Shouldn’t Michael Thomas be in the MVP conversation? (1 Viewer)

[gavinj]

I’ve yet to hear him being mentioned as a candidate in any article or by any talking head. Not saying he should win it over Lamar Jackson if the vote were held today, but the dude should be on the ballot. He’s been the one constant all season for a division leading team and he’s putting up stats of historic proportions. What am I missing? He’s a top 5 player in the NFL.

 

[LifeForceDave]

He’s not a QB so he will never get that kind of recognition unfortunately.

 

[Pkessling]

He should but he won’t. Voted on by the press and they “sell” the players that make a good story.

 

[Infoman]

He should be... Yes....

He won't win it... It goes to the QB on the best team, or the Flavor of the Year QB with crazy stats...

He may have a shot at OPY though....

 

[blackadder]

If he played for the Cowboys, yes...

 

[Complex Kid]

I’ve yet to hear him being mentioned as a candidate in any article or by any talking head.

I've seen at least three or four mention him. I expect to here it a lot more today now that some at ESPN is starting to notice:

Let's overreact to Week 11 in the NFL: The Rams are playoff contenders

L.A. has a chance to sneak into the playoff picture. Michael Thomas belongs in the MVP conversation. It's time to overreact to Week 11.

www.espn.com

Michael Thomas belongs in the MVP conversation
The New Orleans Saints' wide receiver on Sunday against the Bucs went over 100 receiving yards for the fourth game in a row and sixth time this season. He has a league-leading 94 catches for 1,141 yards, putting him on pace for 150 catches and 1,910 yards. The single-season records in those categories are 143 by Marvin Harrison in 2002 and 1,964 by Calvin Johnson in 2012.

Thomas has done this in spite of the fact that his quarterback, Drew Brees, missed five games because of injury and he has played half his season with Teddy Bridgewater throwing him the ball. Nothing against Bridgewater, by the way. Just says something about a receiver when he's able to produce at this level no matter who the quarterback is.

The verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION. Look, a wide receiver basically can't win the award. Never has. And really, it's nearly impossible for a non-quarterback to win the award in a season that features one or more strong quarterback candidates, as this one does so far.

Let's say Thomas goes ahead and breaks the single-season records for catches and receiving yards, and he does so playing on a team that finishes with the NFC's best record, as the Saints very well could. And let's say things get tougher down the stretch for Russell Wilson and Lamar Jackson. Would it be crazy to look at a receiver who kept his team afloat during a season in which the starting quarterback missed five games and the star running back missed two? I don't think it's crazy at all.

Thomas is a monster, and whether he can win the award or not, he belongs in the conversation.

 

[FootballLady]

He absolutely should.

 

[baarbogast]

I actually think McCaffrey wins it.

 

[Complex Kid]

I actually think McCaffrey wins it.

If he wins it playing for an 8-8 team then everyone voting should have their votes stripped.

 

[LiterOCola]

I actually think McCaffrey wins it.

McCaffery’s chance died when Carolina started losing again. Being on one of the teams at or near the top record wise is one of those unwritten rules.

 

[ANKOMA33]

Without question.

 

[Infoman]

Unless the Ravens start to lose... I think Lamar Jackson wins it.

 

[Complex Kid]

I actually think McCaffrey wins it.

If he wins it playing for an 8-8 team then everyone voting should have their votes stripped.

Just scanning the MVP list and Barry Sanders was on a team that went 9-7 and he tied Favre for MVP in 1997.

That was the year Sanders rushed for 2053 yards and came up just short of breaking Dickersons record. (Looking at the game log for Sander after 2 games he had 53 total yards rushing. He got exactly 2000 in the next 14 games. Thats uhhhh pretty good).

McCaffery is currently on pace for 1694 yards rushing 827 yards receiving which would put him at 2521 total yards which would set an NFL record for yards from scrimmage by 12 yards. The year Chris Johnson set that record the Titans finished 8-8 and he didn't get a single vote. http://www.espn.com/espn/wire/_/section/nfl/id/4811051

Currently Thomas is on pace to shatter the receptions record and coming up 54 yards shy of the yardage record.

 

[mc4saints]

If MT gets to 160 and 2000 yards...... He has a chance. Lamar and Russell would need to split some votes.

 

[Saint Greg]

I think he should be but it’s tough for any Saint to win that award. He may have to catch 200 passes or 20 touchdowns to do it.