Demaryius Thomas Fantasy Outlook Still Poor Following Activation from PUP

After being traded from the Denver Broncos to the Houston Texans in the middle of the 2018 season, Demaryius Thomas ended the year on the injured reserve, tearing his Achilles tendon in Week 16.

The New England Patriots rolled the dice by signing the injured wideout to a one-year contract this offseason. Thomas spent much of the preseason on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, but in a surprise move, he was activated after only two weeks of the preseason.

Thomas' last two seasons have arguably been the worst of his career, and he could find himself buried on a suddenly crowded Patriots' depth chart, which could all but eliminate his 2019 fantasy football value.

With the Patriots investing a first-round pick in N'Keal Harry, Josh Gordon's value skyrocketing with his reinstatement and Julian Edelman being a target hog, there simply may not be enough work to go around for Thomas to thrive.

He hasn't had great quarterback situations over the last couple of seasons, but it's hard to ignore his sharp drop in production. His 6.8 yards per target in 2017 were the fewest of his career and his 7.6 from 2018 sit well below his career average of 8.3.

He's also going to be turning 32 years old this season, and his 2018 Achilles tear was the second of his career. At this point, even returning to the level he played at in the 2017 and 2018 seasons is far from a guarantee.

Thomas has been going essentially undrafted in fantasy football so far, but news of his activation will likely lead to an increase in average draft position (ADP). Jumping on the bandwagon could prove unwise though.

Even in the best-case scenario, the one in which he returns to full health and plays as if the injury never happened, his recent decline in efficiency and the lack of available targets could crush his value. He's also an older player with a worrying injury history on a one-year contract at a crowded position. There's still a real chance that Thomas doesn't even make the Patriots' final 53-man roster. Nothing about his 2019 outlook suggests any sort of fantasy football value.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.