NFC South Position Rankings: Do the Saints have the best receiving corps?
By Jake Rajala
New Orleans Saints (Surprised?)
The Saints wide receiving corps places 3 in the NFC South division. Did Michael Thomas deserve the offensive player of the year? Yes. Is Michael Thomas a great wide receiver, the league’s best, and do the Saints still have a really good receiving corp? Absolutely.
Michael Thomas broke the reception record last year by recording 144 receptions. The Saints receiver takes a lot of heat for catching short passes and running a good bit of slant routes.
Michael Thomas did manage to be a touchdown magnet by recording 9 touchdown receptions and averaging 11.6 YPC while hauling in 144 passes, according to NFL.com. Don’t forget about the OPOY playing without Drew Brees for five games.
The Saints didn’t have much help last year when Thomas had multiple guys covering him, and Drew had nowhere else to go. The Saints took a look at Antonio Brown during the latter part of last season, but he was still suspended and unable to play.
The Saints solved their complimenting piece to Michael Thomas by seeking out and signing Emmanual Sanders during free agency. Sanders, who may have been the best free-agent signing for the Saints, looks to be the best number 2 receiver for the Saints in a long time.
These two receivers form a highly formidable duo, but Sanders hasn’t had a thousand-yard season in four years, and there are multiple receivers in the same division that might be better than Michael Thomas.
Let’s take a look at who’s placed ahead of Cantguardmike and company.