NEW ORLEANS -- Michael Thomas isn’t messing around.
The New Orleans Saints' receiver might break Marvin Harrison’s NFL record of 143 catches in a season by the end of Week 16. Thomas is 10 back after catching a total of 23 passes the past two weeks.
Even more staggering: “Can’t Guard Mike” needs 28 catches to break the NFL record for most receptions in the first five seasons of a player’s career. He is still in year four.
“I’m not really focused on that. I’m just trying to go to the Super Bowl,” Thomas said Monday night when asked about approaching Harrison’s record.
He made similar comments recently when asked about the possibility of becoming the first wide receiver to win the NFL’s MVP award.
“It’s cool. I mean, it’s a blessing, I guess, to be in that category. But the individual awards don’t last as much as a championship and being able to celebrate with your team and just that whole experience,” said Thomas, who won a national championship at Ohio State. “When you play at a high level, a lot of good things come with that.”
Still, when you combine Thomas’ eye-popping numbers with the level of passion and intensity with which he plays, it seems like he isn’t just “rewriting the history books.” He’s ripping pages out and crumpling them up.
Thomas, who has already broken his franchise records this season with 133 catches and 1,552 yards, is just 58 yards away from breaking Randy Moss’ NFL record for the most receiving yards in the first four seasons of a player’s career (5,396).
Thomas had lofty aspirations heading into his third season, when he said the top receivers in the league earn their reputations over time.
“It's about staying consistent,” he said at the time. “It's only my [third] year, so everyone wants to see what I'm gonna do next. And I feel like that's what makes it fun. That's what I live for: to be able to take that next step and then see what they say and then take that next step.
"And then once the numbers line up at the end of the day, I feel like I'm gonna be right there with the best of them. And that's the only thing I can control."
Well, he has obviously nailed the consistency part.
Last season, Thomas caught 85% of the passes thrown his way -- the highest rate of any receiver since at least 1986, according to the Football Outsiders' Aaron Schatz.
This year, he once again leads all NFL receivers with a catch rate of 83.6%.
“I feel like that’s just what makes great players great at the end of the day -- the consistency,” Thomas said Monday. “A lot of guys, it’s highs, lows. Some guys start off fast. Some guys finish strong. And it’s about being consistent and keeping your blinders on and focusing on the ways you can improve in your game and not really worrying about the 'he said, she said' or rankings or none of that. Just controlling your game and improving.”
Thomas caught all 12 of his targets in Monday’s 34-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts, tied for the most targets by a receiver without an incomplete pass in the past 10 seasons (Larry Fitzgerald and Antonio Brown each had 12 in 2013).
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the expected catch percentage on those 12 targets was 64.5%. They’re going to have to recalibrate the computer settings when it comes to Thomas -- especially after his dazzling, one-handed, 24-yard catch during the second quarter Monday.
The best in the business ‼️
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 17, 2019
MIKE 💪😳 #SAINTS pic.twitter.com/zGmRDwEaA8
“I just had to make a play, man,” Thomas said. “I feel like I’ve been blessed with the ability to catch the ball with both hands. But any opportunity when [quarterback Drew Brees] makes a decision and gives me a chance to make a play, I just always want to make him right, like I’ve been doing since I came in.”
It might have been the signature play of Thomas’ historic 2019 campaign thus far. But it didn’t come as any surprise to Brees, who set an NFL record by completing 29 of 30 pass attempts in the game.
“Well, Mike Thomas gets open. So that’s first and foremost,” Brees said. “Listen, I’ve got so much trust and confidence in him. And we’ve got a lot of time on task together. So much of our offense has nuances to it, as far as the route being run and the direction that you can go or the angle that you can take based upon how the defender is playing you or the defense or the safety or whatever it might be. And we’ve just had a lot of time together, so there’s that trust and anticipation. He knows when the ball is coming out. He knows where it’s gonna be. He knows where he needs to be.
“And I think when things are clicking, that’s the result.”