Ian Thomas 2018 Outlook

[nine9s 54]

4th round pick.  Nfl draft profile has him as graded 5.8, chance to become an NFL starter.  3 sport athlete.  Had a 91%SPARQ score in combine. 4.65 forty, large hands, willing blocker with adequate frame. He was seen as a promising project but he seems to be ahead of schedule playing well in camp. With Olsen likely to miss some time, Thomas might get some starts this year. 

[ST. STEVEN 3,254]

Really interesting talent. Flashed some in pre-season/training camp too.

[ajs723 2,385]

Awesome dynasty hold as the successor to Olsen. Could become interesting right away if Olsen really isn't healthy. Thomas looked good in preseason and was talked up a lot during camp. 

[Panthers8912 710]

Everything I’ve seen indicates Olsen will play. Maybe reduced role but I wouldn’t play Thomas this week, let alone use a roster spot on him. He did have a nice pre season though. Could be worth a stash in dynasty

[pikerbkb 1,438]

[FollowTheLeader 463]

:choo-choo:

 

As much as I am/was interested in Jonnu Smith for the long haul at TE, with the current situation in TN, I think Ian Thomas is the top FA target at the position.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

Edited September 10, 2018 by FollowTheLeader

[mvttchew 467]

Too many mouths to feed in CAR IMO. 

[Members_Only_76 6,806]

[Removed AC content]

 

Cam liked to going to Olsen, was that because Olsen was a TE or because Olsen is Olsen?

Edited September 10, 2018 by tonycpsu
Removed Assistant Coach content

[mvttchew 467]

7 minutes ago, Members_Only_76 said:

[Removed AC content]

 

Cam liked to going to Olsen, was that because Olsen was a TE or because Olsen is Olsen?

Because Olsen is Olsen. 

 

Check out dicksons stats for last year while Olsen was out. Nothing to see there. Granted, Thomas isn’t Dickson and there are a lot of variables, but I just don’t see a rookie TE breaking out in this offense. 

[oresteszero 1,444]

7 minutes ago, mvttchew said:

Because Olsen is Olsen. 

 

Check out dicksons stats for last year while Olsen was out. Nothing to see there. Granted, Thomas isn’t Dickson and there are a lot of variables, but I just don’t see a rookie TE breaking out in this offense. 

 

Dickson was sub-par at best. Will be interesting to see how Thomas pans out.

 

[oliminator123 3,191]

12 minutes ago, mvttchew said:

Because Olsen is Olsen. 

 

Check out dicksons stats for last year while Olsen was out. Nothing to see there. Granted, Thomas isn’t Dickson and there are a lot of variables, but I just don’t see a rookie TE breaking out in this offense. 

Hard to trust anyone that Scam Newton throws to, unless they're 10 feet tall. At least then theyll be able to catch his terrible overthrows. 

[nonstopfan 4,386]

Devin Funchess and CMC are the two that will likely benefit the most. Funchess averaged about 9 targets a game from weeks 3-11 as opposed to just 5 in other weeks with Olsen present in 2017. How ironic that Funchess had 5 targets in week 1.

 

Edited September 10, 2018 by nonstopfan

[gimme the ball 192]

Olsen is out multiple weeks. What are the thoughts on this guy?

[tpat30 679]

My thoughts are that I don't trust Cam with a rookie TE. Good for guys like Funchess and McCaffrey though.

[Finally Detroit Wins 666]

On 9/10/2018 at 3:19 PM, mvttchew said:

Too many mouths to feed in CAR IMO. 

 

 

What mouths lol this is actually pretty funny to me since they have little to no offensive weapons. Besides CMC there aren’t any established catchers, Funchess isn’t really a target hog. 

 

Yeah rookie TEs normally don’t fair well. Just going off what I’ve seen from him in preseason (27 yard TD from Cam), and the players talking him up for months now. TE is a crapshoot so in the leagues where I don’t have Gronk or Burton, i’ve plugged him into the lineup. I’m liking him. 

[ST. STEVEN 3,254]

Borderline elite athletic traits meets major opportunity...I am on board

[mvttchew 467]

2 hours ago, Finally Detroit Wins said:

 

 

What mouths lol this is actually pretty funny to me since they have little to no offensive weapons. Besides CMC there aren’t any established catchers, Funchess isn’t really a target hog. 

 

Yeah rookie TEs normally don’t fair well. Just going off what I’ve seen from him in preseason (27 yard TD from Cam), and the players talking him up for months now. TE is a crapshoot so in the leagues where I don’t have Gronk or Burton, i’ve plugged him into the lineup. I’m liking him. 

Cam himself. 

I should’ve said too little opportunity in combination with too many mouths to feed. 

 

I doubt ian Thomas supplants funches. They don’t have to be “established” to take away targets. 

