How good the New Orleans Saints wide receiver room is on paper, comes down to one factor. How good you think Michael Thomas can still be. After years of medical issues, can he still be the same dominant weapon when healthy? His running mate Chris Olave came onto the scene with a great year, so it’s pretty much a consensus that he’ll perform well.
For Pro Football Focus, they have faith in both receivers to show up this season. As Sam Monson put them both in his top 32 wide receiver rankings heading into the 2023 NFL season. Here is his reasoning for Thomas, who he put at 27:
Another unknown quantity when it comes to ranking going forward, Thomas was one of the very best receivers in the game before injuries completely derailed his career. He has played in three games over the past two years, but even in those three games he caught three touchdowns and had 22 targets. If Thomas is legitimately healthy in 2023, he could rocket up these rankings.
Off the field, Thomas has seemed as invested as ever, showing support for the team on Twitter. While I don’t think that it’s fair to expect him to come back and break any more records, he was looking promising in the 2022 season. How much has this most recent injury affected him will be a need to see, because if he can at least match that pace with Derek Carr under center things could be looking up.
As mentioned earlier, Monson also gave Olave a spot on his list. This is his reasoning for the 32nd spot:
Olave’s rookie season was exceptionally effective, with only opportunity holding him back from a truly impressive statistical output. He gained 2.42 yards per route run, which led all rookie receivers and ranked seventh overall, one spot behind Davante Adams. He was particularly effective as a deep threat, with an average depth of target 14.9 yards downfield.
Olave was the second wide receiver entering his sophomore season, behind Garrett Wilson. I think that’s a fair assessment, but Monson not putting the Atlanta Falcons’ Drake London ahead of Olave was good to see and not always the opinion shared outside of New Orleans. Olave was great with subpar quarterback play, I think we’re all itching to see what he does with Carr.
