Twitter has been an amazing tool for fantasy sports enthusiasts. It’s paramount when getting information quicker than your competition and is the only place in town where you can go from talking fantasy football to talking about “Saved By The Bell” within four tweets. Twitter is also where I found my love for writing. I would have never started this unique journey had it not been for Twitter – so blame them when you read my work.

I recently posed the following question to my Twitter followers: “Who are your biggest concerns going into the 2013 fantasy football season?” I’ve never asked questions like that on Twitter, but thought why not? The results varied and responses were all across the board. As I previously stated, Twitter is such an invaluable tool, especially for fantasy sports, that it seems like I should be asking these types of questions more frequently.

That got me thinking.

For this series, I decided to take some of the most popular questions floating around Twitter and post my own viewpoints on them here on DLF. Remember, if you have specific questions, Tim Stafford answers all the mailbag questions for DLF and he’s an excellent source for information that can help you in your decision making this “off-season.” We also have our new “Dynasty Doctor” for you to submit any questions in regards to medical science.

I was asked a question by one of our own, Mark Rockwell, regarding the values of two of the upper echelon wide receivers. The comparisons are so close that I decided to devote this week’s article to that one question because I believe it will be a decision many dynasty start up owners will be faced with. So, instead of Pulse of the Twitterverse this week, this is truly Pulse of the Twitter VERSUS.

@Mark_Rockwell85 asks: Dez Bryant vs. Demaryius Thomas

Choosing between these two wide receivers is like choosing between Kate Upton and Katy Perry. They’re both young and sexy with tons of upside. I won’t get into the specific attributes that can aid you in decision regarding these two, but I will discuss the man crushes that are Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas.

Bryant has always been a freak of an athlete ever since his days at Oklahoma St., but hasn’t been able to live up to the hype until this season. Taken by the Dallas Cowboys with the #24 overall selection, Bryant managed just one 100 yard game in his first 30 NFL games. In his next 13 games, Bryant hit the century mark in receiving five times, including one game where he had over 200 yards. His 2012 season was a tale of two halves – the first eight games and the last eight games. In the first half of the season, Bryant tallied 42 receptions, 503 yards, and two touchdowns (13 fantasy points per game in PPR leagues). During the second half of the season, Bryant had 50 receptions, 879 yards, and ten touchdowns (24.7 fantasy PPG) – good for the number one wide receiver in fantasy football during that time. Let’s take a moment and think about what those numbers could have been if we extrapolate them into a full season. This is what you’d get: 100 receptions, 1758 yards, and 20 touchdowns- that’s just sickening.

Thomas, a fellow top wide receiving prospect, was drafted with the #22 overall pick by the Denver Broncos in 2010. The Georgia Tech product played in only 21 games in his first two seasons before having his breakout season in 2012. Thomas put on display his playmaking ability in the 2011 playoffs when he took a pass from Tim Tebow to the house for an 80 yard game-winning touchdown against the Steelers. Thomas was also the more steady receiver for fantasy owners as his second half almost mirrored his first half totals. In his first eight games, Thomas had 45 receptions, 752 yards, and four touchdowns (18 PPG). In the last eight games, he had 49 receptions, 678 yards, six touchdowns (19.1 PPG).

While Bryant hurt you more than he helped in his first eight games, he more than made up for your loyalty by providing one of the best eight game runs for a wide receiver when you needed him the most. Their final numbers ended up looking like this, less than a five point difference in PPR leagues:

Name Rec Yards TDs Points Bryant 92 1382 12 302.2 Thomas 94 1434 10 297.4

Looking into the PPF Signature Stats, it amazed me how close these two truly are:

Wide Receiver Rating

Thomas is ranked number one with the best wide receiver rating (50% targets) of 126.2. A very interesting stat that was brought up to me by Mark (the person who asked this question) when he noted Peyton Manning did not throw a single interception when throwing Thomas’ way. Bryant, ranked third overall, had a WR Rating of 123.2 when Tony Romo threw him the ball. Another push.

Deep Passing

Perhaps this could separate the two? Again, Thomas led all wide receivers, catching 16 of his 30 deep ball targets (53.3% catch rate) with five touchdowns. Bryant was the second best wideout, catching 12 of his 24 targets (50% catch rate) with five touchdowns as well. I guess we’re not done comparing.

