Houston Texans: Jordan Thomas will be a difference maker on offense
The Houston Texans are going to need tight end Jordan Thomas to take the next step in his NFL career this season.
It is very simple for the 2019 version of the Houston Texans: they are going to need their tight ends to play better overall football this upcoming season, and the leader in that group should be second-year player Jordan Thomas.
The Texans are going to need to rely on Thomas, not because he is 6-5, 277 pounds, and not because he is the only Texans tight end to catch a touchdown pass last season. The reason the Texans need to rely on Thomas this upcoming regular season is the fact he’s talented and he can become a difference maker in the already-talented offense the Texans have built.
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On Sunday, Texans Insider and lead writer Deepi Sidhu of HoustonTexans.com had the following sentence on Thomas and his return to the field:
"“Tight end Jordan Thomas appears to be getting closer to returning to practice. The second-year tight end was catching passes from Deshaun Watson on Sunday.”"
That duo of Watson and Thomas could become a dangerous combination for opposing defenses to stop, especially in the red zone for the fact the aforementioned height and weight of Thomas makes him not only a big passing target for the Texans quarterback, but he has proven in the past as a rookie he can catch the red zone touchdown passes.
Last season, all four of his touchdown receptions came in the red zone, with his first career touchdowns coming against the Miami Dolphins on Oct. 25, 2018 when he had scoring receptions of 13 yards and two yards. On Nov. 4, Thomas had his third career touchdown catch, this one against the Denver Broncos, going for seven yards and six points. Thomas’ final touchdown score of the season came on Dec. 2 when he caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Watson against the Cleveland Browns in the first quarter.
Another positive about Thomas and his rookie season a year ago was he played in all 16 games and made 10 starts as a sixth-round pick. He was targeted 27 times by Watson, catching 20 passes for 215 yards and the four aforementioned touchdowns.
According to Pro Football Focus at PFF.com, they graded Thomas at 52.7 last season with a receiving grade of 72.2. In a deeper look into his numbers from last season, Thomas had just one dropped pass and only one penalty.
Going back to the touchdown receptions by Thomas, two of those receptions came on the outside right of the field, one came on the outside left of the field, and his seven-yard score was between the numbers in the center of the field. In Thomas’ 22 receptions, seven of them came between the numbers as well.
Thomas should be the top target at tight end for his second season in the NFL, but like everyone knows, it won’t be an easy task as he’s missed some time this training camp. He’s also battling other talented players at the position this preseason.
Next. Texans: Studs and duds from preseason loss to Packers. dark
There is just this feeling Thomas can be a special player for the Texans in their offense, and it will be exciting to see how he progresses from now until the start of the regular season.
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