Julius Thomas overrated or overpaid?
By Daniel Lago
Julius Thomas was the prize signing for the Jaguars in free agency before the 2015 season, but he didn’t make nearly the impact the team expected in his first year.
After lying low for his first two seasons as general manager, David Caldwell finally opened up the Jacksonville Jaguars’ generous pockets in free agency in 2015. The Jaguars handed out some big contracts to Jared Odrick, Jermey Parnell, and Davon House, but the big catch in free agency was former Denver Broncos tight end Julius Thomas.
After catching 24 touchdowns in his last two seasons with the Broncos, Thomas only caught 5 touchdowns in 2015. He got off to a slow start thanks to a broken hand in the first preseason game and Thomas never really got into a groove with Blake Bortles.
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After a somewhat disappointing debut season with the Jaguars, Thomas made Pete Prisco’s list of
the most overrated player on each team
.
"Julius Thomas TE / Jacksonville Jaguars"
"He signed a big contract last season and then missed the first four games with a thumb injury. It took him a while to get going, and he did catch 46 passes. But he averaged just 9.9 yards per catch. That’s not good enough value for his contract. The 2016 season will be big for him personally."
“Overrated” is a highly subjective term and I don’t necessarily agree with Prisco here. Thomas is probably overpaid given what his production is likely to be moving forward, but he’s still a hugely important part of the Jacksonville offense. I’m inclined to give him a little bit of a pass after his first year with the Jaguars and let him play up to his contract in year two. He should bounce back and be a top fantasy tight end in 2016.
To me, “overrated” is the interplay between perception and production. With that criteria, Paul Posluszny is probably the most overrated Jaguar. He racks up plenty of tackles, but Posluszny is a two-down linebacker at this point in his career and a clear liability in coverage. Some people still view him as a Pro Bowl level linebacker but he just doesn’t affect the game as much as he used to.