Drops

Surely if I look at the drops, we will have a hands down winner between the two, yes? Can you guess who were the 21st and 22nd ranked wide receivers in the drop category? Yep, Thomas and Bryant, respectively. Thomas dropped 11 of 105 catchable balls for a 10.48% drop rate, while Bryant dropped 11 of 103 catchable passes for a 10.68% drop rate. On a side note, Anquan Boldin dropped two passes this season for a 2.99% drop rate, leading all wide receivers. Please don’t retire, Anquan.

Red Zone Targets

The only stat that really separates these two is red zone targets. Thomas had 21 targets while Bryant had only 14. Even though Thomas has more; he wasn’t even his team’s leader in that department – that distinction goes to his teammate, Eric Decker, who led the league with 25 targets and 12 touchdowns inside the 20 yard line. And though Thomas was the clear cut winner total-wise, it was Bryant who garnered a better percentage of his team’s red zone targets at 23.1% compared to Thomas at 17.1%. Take from that what you will.

Since their 2012 seasons were so similar, let’s compare the two from a physical standpoint:

Bryant Thomas 4.52 40 Time 4.38 24 Age 25 6’2″ Height 6’3″ 220 Weight 229 3 Experience 3

From a pure physical standpoint, Thomas has the superior stats with the only exception being their age, but they’re fairly similar overall. From an eye test, Bryant has the better intangibles. When he catches the ball, he’s far more difficult to bring down- almost looking to run defenders over even though Thomas has a better YAC at 5.9 (compared to 5.1 for Bryant).

Dynasty mock drafters are having a terrible time choosing between Bryant and Thomas early into the dynasty “offseason” as well. In the early mock drafts held in January, Bryant’s ADP was 13 versus Thomas’ 15. This is how it shook out:

Player Mock 1 Mock 2 Mock 3 Mock 4 Mock 5 Mock 6 Bryant 12 12 8 14 14 16 Thomas 19 15 15 11 16 14

In my most recent mock draft, Thomas was selected at 2.03, while Bryant was drafted at 2.05. I asked our resident mock coordinator, Ryan McDowell how this most recent wave of mock drafts have shaped up and he said Bryant’s ADP is 15 and Thomas’ 14, so there has been a changing of the guard already, be it ever so slightly.

What we need to look at going into 2013 and beyond isn’t just stats and physical skill sets- it’s the variables surrounding these two in the years to come.

Variables

On the Broncos’ side, they have Manning locked up for another four years of fantasy goodness. It took only a couple weeks before both fake and real football enthusiasts saw the Peyton Manning we’ve all come to love (or hate depending on your allegiances). Even with their offensive coordinator, Mike McCoy, leaving to become the head coach of the San Diego Chargers, the offense won’t skip a beat. We all know Manning is the real play caller wherever he is, so there shouldn’t be any worries there. According to PFF, Denver led the league in pass blocking efficiency as well. Of the 613 pass attempts, Manning was sacked only 13 times. He had just 96 total pressures allowed, giving the Bronco offensive line an 87.7 pass blocking efficiency rating. Most of that credit will go to Manning’s quick decision capabilities but make no mistake about it, their line is legit.

On the other side of the coin, the Cowboys are working on an extension with Romo that Bryant owners (more so than Cowboy fans) are hoping will occur. Jerry Jones has taken away the play calling duties from his head coach, Jason Garrett, and given them to offensive coordinator, Bill Callahan. Callahan is a run first offensive mind which should serve Romo and the passing game well. If DeMarco Murray can stay relatively healthy (big if, I know), it will take an enormous amount of pressure off of Romo and the passing game. PFF had the Cowboys as the #23 ranked offensive line giving up 26 sacks with a total of 196 pressures allowed (78.1 rating). Again, if the ‘Boys can sustain a running game a la 2011, it will help the passing game open up with less Romo on the ground and/or running around throwing to opposing defenders.

Conclusion

You really can’t go wrong with drafting (or keeping) either of these elite wide receivers. I’m a gambler at heart, so I tend to go for the guys who can turn in seasons like Bryant did his last eight games. He’s a liability off the field (no need to get into those matters), but has finally shown he can take over a game in BOTH halves of a football game. Thomas is your guy if you want steady, top-end production from your WR1. He’ll always be around the top ten each week because of his quarterback and intelligence, both on and off the field. And while they both have a history of injuries (major or minor), give me the guy who has shown the ability to silence his critics and “man up” on the field. That guy is Dez Bryant.