One of the rookies I am quickly falling in love with is the newest Saints receiver, Michael Thomas. Drafted out of Ohio State, he seems to be in the perfect spot to take full advantage of his abilities. With prototypical size and impressive hands, Thomas looks like he could be a major contributor. With one of the best quarterback sin the league throwing him passes, he should be getting better passes then he was from Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett at Ohio State.

Route Running

This is one spot where I was left wanting a bit with Thomas, as he didn’t posses the elite skills to get open against top corners. He was not terrible, just not excellent in this regard. It did not hinder him in college, as he could out muscle corners and use his bigger frame to get where he needed to go. However when he gets to the NFL he will have trouble when he finds out that the corners are bigger and stronger. Thomas impressed with his hands at the line of scrimmage while beating the press. His cuts will need to get sharper but his physicality at the line of scrimmage and when making his cuts served him well in college and should help ease the transition. A lot of rookies have trouble with route running and Thomas will be no different.

Size and Mesurables

Thomas stands six foot three and weighs about 210 pounds, already big enough for the NFL. His size was one of his greatest strengths at OSU and he should continue to man handle smaller corners. His combine scores are another place where Thomas doesn’t blow away the competition. He ran a 4.57 during his 40 yard dash and won’t be blowing by corners. This however is okay as you’ll find out in the next section.

Catching

What an amazing catch by Michael Thomas, and this is only one clip of multiple highlight reel catches. He has some of the best hands in college football, and catches almost every ball thrown his way. This is probably Thomas’ greatest asset and means even when he doesn’t burn by the DB he can still make contested catches and pick up yards. His jumping ability and his ability to high point the ball while it is in the air helps him destroy DBs on highly thrown balls. This should also help turn him into a dangerous red zone threat.

NFL Outlook

Thomas should be drafted in the first round of all rookie drafts, somewhere in between the fifth pick and the eighth pick. His strong hands and tall frame make him a big target to throw to and Drew Brees has a history with big wideouts, making Marques Colton and Jimmy Graham into top tier NFL pass catchers. Thomas will usually be facing number two corners or the nickel corners as teams try to lock on Brandin Cooks and occasionally Willie Snead. Some of the concerns with Thomas are his lack of top end speed and elite athleticism. However with his big body and excellent ball skills Thomas should put all doubters to shame within a few seasons.