Could New Orleans Saints’ Michael Thomas be the first-ever wide receiver to win the MVP award?
The Pro-Bowl wide receiver’s season thus far has been nothing short of magnificent. Coming off a Pro-Bowl and All-Pro first-team selection, the fourth year New Orleans Saints’ wide receiver has grabbed 62 of his 78 targets for 763 yards and 3 touchdowns.
As it stands, he is averaging 109.3 yards per game, which would be a career-high.
He is also averaging nearly 10 yards per target. As his MVP status grew, suddenly, his quarterback Drew Brees went out with a thumb injury requiring surgery. Surely, everyone thought his MVP status was over.
National insider for the NFL Network and NFL.com, Ian Rapoport had this to say about Michael Thomas’ MVP candidacy.
As the MVP discussion heats up, I wondered about #Saints WR Michael Thomas’ role keeping them rolling with Drew Brees out. So I asked @NFLResearch. Turns out, Thomas’ production has been identical with Brees and Teddy Bridgewater. Hugely valuable. pic.twitter.com/rGef0k3jsT
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 22, 2019
As you can see, in the past two years with Brees, Thomas has put up 9.1 average targets, with 7.7 average receptions of those targets for 87.0 average yards. In the seven games with Bridgewater, Thomas has sustained 9.9 targets per game with 7.7 average reception of those targets for 89.6 average yards per game.
Not only is Michael Thomas putting up MVP caliber numbers, but he is also doing it with his starting, future HOF quarterback and a high-quality backup. As Rapoport puts it, “(His) production has been identical with Brees and Teddy Bridgewater. Hugely valuable.”
Is it enough to sustain his candidacy for MVP?
Well, there is nothing to compare it against because no other wide receiver has ever won an MVP award. Michael Thomas is blazing not only a trail for the Saints and himself but a trail for all wide receivers this season.
And, those in Who Dat Nation are just thankful that’s he’s looking worthy of every single cent of his $100 million extension he signed this past offseason. Thomas will be locked up for the next five years and is projected to play the majority of his prime with the Black and Gold.
The second part that makes it possible is the potential time missed by Patrick Mahomes. Now, he has to beat out Christian McCaffrey and Russell Wilson along with a few other quarterbacks of the NFL’s elite teams.
However, from what we’ve seen, there’s no reason to believe Thomas isn’t just as valuable.