New Orleans Saints rookie wide receiver Michael Thomas may have been drafted in the second round of last May’s NFL draft, but his new head coach Sean Payton is doing his best to convince the public that Thomas is at least worthy of an early pick for fantasy owners.
Michael Thomas’ own coach would draft him, be careful of the fantasy hype party
The Saints rookie wide receiver is getting praised by his head coach Sean Payton, we explore the fantasy implications.
Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
When speaking to the media on Tuesday about his young receiver, Payton commented that he does not “follow fantasy football,” but if he did, he would want Thomas on his squad. To explain his reasoning, Payton added that he thinks Thomas is “going to contribute early” for New Orleans and he feels that the former Ohio State Buckeye is “going to do well” in 2016.
Fantasy impact: A rookie receiving praise from his head coach is great and all, but is Payton’s rationale about Thomas as a top fantasy player in 2016 realistic?
Luckily for fantasy owners, Thomas’ head coach is not Bill Belichick or Mike Shanahan. Two coaches that were (and still are) notorious for using different players in their offenses each year no matter how well that player performed in the season before.
As of right now, Thomas has a 10th-round ADP for 2016 and until he proves Payton’s statements to be true this season, fantasy owners should not be drafting the rookie wide receiver any higher.
