New Orleans Saints: Could Michael Thomas be the best receiver ever?

Thomas versus the GOAT

There seems to be no doubt that if Thomas is to continue this level of play that he has a chance to go down as a historically great receiver.

However, when the discussion of GOAT arises then it becomes a different conversation. It is almost unanimous that Jerry Rice is the greatest wide receiver to ever play the game.

Similar to Thomas, he played with a legendary quarterback, but how do the two compare as receivers?

First off, one of the reasons that Rice is considered to be the best are the records that he holds for all-time receiving touchdowns, receptions, and receiving yards.

While Thomas has been efficient with his receptions and overall yards in his short career, the same can’t be said for his touchdown numbers. In fact, Rice’s best season for touchdowns, 22 touchdowns in 12 games, is only ten less than Thomas has had his entire career.

Aside from touchdown numbers, however, Thomas does have an impressive pace for receptions and yards.

For his entire career, Rice had 1,549 receptions and a nearly untouchable 22,895 receiving yards. The next closest in each of these categories are 171 receptions behind and 5,812 yards behind. Both of those are held by Larry Fitzgerald, who is not going to be in the league much longer.

On average, Thomas has had 1,378 receiving yards and roughly 118 receptions each season.

Of course, these numbers are likely somewhat inflated due to his offense solely depending on him and having Drew Brees as his quarterback, but it is unlikely that these averages will drop drastically.

Considering Thomas has had minimal injuries, it’s not far-fetched to say that Thomas is durable and could continue this pace to chase down Rice’s records.