, and his fellow wide receivers went from Emmanuel Sanders, Tre’Quan Smith, Marquez Callaway, and Deonte Harris to Chris Olave, Jarvis Landry, Marquez Callaway, and Deonte Harty. He’s been gone so long that one of his teammates changed his name!
Michael Thomas sprained his ankle in December 2020 and in July 2022 we are getting breathless coverage of him running routes. I broke my ankle in junior high school and was back playing basketball in four months. I have literally no idea what Michael Thomas is doing and until we see him on a football field, playing football, I don’t care. I am completely out on Michael Thomas this year. I don’t feel like getting burned by a guy who burned a ton of people last season with a little injury rope-a-dope.
Even if Michael Thomas comes back in a timely manner, there’s no guarantee that he will be the target hog that we know and love him to be. After all, the Saints’ wide receiver corps is no longer “Slant to Michael Thomas, and Pray,” they have Jarvis Landry and Chris Olave to help with matters, and Deonte Harty was on his way to a breakout season last year before getting derailed by an injury and a suspension. The offense has more weapons than Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara, and because of this, alongside Jameis Winston instead of Drew Brees, I am not too enthusiastic about drafting Michael Thomas.
2022 Michael Thomas Fantasy Football Draft Strategy:
Michael Thomas Salary Cap Value: $4
Draft Ranking: Find out for your league settings in a Beersheet!
No wide receiver has had quite the precipitous drop this offseason as Michael Thomas. Rumors that his ankle is still not yet healed have caused his ADP to plummet, from WR22 in early July, to WR38 in late July. I was out on Michael Thomas at WR22, but at WR38, you can set aside all the bad feelings and focus on the upside. After all, he’s going between DeVonta Smith, Drake London, and Russell Gage. None of these players have Michael Thomas’ upside, and in the case of DeVonta Smith, might just be going at value. I am a big proponent of taking a shot on Michael Thomas in the 8th round, pick 89 overall, at his ADP. I was not a fan at WR22, so you can see how you shouldn’t dislike the player, you should dislike the price.
Unfortunately, salary cap drafts are yet to catch up, as he dropped down to $5.9 from $6.2 in the same timeframe. If you get this itchy just take Brandin Cooks for $3, instead. There’s literally no reason for Cooks to half the price of Michael Thomas, and only you and I can fix that.
Best Case Scenario:
Drew Brees comes out of retirement and he & SlantBoy™ get right back to it.
Worst Case Scenario:
Thomas starts the year on the PUP, gets hurt again somehow, and comes back ineffective because teams decide to stack the box to defend the pass against Thomas & Jarvis Landry.
Check out all our 2022 player profiles, here.
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[Statistics are sourced from pro-football-reference.com, airyards.com, and ftnfantasy.com]
