20/20: Michael Thomas

Posted on February 20, 2016

Welcome to 20/20. As part of our continued Dynasty Scouts coverage and in preparation for the NFL Combine later this month, we’ll be profiling 20 of the top incoming rookies of the class of 2016 by giving you 20 facts you must know.

1.) Player Name – Michael Thomas

2.) College – Ohio State

3.) Height/Weight – 6-foot-3, 209 pounds

4.) Birth date – 3/3/94 (22)
5.) Class – Redshirt Junior

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6.) Basic college stats – 2015 – 56 receptions, 781 yards (13.9 YPC), 9 touchdowns
2014 – 54 receptions, 799 yards (14.8 YPC), 9 touchdowns
2012 – 3 receptions, 22 yards (7.3 YPC), 0 touchdowns

7.) NFL Draft round projection – Thomas is considered one of the top prospects at the wide receiver position in this year’s class, and is commonly seen going in the first and second round of mock drafts.

8.) Current NFL comp – Eric Decker

Both Decker and Thomas run good routes, but aren’t exceptional athletes. They have solid to above average hands, and are physical receivers. Decker was more polished at this stage than Thomas, but I could easily see Thomas having a similar career arc to Decker.

9.) Best possible destination – Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks have an elite young quarterback, and look to be trending towards a more pass oriented offense with the retirement of Marshawn Lynch. They acquired Jimmy Graham to try to bring in an elite target for Russell Wilson, but it didn’t work out. They appear to have a solid receiver in Tyler Lockett, but he seems more suited for a slot role. It’s hard to imagine Thomas immediately beating out Doug Baldwin as the Seahawks wide receiver one and garnering a considerable amount of targets.

10.) Worst possible destination – Los Angeles Rams

The Rams desperately need a receiver, but no one wants any receivers to get drafted by them! They look to be a run first team with a sub-par offensive line and quarterback, and lack other options in the passing game. Thomas would get targets, but the passing game is so anemic in LA that he would have little to no fantasy impact.

11.) Best current skill – Thomas is a good route runner who is extremely fluid during his routes. He consistently appears to get vertical, and his breaks are always precise. He runs his routes so that it appears he could break inside or outside at any moment, which keeps the defender on his heels and gives him a leg up against most corners. While Thomas can continue to improve on his route running, he is very well versed in the fundamentals of it.

12.) Skill that needs to be improved – While Thomas has a very low drop rate, he shows lapses in concentration and struggles on contested catches. He also has a tendency to body catch at times. I don’t necessarily think it’s a huge issue for him, but he will need to improve in contested situations at the next level.

13.) Past/current rookie ADP – Fifth overall, fourth wide receiver (February ADP); Sixth overall, fifth wide receiver (September ADP)

14.) Projected dynasty value – Thomas will never be an elite, top 12, WR1 type player for your fantasy team, but he should be a solid top 24/36 receiver for many years. I could see Thomas having a double digit touchdown season depending where he lands, as he seems to have a nose for the end zone, with nine touchdowns in each of the last two seasons. Because of his ability to score touchdowns and route running, I could see Thomas peaking as a high end WR2.

15.) NFL Connections – Thomas is the nephew of former star receiver Keyshawn Johnson. The two have very similar builds, and play similarly as well.

16.) Greyshirt Year – Thomas “greyshirted” out of high school, meaning that he attended a prep school for one year before enrolling at Ohio State. Schools typically greyshirt players who they feel lack maturity and must take a year to mature before going to college, or for those who struggle academically and might fail to qualify at the school.
17.) Redshirt Year- After coming to Ohio State, Thomas played sparingly his freshman year and then redshirted his sophomore year. This was reportedly because he was having trouble grasping the playbook, but it could also be because the Buckeyes had brought in multiple JUCO receivers that year. If Thomas did indeed have trouble grasping the playbook, this could mean he might struggle to see the field early in his rookie campaign.

18.) As a Recruit – Coming out of high school, Thomas was a three star recruit, was the No. 95 receiver in the country and the No. 799 player overall. Thomas was also a three star coming out of prep school and was the No. seven receiver in the class.

19.) DLF Ranking – Thomas is currently the consensus wide receiver two in this class, behind only Laquon Treadwell. Rob Leath, Benton McDowell, and myself are the highest on Thomas, having him ranked second. Nathan Powell is the lowest on Thomas, as the fifth receiver in his rankings.
20.) Highlights – Go Check out Thomas’ highlights!

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