Michael Thomas continues to get better and better for Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints.
The team's second-round pick caught nine passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns in a 49-21 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. All were team highs.
That gives Thomas 789 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on 65 receptions through 11 games for the 5-6 Saints. All are highs among the other wide receivers in the 2016 NFL Draft class. Did we mention Thomas was the sixth wide receiver taken?
Thomas's receiving total is currently good for 14th in the NFL. The seven touchdowns are tied for fifth in the league. On his second score of the day, Thomas caught the ball near the five and would not be denied, slipping past one defender and dragging another into the end zone.
Earlier on the drive, Brees hit Thomas in between three defenders on third down to keep the drive alive. You can see that clip above.
Corey Coleman (Browns), Will Fuller (Texans), Josh Doctson (Redskins), Laquon Treadwell (Vikings) and Sterling Shepard (Giants) all came off the board before Thomas. The closest to Thomas in terms of production in those players at his position drafted before him is Shepard, who has 45 grabs (11 shy of Thomas) and 476 yards (323 shy of Thomas). Tajae Sharpe of the Tennessee Titans has four more receiving yards than Shepard to be the rookie wide receiver that ranks second to Thomas in that category.
And if you think it is just the fact that Thomas is playing with a future Hall of Famer in Brees, allow this statistic to help illustrate how good the former Buckeye has been his rookie year:
Michael Thomas entered Week 12 as the NFL leader in deep-ball catch rate pic.twitter.com/OzEcvuCGrI
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) November 25, 2016
Thomas also has as many multi-touchdown games this season as he does outings with under 50 yards receiving (two).
Not bad for a guy Urban Meyer forced a redshirt on in the middle of his career.