 

At the the end of the day, I could be wrong, but from what I’ve seen so far from their offense, I just don’t see how Thomas becomes fantasy relevant during the near future 

[jtbgator 1,869]

On my radar for sure

[pikerbkb 1,438]

On 9/10/2018 at 9:12 AM, FollowTheLeader said:

:choo-choo:

 

As much as I am/was interested in Jonnu Smith for the long haul at TE, with the current situation in TN, I think Ian Thomas is the top FA target at the position.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Finally Detroit Wins said:

 

 

What mouths lol this is actually pretty funny to me since they have little to no offensive weapons. Besides CMC there aren’t any established catchers, Funchess isn’t really a target hog. 

 

Yeah rookie TEs normally don’t fair well. Just going off what I’ve seen from him in preseason (27 yard TD from Cam), and the players talking him up for months now. TE is a crapshoot so in the leagues where I don’t have Gronk or Burton, i’ve plugged him into the lineup. I’m liking him. 

I actually like him a little better than Jonnu, but it's close imo, even with Jonnu being a sophomore. Cam likes big targets. Check. In order for the offense to be effective the tight end needs to be involved. Check. Norval likes throwing to his TEs. Check. Thomas is prodigy by all accounts (I've seen some comparisons to Gates). I'm in.

Edited September 12, 2018 by pikerbkb

[alleyce 343]

7 hours ago, pikerbkb said:

 

I actually like him a little better than Jonnu, but it's close imo, even with Jonnu being a sophomore. Cam likes big targets. Check. In order for the offense to be effective the tight end needs to be involved. Check. Norval likes throwing to his TEs. Check. Thomas is prodigy by all accounts (I've seen some comparisons to Gates). I'm in.

 

He is the same height and weight as Ed Dickson, and ran a slower 40. We all saw the nothing Dickson did. And they still made the playoffs without an effective TE last year. That offense is built on Cams ability to make plays with his legs. 

 

He’s a rookie and was drafted as a project to sit behind Olsen this year. Also the loss of both tackles is probably going to hurt a little too. They will probably need to keep the TEs to block more frequently. 

 

[ST. STEVEN 3,254]

3 hours ago, alleyce said:

 

He is the same height and weight as Ed Dickson, and ran a slower 40. We all saw the nothing Dickson did. And they still made the playoffs without an effective TE last year. That offense is built on Cams ability to make plays with his legs. 

 

He’s a rookie and was drafted as a project to sit behind Olsen this year. Also the loss of both tackles is probably going to hurt a little too. They will probably need to keep the TEs to block more frequently. 

 

Your first point means absolutely nothing in regards to Thomas.

 

Your second does make plenty of sense, that is an issue. But, there are available targets and no obv WRs to take them...opportunity is still going to be there...Up to the young TE to step forward and take them, I like to bet on athletes and he is one and has one tossing the ball around behind him.

[alleyce 343]

10 hours ago, ST. STEVEN said:

Your first point means absolutely nothing in regards to Thomas.

 

Your second does make plenty of sense, that is an issue. But, there are available targets and no obv WRs to take them...opportunity is still going to be there...Up to the young TE to step forward and take them, I like to bet on athletes and he is one and has one tossing the ball around behind him.

 

My first point was a response to the poster I quoted that stated Thomas would be targeted by Cam because of his size. Just was getting the old point across that size doesn’t matter. 

 

[ColKurtz 54]

After only seeing 3 targets in week1, 4th on team, I dropped Eifert yesterday for Thomas. Was a little unsure at the time, but after last night it seems like he can't be any worse.  Here's to hoping he'll be a lottery ticket....or at least a decent scratch-off. 

[pikerbkb 1,438]

On 9/12/2018 at 4:08 PM, alleyce said:

 

He is the same height and weight as Ed Dickson, and ran a slower 40. We all saw the nothing Dickson did. And they still made the playoffs without an effective TE last year. That offense is built on Cams ability to make plays with his legs. 

 

He’s a rookie and was drafted as a project to sit behind Olsen this year. Also the loss of both tackles is probably going to hurt a little too. They will probably need to keep the TEs to block more frequently. 

 

4.65. That's essentially the same as Kelce or Gronk so fast enough. Ertz ran a 4.76. He seems to be doing fine. I think more importantly, his play speed is fast and he's got very good lateral movement.

 

Yes, I agree with your assessment, but long term, I like Thomas over Smith because the Titans offense sucks.

Edited September 14, 2018 by pikerbkb

[yossarian 2,245]

Thomas had 25 receptions for 376 yards and 5 TDs during his senior year at Indiana. He was used mostly as a blocking TE. He was picked up by Carolina as a long term project. I'm not sure he's going to be productive this season regardless of Olsen's status.

 

On the other hand past the top-3 TEs we're all just looking for somebody that can give us 0-6 points a week and praying for a random TD catch so one dart throw is probably as good as another.