Story over the weekend about how Demaryius Thomas isn't a lock to stick on the Patriots' 53-man roster. No kidding. New England takes fliers on big-name veteran wideouts every offseason (Torry Holt and Chad Johnson spring to mind, among others) and people get excited. But there's only one Randy Moss.
Thomas wasn't having a great season when he got shipped off to Houston before the trade deadline last year, and then he didn't do anything there before tearing his Achilles and ultimately being released in the offseason. The end of the line might be here, and it probably started even before last season.
In 2017, Thomas finished under 90 receptions and under 1,000 yards for his first year since becoming a full-time starter, back in 2012. He also finished under 11.5 yards per catch, which he followed up with another sub-11.5 year in 2018. It was the first time he'd been under 12 yards per catch in his nine-year career.
That 11.5 figure was also near the bottom of the 46 wideouts who caught at least 50 passes last year. Most of the dozen guys under him are doing most or all their work at the line of scrimmage: Baltimore wideouts, Golden Tate, Danny Amendola, Cole Beasley, etc.
| WIDE RECEIVERS YARDS PER CATCH, 2018 (50-PLUS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 86 | 1524 | 17.7 | 8 |
| Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 87 | 1479 | 17.0 | 12 |
| Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 57 | 965 | 16.9 | 10 |
| T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 76 | 1270 | 16.7 | 6 |
| Kenny Golladay, Det. | 70 | 1063 | 15.2 | 5 |
| Brandin Cooks, LAR | 80 | 1204 | 15.1 | 5 |
| Robby Anderson, NYJ | 50 | 752 | 15.0 | 6 |
| Julio Jones, Atl. | 113 | 1677 | 14.8 | 8 |
| D.J. Moore, Car. | 55 | 788 | 14.3 | 2 |
| Chris Godwin, T.B. | 59 | 842 | 14.3 | 7 |
| Robert Woods, LAR | 86 | 1219 | 14.2 | 6 |
| DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 115 | 1572 | 13.7 | 11 |
| Odell Beckham, NYG | 77 | 1052 | 13.7 | 6 |
| Allen Robinson, Chi. | 55 | 754 | 13.7 | 4 |
| Corey Davis, Tenn. | 65 | 891 | 13.7 | 4 |
| Tyler Boyd, Cin. | 76 | 1028 | 13.5 | 7 |
| Amari Cooper, Oak.-Dall. | 75 | 1005 | 13.4 | 7 |
| Sterling Shepard, NYG | 66 | 872 | 13.2 | 4 |
| Alshon Jeffery, Phi. | 65 | 843 | 13.0 | 6 |
| Calvin Ridley, Atl. | 64 | 821 | 12.8 | 10 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 111 | 1426 | 12.8 | 7 |
| Mohamed Sanu, Atl. | 66 | 838 | 12.7 | 4 |
| Davante Adams, G.B. | 111 | 1386 | 12.5 | 13 |
| Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 104 | 1297 | 12.5 | 15 |
| Doug Baldwin, Sea. | 50 | 618 | 12.4 | 5 |
| Keenan Allen, LAC | 97 | 1196 | 12.3 | 6 |
| Adam Thielen, Minn. | 113 | 1373 | 12.2 | 9 |
| Emmanuel Sanders, Den. | 71 | 868 | 12.2 | 4 |
| Jarvis Landry, Clev. | 81 | 976 | 12.0 | 4 |
| Jordy Nelson, Oak. | 63 | 739 | 11.7 | 3 |
| Zay Jones, Buff. | 56 | 652 | 11.6 | 7 |
| Julian Edelman, N.E. | 74 | 850 | 11.5 | 6 |
| Nelson Agholor, Phil. | 64 | 736 | 11.5 | 4 |
| Demaryius Thomas, Den.-Hou. | 59 | 677 | 11.5 | 5 |
| Michael Thomas, N.O. | 125 | 1405 | 11.2 | 9 |
| Michael Crabtree, Balt. | 54 | 607 | 11.2 | 3 |
| Dede Westbrook, Jac. | 66 | 717 | 10.9 | 5 |
| Adam Humphries, T.B. | 76 | 816 | 10.7 | 5 |
| Golden Tate, Det.-Phi. | 74 | 795 | 10.7 | 4 |
| Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 69 | 734 | 10.6 | 6 |
| Willie Snead, Balt. | 62 | 651 | 10.5 | 1 |
| Cole Beasley, Dall. | 65 | 672 | 10.3 | 3 |
| Taylor Gabriel, Chi. | 67 | 688 | 10.3 | 2 |
| Stefon Diggs, Minn. | 102 | 1021 | 10.0 | 9 |
| Danny Amendola, Mia. | 59 | 575 | 9.7 | 1 |
| Chester Rogers, Ind. | 53 | 485 | 9.2 | 2 |
That in itself doesn't mean Thomas is done. But it's a step down from what he'd done for most of his career (in his prime of 2012-2014, he was up around and over 15 yards per catch). And coming back from a significant injury, it's not surprising he's a long shot to catch on in New England.
--Andy Richardson