High expectations for Saints wide receiver in year two

In 2016, Michael Thomas burst onto the scene for the New Orleans Saints as one of the best rookies in the league. A victim of his own success, expectations are even higher for his second season at the start of training camp.
Thomas enters 2017 as the bona fide number one option for Drew Brees following the trade of Brandin Cooks to the New England Patriots during the off-season. Last year, the Ohio State alum hauled in 92 passes for more than 1100 yards and nine touchdowns, all of which were top ten in the league.
His rookie reception total was second all-time to Anquan Boldin’s 101 back in 2003 and the sky appears to be the limit for his encore performance in the Big Easy. Saints Quarterback Drew Brees said, “It’s transitioning that raw talent into really good fundamental football. There’s some certain traits and certain instincts that you just can’t teach and he has a lot of those. There’s other things that you can really fine-tune and teach and I think it’s just the fundamentals and the mechanics of the game and of playing the wide receiver position.”
Saints Head Coach Sean Payton said, “Occasionally you get a guy that transitions right away like a guy like Colston. Robert Meachem was a guy we drafted early that took a year, so it depends on the player. Mike has worked hard in the off-season and he won’t be a guy that flies under the radar maybe like you might as a rookie. And he’ll continue to work on his craft and get better.”
Thomas was the Saints first rookie receiver to eclipse 1,000 yards since Marques Colston did it in 2006.