The Saints are doing really cool stuff with Michael Thomas. They’re jamming a lot of balls his way, and defenses haven’t been able to take him away. Two years in a row, he’s caught over 80 percent of the passes thrown his way.
That’s unusual. In the last 29 seasons, only seven other wide receivers have had at least 100 targets in a season and caught more than 75 percent of the balls thrown their way. If you can even get over 70 percent on completions to a wide receiver, that’s good.
Pro Football Reference has a nice stat site. It includes targets dating back to 1992. According to those numbers, Thomas has the only two seasons with a wide receiver seeing at least 100 targets and catching over 80 percent of those throws.
I’ve got him in bold, and I’ve also tagged 2011 Marques Colston with a black dots. Colston underscores that while Thomas is great, some of the success needs to be attributed to Drew Brees and Sean Payton. Colston was an earlier, less talented version of Thomas, and he had a season at almost 75 percent while playing in the same role.
CATCHING 75 PERCENT OF PASS ATTEMPTS | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Pct |
2018 | Michael Thomas, N.O. | 147 | 125 | 1405 | 11.2 | 9 | 85.0% |
2019 | Michael Thomas, N.O. | 185 | 149 | 1725 | 11.6 | 9 | 80.5% |
2007 | Wes Welker, N.E. | 145 | 112 | 1175 | 10.5 | 8 | 77.2% |
2012 | Randall Cobb, G.B. | 104 | 80 | 954 | 11.9 | 8 | 76.9% |
2017 | Golden Tate, Det. | 120 | 92 | 1003 | 10.9 | 5 | 76.7% |
2016 | Michael Thomas, N.O. | 121 | 92 | 1137 | 12.4 | 9 | 76.0% |
2009 | Wes Welker, N.E. | 162 | 123 | 1348 | 11.0 | 4 | 75.9% |
2015 | Doug Baldwin, Sea. | 103 | 78 | 1069 | 13.7 | 14 | 75.7% |
2016 | Doug Baldwin, Sea. | 125 | 94 | 1128 | 12.0 | 7 | 75.2% |
2015 | Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 145 | 109 | 1215 | 11.2 | 9 | 75.2% |
2014 | Jarvis Landry, Mia. | 112 | 84 | 758 | 9.0 | 5 | 75.0% |
2016 | Stefon Diggs, Min. | 112 | 84 | 903 | 10.8 | 3 | 75.0% |
2011 | • Marques Colston, N.O. | 107 | 80 | 1143 | 14.3 | 8 | 74.8% |
1992 | Curtis Duncan, Hou. | 110 | 82 | 954 | 11.6 | 1 | 74.5% |
2019 | Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 110 | 82 | 1057 | 12.9 | 8 | 74.5% |
2008 | Wes Welker, N.E. | 149 | 111 | 1165 | 10.5 | 3 | 74.5% |
1994 | Jerry Rice, S.F. | 151 | 112 | 1499 | 13.4 | 13 | 74.2% |
2004 | Hines Ward, Pitt. | 108 | 80 | 1004 | 12.6 | 4 | 74.1% |
2018 | Adam Thielen, Min. | 153 | 113 | 1373 | 12.2 | 9 | 73.9% |
1994 | Terance Mathis, Atl. | 151 | 111 | 1342 | 12.1 | 11 | 73.5% |
1993 | Mike Pritchard, Atl. | 102 | 74 | 736 | 10.0 | 7 | 72.5% |
2018 | Adam Humphries, T.B. | 105 | 76 | 816 | 10.7 | 5 | 72.4% |
2011 | Percy Harvin, Min. | 121 | 87 | 967 | 11.1 | 6 | 71.9% |
1999 | Keyshawn Johnson, NYJ | 124 | 89 | 1170 | 13.2 | 8 | 71.8% |
2016 | Jarvis Landry, Mia. | 131 | 94 | 1136 | 12.1 | 4 | 71.8% |
2014 | Randall Cobb, G.B. | 127 | 91 | 1287 | 14.1 | 12 | 71.7% |
2014 | Emmanuel Sanders, Den. | 141 | 101 | 1404 | 13.9 | 9 | 71.6% |
2003 | Derrick Mason, Ten. | 133 | 95 | 1303 | 13.7 | 8 | 71.4% |
2017 | Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 105 | 75 | 1183 | 15.8 | 7 | 71.4% |
2016 | Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 150 | 107 | 1023 | 9.6 | 6 | 71.3% |
2018 | Keenan Allen, LAC | 136 | 97 | 1196 | 12.3 | 6 | 71.3% |
2014 | Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 181 | 129 | 1698 | 13.2 | 13 | 71.3% |
2001 | Troy Brown, N.E. | 142 | 101 | 1199 | 11.9 | 5 | 71.1% |
2019 | Chris Godwin, T.B. | 121 | 86 | 1333 | 15.5 | 9 | 71.1% |
1996 | Jerry Rice, S.F. | 153 | 108 | 1254 | 11.6 | 8 | 70.6% |
2018 | DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 163 | 115 | 1572 | 13.7 | 11 | 70.6% |
2008 | Eddie Royal, Den. | 129 | 91 | 980 | 10.8 | 5 | 70.5% |
2011 | Wes Welker, N.E. | 173 | 122 | 1569 | 12.9 | 9 | 70.5% |
2015 | Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 193 | 136 | 1834 | 13.5 | 10 | 70.5% |
2018 | Tyler Boyd, Cin. | 108 | 76 | 1028 | 13.5 | 7 | 70.4% |
2015 | Golden Tate, Det. | 128 | 90 | 813 | 9.0 | 6 | 70.3% |
2015 | Jeremy Maclin, K.C. | 124 | 87 | 1088 | 12.5 | 8 | 70.2% |
2007 | Bobby Engram, Sea. | 134 | 94 | 1147 | 12.2 | 6 | 70.1% |
2019 | Cooper Kupp, LAR | 134 | 94 | 1161 | 12.4 | 10 | 70.1% |
2018 | Amari Cooper, Oak.-Dall. | 107 | 75 | 1005 | 13.4 | 7 | 70.1% |
2008 | Anquan Boldin, Ariz. | 127 | 89 | 1038 | 11.7 | 11 | 70.1% |
2002 | Hines Ward, Pitt. | 160 | 112 | 1329 | 11.9 | 12 | 70.0% |
2014 | Odell Beckham, NYG | 130 | 91 | 1305 | 14.3 | 12 | 70.0% |
—Ian Allan