CharityMike

How many thought the 2006 draft was good? Give it a chance people.

blackangold

Cool, thanks.

hagan714

That should suit him well. he excels at attacking and getting through the wash and into the back field.

hagan714

Michael Thomas!! I read way back when the saints were in love with the kid so we should have seen this pick coming.

AsylumGuido

Yup. Ryan was totally misusing him ... and others. The Saints defensive players are no where near as bad as the stats showed last season. That was all on Ryan. Dennis Allen is far better versed at putting players in a position to succeed. I can't wait to see how much better this coming version plays.

iceshack149

And Galette before Jordan. I'm pretty geeked about the draft so far.
Colston's replacement. The new Norman Hand. Now the Jairus Bird we wanted.

foreverfan

Sorry... but I don't believe Payton knows how to draft.

burningmetal

I disagree that we drafted Colston's clone. Not the good Colston. Just because a WR is perceived as "physical" does not make him Colston. This guy offers very little outside of having decent hands and adequate speed. He's not a guy known for spectacular catches, or great run after the catch (which doesn't take top end speed).

I actually like Bell, but we are already pretty heavily invested at the safety position. I did not expect that pick, at all.

He reminds me of a lot of receivers in the NFL. He'll be good enough to stick around, but I just don't see him as being the answer. Obviously, I hope I'm wrong.

If I had a nickel for every time I heard that, the NFL would fine and suspend me.

burningmetal

Do you feel loved now? Have the Saints hired you based on your uncanny ability to agree with anything they do, no matter the result? I sure hope so.

It's easier to make others like you when you pretend to be above questioning the organization, I guess? Even though you have no problem saying how much better they'll be without Rob Ryan. You know, the guy Payton hired. If someone else says it, they're a wannabe expert, but if you say it, it's ok... Right?

And I haven't even had much negative to say about this draft, and I still find your comments absurdly conceited and condescending.

If I had a nickel for every time I heard that, the NFL would fine and suspend me.

lee909

Thats is wrong according to nearly every scout report
Various reports

YAC

Yards After Catch is key to being a productive receiver. Once you catch the ball, you have to be able to turn upfield quickly and elude or break tackles to gain additional yards.

Thomas’s YAC ability is very good, as he possesses the quickness to turn upfield immediately after he’s secured the catch and make defenders miss using both elusive moves and the play strength to break tackles.




Thomas’ has made some impressive grabs during his time at Ohio State, showing the strong hands and toughness to make plays in traffic. You want to see a big receiver play big at the catch point and box defenders out, and Thomas has the my-ball mentality teams will covet.

There just aren’t many weaknesses to Thomas’ well-oiled skill set, as the big receiver is aggressive and physical against press coverage, showing the quick feet to slip jams and the hand usage to fight off longer corners down the field. He’s rarely altered in his route by contact, as Thomas understands pre-catch positioning as well as any receiver in the draft. The Ohio State pass-catcher offers the added bonus of being quite deadly after the catch, transitioning quickly from receiver to runner by working upfield immediately after the reception.



Here is the PFF draft profile for Ohio State wide receiver Michael Thomas, which incorporates PFF’s college grades and scouting intel from our team of analysts. To see all of PFF’s 2016 scouting reports, click here.

Position fit:
Outside wide receiver – 670 of his 711 snaps in 2015 were spent on the outside

Stat to know:
Dropped just five of the 115 catchable passes thrown his way over the past two seasons

What he does best:
• Very good hands, just five drops in 2014 and 2015
• Good after the catch, averaged 6.6 yards after the catch per reception and forced a missed tackle on 23.2 percent of his receptions in 2015
• Uses hands well to defeat press coverage, helping to create separation
• Impressive footwork, looked very good on double moves

"Two receivers to the left, Garcon to the right. Manning in the shotgun, puts Collie in motion. Looks in his direction...it's picked off! It's picked off! It's Tracy Porter again! He's runnin' free! He's gonna go all the way!