DENVER – Thanks a breakout performance, is Julius Thomas the new must-have stud in fantasy football?
Thomas, a former basketball player out of Portland State, caught five passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns in a 49-27 rout of the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens. The 6’5, 250-pounder who turned heads throughout Broncos training camp and pre-season, showed the rest of the NFL—and fantasy owners, just what all the hype was about in single-handedly doing his best Antonio Gates impression in front of a national audience.
Perhaps the 33-minute lightning delay to the eventual one-man aerial show of Peyton Manning and one-man wrecking crew that would be Thomas, was an ominous sign of things to come for the weary Ravens. One play that really served as a microcosm of how Baltimore’s night was going was Thomas’ highlight-reel “chip” block on Ravens pass rusher Terell Suggs.
Ball so hard, you say, Suggs? Talk about getting dominated! Ouch!
Back to Manning and Thomas, consider that for as much storied and legendary as Manning’s career has been up to this point, the one thing he has never had in his playing career, an athletic freak of a tight end.
With much due respect to former Colts tight ends such as Marcus Pollard, Bryan Fletcher, Ben Utecht, Gijon Robinson, Brody Eldridge, Jacob Tamme, but former Colt tight end—and current Ravens tight end, Dallas Clark is the best tight end that Manning has played with until Thomas.
While this is no knock on Clark, but Thomas has the upside and potential to give Manning a dynamic and athletic re-zone target, and with him playing inside along with Wes Welker and Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker on the outside, Thomas is line for a huge fantasy year for owners and a potential nightmare for opposing defenses and fantasy owners who have him.
Playing on a stacked Broncos offense with Manning throwing to him, Thomas joins Cleveland’s Jordan Cameron and New England’s Zach Sudfield as one of the new must-have tight ends to get in 2013 fantasy football.
Robert D. Cobb is the Founder/CEO/Senior Editor-In-Chief Of The Inscriber : Digital Magazine, for questions, comments and concerns email me at robcobb@theinscriber.com and follow the Inscriber : Digital Magazine on Twitter at @TheInscriber