Minnesota Vikings Matchup Nightmare: Week 8 vs. Michael Thomas

Some Minnesota Vikings fans wish the All-Pro receiver was wearing purple and that jealousy should only intensify on Sunday night.

It was the night of the 2016 NFL Draft. There was excitement in the air as the Minnesota Vikings were presumably looking to acquire a top target for their quarterback of the future Teddy Bridgewater. As the Vikings’ pick drew closer, several of the top wide receivers would go off the board.

Corey Coleman would be the first to go at No. 15 to the Cleveland Browns. Then Will Fuller went to the Houston Texans at No. 21 and Josh Doctson went to the Washington Redskins at No. 22. That left Minnesota with they guy they wanted all along with the 23rd pick as Rick Spielman proudly got on the horn and selected Ole Miss receiver Laquon Treadwell.

The best wide receiver in this class would wind up going 24 picks later as the New Orleans Saints would use the 47th overall selection on Ohio State’s Michael Thomas. Two years later, Thomas might be one of the best receivers in the league not named Adam Thielen and he has become a major problem for opposing defenses.

Minnesota Vikings

In his first two seasons in the league, Thomas has become the go-to target for Saints quarterback Drew Brees. After bursting onto the scene in his rookie campaign with 92 catches, 1,137 yards and nine touchdowns in 2016, he followed it up with an even better sophomore season in 2017 with 104 catches for 1,245 yards and five touchdowns.

Those two seasons pretty much smashed the narrative that Brees loves to spread the ball around and Thomas’ third year in the NFL has been his most efficient yet with 53 receptions on 58 targets. His reception total is currently tied with Odell Beckham Jr. and Julio Jones for third in the league, but his stats could be higher if he didn’t already have his bye week.

Throwing to Thomas is just one of many ways New Orleans’ offense can hurt their opponents and that shows on the scoreboard with the Saints coming into Sunday against the Vikings with the second-best scoring offense in the league at 34 points per game.

While Mark Ingram, Alvin Kamara and a plethora of other targets also figure to be a factor, Thomas is the one guy that could do the most damage in Minnesota on Sunday.

The Vikings are currently banged up defensively and the injury bug bit cornerback Xavier Rhodes late in the Vikings 37-17 victory over the New York Jets last Sunday.

Although Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer has said Rhodes is “good” in recent press conferences, the team was also saying something along the same line with Dalvin Cook for the past couple of weeks. Cook hasn’t played since Week 4.

If Rhodes can’t go, there’s a possibility that undrafted rookie cornerback Holton Hill may be matched up against Thomas as Trae Waynes is unlikely to shadow the All-Pro receiver. That could change out of necessity on Sunday, but odds are that Brees and Thomas could smell blood in the water and attack the rookie corner.

This will be one of many matchups the Vikings will have to win in a game that could be a shootout under the lights of U.S. Bank Stadium. If Minnesota can contain Thomas, it will go a long way in helping them pass their biggest test of the season and take control behind the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC.