The Case For Logan
Thomas:
√ Was Never Supposed to be a QB
√ Bonafide Athlete
√ Progression Every Season as a TE
√ Paid $$ to be TE1 in WAS
√ Opportunity Ripe for the Taking
√ We’re Blinded By the Suck
I know
some of you are thinking, “Logan Thomas…?? Is this a joke…??”
I can’t fault anyone for that.
I wrote him off too, and justifiably so.
The dude played 4 years at Virginia Tech as a QB &
never completed more than 60% of his passes in any season. His 52-39 TD/INT
ratio was just flat out ugly – especially by college standards.
Despite that, AZ (& coach Bruce
Arians) took a shot on him in the 4th round of the 2014 Draft. As a
rookie, Thomas completed just 1 of 9 passing attempts. AZ then promptly cut him
before the following season, just one year into his rookie deal – a clear
admission that he was unlikely to work out as a QB project.
Thomas tried to redeem himself with the Dolphins practice squad, but he couldn’t make the active roster.
The Giants gave him a shot on their practice squad too,
but he couldn’t stick there either, and he never saw an active roster as a QB
again.
He didn’t just fail, he failed miserably…
So we all wrote him off, & justifiably so.
We all saw
how bad Logan Thomas the QB failed & because of that, most of us haven’t
been willing to hear out Logan Thomas the TE’s story.
& I’m not immune…
When I saw a tweet from my friend "Fantasy Mike" congratulating my other friend Jacob Vines on calling Thomas as WAS's TE starter, I thought to myself:
“Logan Thomas…?? A starting TE…?? Gimme a break...”
I only looked up Thomas's name again so I could write him off again… but to my surprise, everything that I found about Logan Thomas the TE was nothing but positive.
And his story is a whole lot deeper than I thought…
√ Was Never Supposed to be a QB
Turns
out, Logan Thomas has always been Logan Thomas the TE – we just never got to
see it.
He was never supposed to be Logan Thomas the QB &
all of Logan Thomas the QB’s failures were never even supposed to exist…
When he committed to VT in 2009, it wasn’t just as a
TE…
It was as the No. 1 TE recruit in the nation, on
multiple boards…
24/7 Sports had him No. 1.
ESPN had him listed as an ATH (he played WR, DB, &
QB in high-school) & his 81 grade would’ve placed 3rd among TE’s, ahead of
both Tyler Eifert & Zach Ertz.
Apparently, when Thomas was being recruited, he even
went as far as to “eliminate any school from the recruiting process that viewed
him as a QB.”
He committed to VT as a TE.
But, as the story goes, VT coach Frank Beamer coaxed Thomas into throwing the ball around in his first practice with the team, perhaps dreaming of another dual-threat QB like he had previously coached in Michael Vick & at the time had in Tyrod Taylor.
Thomas took the bait & the rest is history.
He played his entire career at VT as a QB & we were
robbed of ever getting to see what Logan Thomas the (highly-recruited &
highly-athletic) TE could do…
But we did get a glimpse of the potential at the 2014 NFL
Combine…
And boy, was it a glimpse to behold…
√ Bonafide Athlete
Participating as a “QB
prospect,” Logan Thomas checked every box you’d be looking for in an elite TE
prospect:
6’6”/248
4.61 40
35.5” vertical
4.18 shuttle
Do I even need to compare those numbers to other TE’s?
Ok, if you insist:
Darren Waller
6’6”/238
4.46 40
37” vertical
4.25 shuttle
OJ Howard
6’5”/251
4.51 40
30” vertical
4.16 shuttle
Mark Andrews
6’5”/256
4.67 40
31” vertical
4.38 shuttle
Gronk
6’6”/264
4.68 40
33.5” vertical
4.47 shuttle
Logan Thomas
6’6”/248
4.61 40
35.5” vertical
4.18 shuttle
Unfortunately,
Thomas also threw the ball 60 MPH at the combine & QB whisperers drooled
over that number just as much as the others.
He was still asked by some teams about switching
positions – an inevitability after his eye-popping performance.
But his answer was – “I just disregard [changing positions] right off the top,
really… I’d probably just tell you, ‘No, thank you. I’ll just take my chances
elsewhere.’”
& can you really blame him?
He played QB his entire collegiate career & was a projected NFL draft pick at the QB position.
If I were in his shoes, I’d have made the same mistake...
Unfortunately for Thomas, the predictable happened & his accuracy issues
kept him from ever really having a legit shot at the QB position in the NFL.
It wasn’t surprising when he failed & it was the
right move to write him off…
… as a QB – and only as a QB.
Because the NFL hasn’t written off Logan Thomas the TE
– and you shouldn’t either.
Logan Thomas
could have packed it in, taken his million in earnings & found another way
in life.
But he didn’t – he fought back.
He announced a return to the TE position when he
signed with DET’s practice-squad in 2016.
Literally the very next day… the Bills – who were 6-5
& in the playoff hunt – signed Thomas off DET's practice-squad &
onto their roster…
Thomas fought for 2 years trying to get onto a
roster as a QB & couldn’t.
