Michael Thomas has yet to play a meaningful NFL game. Heck, the rookie has only played in one meaningless preseason game. Yet the New Orleans Saints stud has garnered approximately 45,000 hype posts.
The internet ogling over the rookie is not without merit. Thomas has flashed an ability to create separation on defensive backs, can run the route tree, has sticky hands and has a penchant for the spectacular.
The Training Camp Vine King makes the difficult look routine on a daily basis.
It's not just us proletariats gushing about Thomas' potential within the Saints offense.
After a joint practice with the Houston Texans ahead of Saturday's preseason tilt, star wideout DeAndre Hopkins had some high praise for the rookie.
"I like his game a lot," Hopkins said of Thomas, via The Times-Picayune. "He reminds me of myself, honestly. The guy is not a very talked-about guy, but he goes out there and makes plays. Coming out of the combine, he was one of my favorite receivers. (Even) without me talking to him before, I liked his game a lot."
Hopkins is the NFL's premier boundary receiver, known for spectacular snatches. Last season, the Texans wideout carried a cavalcade of second-rate quarterbacks without the national fanfare he warrants. If it wasn't for Odell Beckham Jr.'s penchant for the ridiculous, Hopkins might be the one NFL player best known for making insane catches look normal.
Hopkins' willingness to compare Thomas to himself is an indication of the upside the rookie possesses. As Thomas ascends up the depth chart in a potent Saints offense, the talent will blossom.
Quarterback Drew Brees, the man who will most benefit from the improved weaponry in New Orleans, downplayed some of the one-handed spectacular catches Thomas has made throughout camp.
"Listen, it's nice to know that you've got a guy that can go up there with that paw and just snag it with one hand," Brees said. "But, as you're teaching just good fundamentals, as best you can as a receiver, you're always trying to get two hands on it. And whether you're able to catch the ball that way, or in the process of getting two hands up, the officials see that the DB is grabbing your other arm, well, potentially you're going to get calls that way.
"So, I think it's just good habits to get into, thinking about going up with two hands. At times, you don't either have a chance to, or the ball is just up there and you're a ballplayer. Odell Beckham made it famous, so everybody wants to do it now, I guess."
We can admit that the dazzling plays add fuel to the hype, but there is much more to Thomas' game than one-handed catches.