Michael Thomas (WR, NO) - 2021 Fantasy Football Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target Around ~85 Overall

CURRENT ADP: ~100

ANALYSIS: Michael Thomas has an ADP lower than 130, and he's here because he's absolutely worth it. He was just placed on the PUP list which means he won't be back until at least Week 6. There's no way around that, it stinks. It doesn't change the fact that he's got league-winning upside once he gets back on the field.

His sixth-round cost is a little rich for my particular taste, I'd prefer him in the seventh or eighth round, but there's no denying his upside. In 2019, from Weeks 2–7 with Teddy Bridgewater under center, the former Buckeye was the second-best fantasy wide receiver in the league under half-PPR scoring. He averaged 18 points per game. In 2020, from Weeks 11–14 with Taysom Hill under center, Thomas was WR16 despite scoring zero touchdowns. It should also be noted one of those games was against the Broncos when they didn't have a single quarterback and Hill didn't even complete nine passes. An odd game no doubt and one that certainly hurt his points per game average and he still finished as the WR16 during that time.

If you have an IR spot you should absolutely draft Michael Thomas in redraft.

If you can’t make the playoffs without a R7-10 pick then I’m sorry but you’re bad at fantasy football.

If you don’t have an IR spot it depends on bench size cuz the waiver flexibility is huge

— Jakob Sanderson (RTDB) ↗️ (@FF_RTDB) September 1, 2021

Jameis Winston might just be the best deep-ball thrower Thomas has ever had at quarterback. It sounds almost blasphemous to say that when he was catching passes from Hall-of-Famer Drew Brees, but it's true nonetheless.

Some of our sixth, seventh, and eighth-rounders are going to bust anyways. If you can, go back and look at your draft from last year and the year before that and look at how many six and seventh-rounders panned out and turned into weekly starters. The number is going to be smaller than you think. If Thomas is available for you in the middle-to-late rounds of drafts, and you have an IR spot, then draft him. He has top-12 upside when he comes back. That is 100% worth your draft-day investment.

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