He announces his return to the TE position (a position
he hadn’t played since high-school, nearly 10 years prior) in the middle of the season & gets signed to a roster the very next day… Unreal.
With the Bills signing him mid-season, Thomas not having played TE since HS, & BUF having Charles Clay & Nick O’Leary established in their roles, there was no path to playing time for Thomas in 2016, but the coaches spoke highly of him.
Here’s what Tony Sporano had to say:
“I think he has the tools to be really successful at
this position. He’s intelligent… This guy is really motivated. He’s hungry. He
wants it bad… The pass game comes naturally to him… Even if he doesn’t quite
know the techniques of the route-running, he’s catching on really quick.”
BUF liked what they saw out of him in that half
of a year enough to give him a crack at making the team again in 2017.
Not only did Thomas make the team – in his first full
year playing the TE position since HS – but the Bills actually used him on
offense, despite having Charles Clay, Nick O’Leary, Mike Tolbert, & Patrick
Dimarco ahead of him in the TE/FB pecking order.
Thomas played 12 games & saw 9 targets, catching 7
of them for 67 yards & this TD…
In 2018
– just his 2nd full season as a TE since HS – Thomas had to earn a
roster spot again, on an unguaranteed contract. Not only did he again earn his roster
spot, but he continued to progress, playing another 12 games, catching over 70%
of his targets for the second year in a row, & setting new career highs
with 17 targets & 12 receptions.
Last
season – just his 3rd full season as a TE since HS – he signed with
DET, who had also just signed TE Jesse James to a 4 year/$22.6M contract &
drafted TJ Hockenson in the first round. Thomas again had to earn his roster
spot as the 3rd TE. Not only did he do that, but he set new career
highs for the 3rd consecutive year – each year he’s played TE as a
pro.
He played a full 16 games & saw 28 targets,
catching 16 of them for 173 yards & a TD. He saw his snap count rise as the
season progressed & he even out-targeted Jesse James 28-27, despite James
being the highly-paid free-agent acquisition & also playing 16 games.
Through
those 3 years as a TE, Logan Thomas’s numbers aren’t eye-popping, at all:
7/67/1
12/77
16/173/1
And that definitely means the fantasy floor here is a
big fat zero…
But what would those (progressing) numbers look like if he:
-
Had played TE through 5 years of college
-
Participated in the combine as a TE
-
Was highly-drafted as a 4.61-running/through-the-roof-jumping
(collegiately productive?) TE
-
& Saw a higher snap & route-share through
his first 3 seasons more typical of that mold of a TE ???
Instead of him:
-
Having played QB through 5 years of
college & his first 3 years in the NFL
-
Having to make a mid-career transition
back to TE
-
& having to scrap his way onto a
roster as the TE3 ???
The
progression might not be happening on a timeline anybody wants (Thomas just
turned 29 in July), but it’s definitely happening…
And I’m not the only one who’s noticed...
When Logan Thomas became a free-agent this offseason,
the Washington Football Team gave him a 2-year/6.1M deal – making him the
highest-paid TE & 21st highest-paid player on their roster…
The TE’s behind him are Jeremy Sprinkle (a lesser
athlete who had 7 receptions through 2 years & just 26 last year despite
Jordan Reed & Vernon Davis playing just 4 games – combined – ahead of him),
Richard Rodgers (a career journeyman with 1 reception in the past 2 years), &
Thad Moss (who the team passed on with all 8 of their draft picks, including
two 7th rounders).
That puts Logan Thomas in a firm position to see the
highest number of snaps, routes, and targets he’s ever seen – as the starter, in
the midst of his continued progression…
On top of that, his only target competition beyond
Terry McLaurin is undrafted second-year pro Steven Sims, & two rookie WR’s…
I don’t know whether Logan Thomas will emerge as a viable fantasy contributor, whether he’ll explode, or whether he’ll do nothing of any significance at all…
All I know is this – if there was a TE who:
-
Ran a 4.61 40, 4.18 shuttle, & jumped
35.5”
-
Who was the No. 1 TE recruit in his class
-
Has progressed statistically in 3
consecutive seasons despite being the TE3
-
Finally signed as a FA to be a team’s TE1
-
& his only target competition outside
of the team’s No. 1 WR was an undrafted second-year slot WR & two rookie
WR’s…
I’d care.
I’d care a hell of a friggin’ lot.
So I’m putting the failures of Logan Thomas the QB aside & giving Logan Thomas the TE a chance – like the NFL is.
He’s free & you even have the luxury of being able to watch him go undrafted in most leagues & still have the opportunity to possibly scoop him up of waivers if he does anything the first few weeks…
Keep an eye on him & don't be afraid to spend one of your last picks on him in deeper leagues... because why the hell not?
The ceiling is the roof.
Thanks
for reading! If you’d like more information on Logan Thomas, here are the
sources I pulled information & quotes from. They add a lot of context to his
journey as a football player & I highly recommend reading each of them as
well.
Has Logan Thomas Finally Found the Right Spot?
Washington Football Team Contracts
& Here’s the little bit of film I could find on
him…
(please find me more!)
Logan Thomas Bends Ryan Kerrigan's Face Mask on Monster Block
