New Orleans Saints: An update on Michael Thomas’ race towards history
Michael Thomas, the New Orleans Saints superstar wide receiver, is on pace to make history this season. Here’s a post-Week 14 update.
The New Orleans Saints somehow put 46 points on the NFL’s best defense in Week 14. It was largely due to the absolute dominance of Michael Thomas, a player that’s aiming at the league’s single-season reception leader.
The 6-foot-3, 212-pound Thomas was targeted a season-high 15 times in Week 14. Against a pass defense that gives up under 170 yards per game, Thomas feasted, securing 11 of those targets for 134 yards.
In 2002, Marvin Harrison set the single-season receptions record at 143. Thomas has three weeks left in the 2019 regular season and is at a league-high 121 receptions. He’s four shy of his total last season which led the league at 125.
Believe it or not but Thomas is already tied for 13th most receptions in a season, and he still has three weeks left.
That said, Thomas needs 23 receptions in the next three weeks to surpass Harrison. That would be just under eight per game, an extremely manageable target for the fourth-year All-Pro receiver. He’s only not hit eight throughout the 2019 season twice.
Second place in reception isn’t even close right now either. There isn’t a player in the league that has more than 95 through 13 games. That’s just a look at how impactful Thomas is. He’s been the only real threat on the edge for the Saints’ top-tier offense this season.
While Thomas also leads the league in receiving yards, he doesn’t have the most yards after the catch so he’s not quite the best at getting downfield after securing the ball. However, Thomas is the only player in the league averaging over 100 yards per game.
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Overall, Thomas is having a season for the history books, and it’ll be nifty to see his name as the receptions leader in just a few short weeks.