Five NFC South players the 2017 Buccaneers have to game plan against
Michael Thomas. 5. player. 15. . Wide Receiver. New Orleans Saints
Second-year Saints receiver Michael Thomas is about to be the main guy teams like the Buccaneers have to consider when facing Drew Brees’ team.
Last year, the second-round pick busted out and replaced Brandin Cooks as his quarterback’s favorite target.
This season, the duo of Thomas and Brees will look to build upon their 2016 success, and by the time they face-off against Tampa they’ll have plenty of time to gel.
Struggle can be a great motivator, and if you’ve ever looked at Thomas’ social media accounts, he thrives the most when he’s being doubted.
The fact he wasn’t a first-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft didn’t discourage him, it inspired him.
So much so, he brought in 92 receptions for 1,137-yards and nine touchdowns in his first pro campaign.
What makes these numbers even more impressive are the facts he didn’t play in the Saints’ loss to Tampa in Week 14 of last year, and he only had one catch against them in Week 16.
Had he put up his usual numbers against the Bucs in both those weeks, he’d have eclipsed the 1,200-yard mark, 100 catches and probably would have hit double-digit scores as a rookie.
Buccaneers fans can be assured this Saints receiver has the two 2017 games circled on his calendar. This is the only team he didn’t have at least four catches against one year ago.
His determination can spell disaster if the Bucs don’t prepare for it. Speed receiver Ted Ginn Jr. complicates things on the other side, as do new running backs Adrian Peterson and Alvin Kamara.