Re: Rasheed Shaheed vs Michael Thomas Stats
 

Agreed. There’s a misconception that Brees makes every receiver look great, and that’s simply untrue. We’ve had many wrs come and go with the Saints that just couldn’t catch on. I love Bree’s and he deserves a lot of credit and deserves to be a hall of famer, but the receivers have to do their part as well. Thomas, when healthy, deserves the credit as a top tier wr.

Re: Rasheed Shaheed vs Michael Thomas Stats
 

Brees and Thomas were both great. Now they have both succumbed to age and injuries. When they played together they helped eachother but as we saw with Rodgers, Adams, Maholmes, and Hill, great QBs and receivers who are great together can still be great apart. The one exception we saw was Rodgers in the first half where the replacements for Adams were not even mediocre. So Brees would likely have struggled with the 2022 Saints receiving core and Thomas would likely have seen some decline with Dalton or say with the QB situation Terry McLauren has had. During his prime Thomas was the best receiver in Saints history but his prime was short. But when looking as specific stats like catch rate, its hard to say Brees didnt have some positive effect on Thomas. You could take Jerry Rice’s conditioning and Randy Moss’s physicality and Michael Thomas’ hands and put Sean Payton as coach and that WR could not catch 85% of passes with Zach Wilson as QB.

Re: Rasheed Shaheed vs Michael Thomas Stats
 

You give Zach Wilson a receiver like that and that receiver would still get their stats. The elites are gonna elite. It’s the average receivers that really take the hit. Terry is still putting up to 10-15 numbers. Guys like that gone ball no matter what.

Re: Rasheed Shaheed vs Michael Thomas Stats
 

Thomas was trained by his uncle, Keyshawn Johnson, who played in the NFL at a high level. Thomas came into the league highly motivated and highly skilled. I remember telling my brother when I first saw him that he was going to sell a lot of jerseys. Stay healthy Mike.

Re: Rasheed Shaheed vs Michael Thomas Stats
 

Exactly, Rugs! The same motivation that got Thomas to where he was is still there and will get him prepared to be great again. One thing that is really in his favor is with his lack of playing time over the last three seasons his body is fresher and has endured less wear and tear than other players at the same age. There's no reason why he shouldn't be able to play at the same elite level that we've always seen when he was on the field. And that includes the games before the toe dislocation last season.

Re: Rasheed Shaheed vs Michael Thomas Stats
 

While I don't agree with some of the things Thomas has done/said off field and regarding his injuries, I never doubt/doubted his ability and effectiveness as a WR when he was/is playing. He showed that the few games he played this last season. Thomas of 2018 and 2019 was as impactful a WR as the NFL has ever seen and it wasn't just because he had Brees throwing him the ball.

Whether or not he can get back to that stage at 30 years of age is a Question I'd hope all Saints fans here want him to answer with a resounding Yes! If he even comes back at 80 % of what he was he will still be our best WR IMO.
Having doubts is perfectly reasonable. Some users can't seem to understand why these doubts exist and poke at the ones who express it. Some users so heavily doubt that they actively appear to be rooting against Thomas to succeed. I don't agree with either of these viewpoints.

Re: Rasheed Shaheed vs Michael Thomas Stats
 

Another thing I'm thinking while I read through this thread is that the most deciding factor (should Olave, Thomas, and Shaheed all be on the field) on who our "best" WR is is who the other team's Defenses think our number 1,2,and 3 threats are. Where they put their number one CB will likely be the answer to that. Should all three be healthy I'd think Thomas draws that guy more often than Shaheed or Olave. But time will tell.

Re: Rasheed Shaheed vs Michael Thomas Stats
 

I understand the doubts myself. I don't agree with them, however. But they are no less understandable. I also agree that there appears to be a segment that are hoping against any success for Thomas. Any ideas on their motivation? :confused:

Re: Rasheed Shaheed vs Michael Thomas Stats
 

Agreed. But I can see them putting their best CB on Olave and doubling Thomas. While I have been very impressed by Shaheed so far I don't see him as being able to battle for those 50/50 type balls or being proficient at routes. Yes, he has the moves and the speed, but at this early point in his career I doubt his ability or physicality to beat the heavy coverage or the individual top cover. I do see the potential.

Re: Rasheed Shaheed vs Michael Thomas Stats
 

What Shaheed did week 1 is very much in line with the stats from my original post. Caught 5 of 6 targets (over 80% catch rate) while averaging 17.8 yards per catch. This combination of high catch rate and big plays is not normal. I don't know if it can continue as he gets more attention from defenses, but right now Shaheed is a possession deep threat.

Shaheed's career numbers are now at 82.5% catch rate and 17.5 yards per reception. Tyreek Hill is 68.2% catch rate and 14 yards per reception. Randy Moss is 56.4% catch rate and 15.5 yards per reception. Michael Thomas is 77.3% catch rate and 11.6 yards per reception.