How Michael Thomas stacks up against Jerry Rice through almost 4 seasons

Michael Thomas is off to an amazing start in his NFL career. How does the Saints’ WR match up to this point with Jerry Rice?

Jerry Rice is the G.O.A.T. It is improbable — impossible? — any receiver will approach the stats the Hall of Famer produced in his NFL career. That said, Michael Thomas of the New Orleans Saints is off to an incredible start after being selected as the 47th pick out of Ohio State in the 2016 NFL Draft. How does Keyshawn Johnson’s nephew compare to the incomparable Rice at this point of their careers?

Rookie season

Mike Powell /Allsport

Jerry Rice was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers out of Misssissippi Valley State as the 16th player taken in the 1985 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he started 4 of 16 games and caught 49 passes for 927 yards and a trio of TDs. The Saints grabbed Michael Thomas out of Columbus in the second round of the 2016 draft. Thomas started 12 of 15 games, had 92 receptions for 1,137 yards and 9 TDs.

Will Mike Evans one day break this seemingly unbreakable Jerry Rice record?

At just 26 years old, Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans could eventually break this Jerry Rice record.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans is just seven yards away from another 1,000-yard season entering Sunday’s Week 12 showdown with the Atlanta Falcons.

It would be the sixth-straight 1,000-yard season for Evans, tying him with Hall of Famer Randy Moss for the most consecutive 1,000-yard seasons by a receiver to start a career.

That’s all well and good, but let’s keep in mind that Evans just turned 26 at the end of August. He’s just entering his prime.

So, if Evans manages to stay healthy, could he possibly do the unthinkable and one day break Jerry Rice’s record of 11-straight 1,000-yard seasons?

I’m sure many people are wondering how many 1,000-yard seasons Rice had to start his career. Well, it turns out, he came up 73 yards short in his rookie season. After that, however, there was no stopping Rice on his historic and Hall of Fame-worthy tear through the NFL over the next 11 years.

Take a look.

Rice would ultimately go on to have 14 seasons with 1,000 receiving yards, most in NFL history.

Back to Evans, though.

He shows no signs of slowing down at the moment. The only question, though, is how long can he keep this production up? And, should Tampa Bay decide to start over at the quarterback position through the draft, Evans could be part of a rebuilding process on offense, one where a rookie might not get it to him as consistently as he’s used to.

Still, if there’s one receiver in the NFL you should never bet against, it’s Evans. He’s only scratching the surface of what he can do. I’m sure those Madden ratings folks feel embarrassed now.

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