Saints Rookie WR Michael Thomas Destined For Stardom
If any fans of the New Orleans Saints had any doubts whatsoever as to whether or not the Saints knew exactly what they were getting when they took Ohio State WR Michael Thomas in the 2nd Round of the recent NFL Draft, they can go ahead and get those thoughts right out of their heads.
Thomas has very often been referred to as a complete ‘stud’, and during the final practice of the Saints’ 2nd week of OTA’s at their indoor practice facility in Metairie with a full contingent of media observing, Thomas verified every bit of hype that he’s ever had coming in.
On a 3rd down simulation and with the Saints in the shotgun formation, Saints QB Drew Brees called a play that required Thomas to run an 18-yard out route.
Jun 2, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas (13) catches a pass in front of safety Erik Harris (30) during organized team activities at the New Orleans Saints Indoor Training Facility.
The fact that Brees GUSHED like a love-struck school girl over Thomas’ ability to adjust on the route that the two have rarely practiced together yet, speaks to just how much confidence that the Saints feel about Thomas’ potential within the offense, going forward.
May 21, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; New Orleans Saints rookie wide receiver Michael Thomas during the NFLPA Rookie Premiere at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
As New Orleans Advocate Saints beat writer Nick Underhill noted in his column Thursday evening, Thomas is going to be to asked to fill a lot of the things that Marques Colston used to do for this offense, which means that he’s essentially replacing a player who had more than a decade of experience reading and reacting to the things in a way that is familiar to Brees.
So far, the Saints have been lining Thomas up at the “X-receiver” position, which is the WR within the Saints offense that stands right next to the tight end and with his feet “set” at the line of scrimmage.
Jun 2, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas (13) during organized team activities at the New Orleans Saints Indoor Training Facility.
Now as Thomas settles into his role and grows more comfortable within the Saints offensive scheme, his confidence should began to grow exponentially as should the Saints’ confidence in his abilities and the vision that they have for his contributions, going forward.