The Marginal Sleeper: Demaryius Thomas
Searching for a sleeper? Look no further than Demaryius Thomas.
Yes, the injury history is a bit worrisome, but in the 4 games during the month of December (It’s important to note that this was the healthiest stretch of the season for him), Demaryius Thomas put up 414 yards and 3 TDs on a little over 10 targets per game. Oh, and his quarterback is an H-back. Tebow averaged an abysmal 41.75% completion percentage over those same 4 games in December. Thomas, however, is a stud in disguise, and when Tebow is at least attempting to get him the ball, he’s going to be effective. Take a look at the stats from December:
12/4: Thomas had 4 catches on 7 targets for 144 yards and 2 touchdowns. This was easily Thomas’ best game of the season. Not coincidentally, it was Tebow’s most efficient outing in December. The running game dominated the play-calling as Tebow only threw the rock 15 times, completing 10 for a month-high 66% completion percentage. 47% of his pass attempts were aimed at Thomas.
12/11: Thomas posted 7 catches on 13 targets for 78 yards and a touchdown. As is tradition with a John Fox offense, there is absolutely no continuity in terms of pass/run ratio. Tebow wobbled 40 passes from various places outside of the pocket, yet completed a relatively reasonable 53%. This was arguably the 2nd-most efficient game for both gentlemen in December. 33% of the pass attempts were to the general vicinity of Thomas.
12/18: Thomas logged 7 catches on 13 targets once again, and got over the century mark with 116 yards. No touchdown though, which is always a little disappointing. 22 passes were thrown, 59% of them to Thomas.
12/24: This was Thomas’ least active game. He grabbed 4 balls on 8 targets for a paltry, but not cry-yourself-to-sleep-bad, 76 yards and no touchdown. I think we can all agree it was Tebow’s fault, since he shot-putted 29 footballs at his receivers and connected on a…whopping… 45%. He also didn’t look for Thomas as much in this one (28% of the time).
Looking at this, we can determine a few things about Demaryius Thomas: IF he can stay healthy, and IF Tebow can somewhat efficiently get him the football, Thomas has the potential to put up some huge numbers next year. Now don’t get me wrong, those are two HUGE, “ifs,” but that’s why they’re called sleepers. In my assessment of Thomas’ potential statistical, “floor,” and, “ceiling,” I would say at best, he could be a solid WR 2, and at worst, a great fill-in option during your starters bye-week. So either way, if you can get good draft value for him, his potential reward outweighs his potential risk.
