No one caught more red zone passes than Michael Thomas in 2019

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas caught more passes in the red zone than any other player in the NFL during the 2019 season.

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Okay, to be fair: no one caught more passes in total than Michael Thomas last year. The New Orleans Saints superstar wide receiver won recognition as the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year by setting a new records for the most receptions in a single season (149), doing so with franchise quarterback Drew Brees sidelined for five games and every defender in the league knowing the ball was coming his way.

And they still couldn’t stop him. It’s just like Thomas has boasted since his college days at Ohio State, in his Twitter handle: “Can’t Guard Mike.”

But what’s impressive is that Thomas didn’t just rack up catches in the open field. He turned it up to a new level in the clutch, inside the opposing team’s 20-yard line; colloquially known as “the red zone.”

According to charting from the team at Pro Football Focus, Thomas paced the NFL with 28 catches in that range. Next-best was Los Angeles Chargers wideout Keenan Allen, one of the more underrated names around the league, who reeled in 24 red zone passes of his own.

We’ll see if teams can do a better job of defending Thomas in 2020. But so far, they haven’t had an answer for him.

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