Getty Demaryius Thomas is headed to the Houston Texans.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the Texans are in the closing stages of acquiring wide receiver Demaryius Thomas. The move makes sense after Houston lost Will Fuller for the rest of the season. Here are the details of the trade per Rapoport.
“Sources: The #Texans are closing in on a deal for #Broncos WR Demaryius Thomas in exchange for a mid-round pick. They are finalizing. It’s Courtland Sutton’s time…My understanding is the #Broncos held firm on a 4th round pick, though that may not be the end of the compensation,” Rapoport tweeted.
What is Thomas’ fantasy value with the Texans? While it helps Thomas to have Deshaun Watson at quarterback, Thomas has had a disappointing season. Thomas had just eight receptions for 72 yards over the last two games. Some of this could be a product of the Broncos passing game that has struggled, but those expecting to see vintage Thomas now that he is in a Texans uniform will likely be mistaken. With the Texans, Thomas will hover around WR3 territory the rest of the season.
DeAndre Hopkins will continue to be the Texans WR1 moving forward, but the Houston offense has proven it is capable of supporting multiple fantasy wide receivers. Fuller had 32 receptions for 503 yards and four touchdowns prior to his injury. This is not what fans should expect from Thomas in Houston, but there will be weeks where he has fantasy relevance.
Thomas’ numbers have been on a steady decline since 2014. Last season marked Thomas’ first year with less than 1,000 receiving yards since 2011. The Broncos offense has also been on a steady decline over that same period so there is likely a bit of correlation between the two. Vance Joseph spoke about Thomas’ mindset prior to the trade deadline.
“I’ve talked to D.T. probably five times about this subject and he’s been a great pro,’’ Joseph to Denver 9 News. “He’s continued to work and be a great teammate and he’s trying to help us win on Sundays. He’s been focused. Obviously, being a veteran player, he gets the business side. But’s he’s been great.’’
Thomas does not have to wait long to get a bit of revenge on the Broncos as the two teams square off in Week 9. Fantasy Labs provided a bit of analysis on Thomas’ outlook.
With Will Fuller (torn ACL) on IR and Keke Coutee (hamstring) struggling to stay healthy, DT will now join the Texans. It’s an instant revenge game on Sunday as the Texans take on the Broncos, but Thomas will be hard to trust before he’s acclimated to this offense while DeAndre Hopkins soaks up most the target share. Courtland Sutton, however, becomes the best value on the slate on DraftKings for $3,900.
On the Broncos side, the trade clears the way for more targets for rookie wide receiver Courtland Sutton.