Michael Thomas’ return is in jeopardy because of hamstring injury
By John Buhler
Michael Thomas may miss yet another game for the New Orleans Saints this season.
2020 has been a frustrating year for New Orleans Saints‘ No. 1 wide receiver Michael Thomas. Drew Brees‘ favorite target has played in a grand total of one game for the Saints this season through the first six weeks of the year. While he was expected to return in Week 7’s home game vs. the Carolina Panthers, that may no longer be the case due to him suffering a hamstring injury.
The Fantasy Footballers understand that soft-tissue injuries such as these are especially finicky. As much as Thomas may want to play and as much as the Saints may want him out there, they know they have bigger fish to fry in the second half of their season. The Saints are in a three-team battle for NFC South supremacy with Carolina and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020.
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Thus far, Thomas has three catches for 17 yards on five targets this season. That’s it. Odds are he went very high in your 2020 fantasy football draft, probably as a top-two pick for you and almost certainly as your WR1. Tough he may be able to rebound in the second half of the season for you, it’s looking more and more like a fantasy football bust with each passing week he doesn’t play.
Will Michael Thomas be able to salvage his fantasy value in the second half?
So how do you offset potentially not having Thomas in there yet again, this time vs. the Panthers? Assuming you’ve gotten used to this for the last month, he’s probably chilling on your bench, waiting to be re-inserted into your lineup as soon as he’s active. If he is active for this game on Sunday, yes, you need to play him, strictly because of the volume he’ll command from Brees.
Should he not be able to go, you can hope and pray Saints’ No. 2 wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders is still a free agent in your league for some reason. Odds are that he’s not, so you may want to see if you can pick up the Saints’ No. 3 wide receiver option in Tre’Quan Smith and try your luck there. This is one of this situations where you’ll have to continue to play it week-by-week.
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Ultimately, Thomas’ inability to be available has cratered his fantasy football value this season. However, don’t be a fool and drop him this week or next just because he’s not being productive for you now. The Saints will need him to play well down the stretch to win their fourth straight NFC South crown. While they may come up short, Thomas will be a reason they’ll remain in the mix.