Michael Thomas

  • Height
    6' 3"
  • Weight
    212 lbs
  • Arm Length
    32 1/8"
Michael Thomas headshot
  • Draft Pick
    2.16 2016
  • College
    Ohio State
  • Age
    30.2
Overall rank
WR117
2022

Michael Thomas Bio & Season Stats

Year Games Tgts Rec Rec Yds YPR Air Yds Rec TD Fantasy Pts/Game
2022 3 22 16 171 10.7 232 3 17.0
2020 7 55 40 438 11.0 523 0 12.0
2019 16 186 149 1725 11.6 1539 9 23.4 (#1)
2018 16 147 125 1405 11.2 1175 9 19.7 (#6)
2017 16 149 104 1245 12.0 1428 5 16.2 (#4)
2016 15 121 92 1137 12.4 992 9 17.0 (#7)
  • College Dominator
    39.6% (82nd)
  • College YPR
    13.9 (41st)
  • College Target Share
    25.9% (78th)
  • Breakout Age
    21.5 (25th)

Michael Thomas Advanced Stats & Metrics

Value Over Stream

+4.3
(#26)

Value Over Stream: Valuation scheme calculates a player’s fantasy pts/game over the average waiver wire replacement in standard fantasy league formats during either the current season (or previous year during the offseason) and adjusts for positional bust rates. VOS rank in parenthesis spans all positions, enabling player comparisons across QB's, RB's, WR's, and TE's.

2022

Snap Share

2022

Target Share

2022

Fantasy Points

Popularity Index

#270

Player Popularity Index (PPI) ranks PlayerProfiler page views over the last 30 days. For example, the No. 1 PPI player page is the most frequently visited page in recent weeks.

Michael Thomas Injury History

Low
Medium
High
Games Missed
Injury Reports
Dislocated toe
Week 3 (2022)
14
14
Hamstring strain
Preseason (2022)
0
1
Ankle surgery rehabilitation
Preseason (2022)
0
0
Ankle rehabilitation
Preseason (2021)
17
17
Hamstring strain
Week 7 (2020)
2
3
High ankle sprain
Week 1 (2020)
7
9
Ankle strain
Preseason (2016)
0
1

Michael Thomas College Stats

Year Games Recs Rec Yds Tgt Share Catch Rate Rec TDs Special Teams Age School
2012 11 (WR) 3 (5 tgts) 22 (7.3 ypr) 1.8% 60.0% 0 0 19 Ohio State
2014 15 (WR) 54 (75 tgts) 799 (14.8 ypr) 18.3% 72.0% 9 0 21 Ohio State
2015 13 (WR) 56 (84 tgts) 781 (13.9 ypr) 25.9% 66.7% 9 0 22 Ohio State

Michael Thomas Athleticism

Who is Michael Thomas

Despite lackluster 4.57 (40th-percentile) 40 time, Michael Thomas found himself selected by the New Orleans Saints in the middle of the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. As a rookie WR, he would become the 1A option in a Drew Brees’ passing offense, finishing with 92 receptions for 1137 yards and 9 touchdowns. Accomplishing this feat as a rookie is impressive, but to do that while playing alongside a 1100 yard second-year WR drafted in the first round the previous year in Brandin Cooks put Thomas on another level.

From his rookie season in 2016 to 2019, Thomas would finish top-7 each season in fantasy points per game. From 2017 to 2019, Thomas would finish inside the top-10 in targets and he would lead the league in receptions in back-to-back season in 2018 and 2019 (125 and 149, respectively). Tied to Drew Brees while the quarterback broke NFL records, Michael Thomas was impossible to knock off his pedestal as the top-drafted wide receiver in fantasy football.

Unfortunately for Thomas, Brees would be approaching retirement and the natural question would be, “how good is Thomas without the future hall-of-fame quarterback?” In Thomas’ last season with Brees in 2019, he would lead the league in receptions, yards (1725), Target Share (33.2-percent), Completed Air Yards (1175), Red Zone Target (26), and fantasy points per game (23.4).

Thomas had been blessed with excellent health in his NFL career up to this point too. Besides a minor ankle sprain suffered in the preseason of his rookie season in 2016, Thomas had no other documented injuries during his initial rookie contract. The wear and tear caught up to Thomas in 2020 when he ruptured his ankle deltoid ligament in Week 1. Since the injury, Thomas has played in seven total games. This includes opting for surgery late in the 2021 offseason that cost him the entire season. His 2020 season saw him finish with 40 receptions for 438 scoreless yards. Two years removed from being on top if the WR landscape, it’s fair to question how close can Thomas approach his glory years as he approaches his age-29 season.