Jacksonville Jaguars: Can Julius Thomas revive career with Miami Dolphins?
By Luke Sims
If the Jacksonville Jaguars succeed in sending Julius Thomas to the Miami Dolphins, it may do wonders in reviving his career.
The possible trade between the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars in which the Jags get left tackle Branden Albert and the Dolphins get tight end Julius Thomas may end up helping the latter player more than the former.
Thomas has struggled in his utilization by the Jaguars during his two seasons with the team. After being the most prolific tight end in the NFL during two seasons with the Denver Broncos (24 touchdowns in 2013 and 2014), he has seen a significant dropoff catching passes from Blake Bortles. Further, the Jags weren’t using him to stretch defenses down the seam like the Broncos were and he rarely had opportunities in the end zone.
Cole Hartley of the good folks at Big Cat Country summed it up well with a quick video showing his Jags “highlights” after the news he will likely be traded:
What has been overlooked in his drops and struggles with the Jags, however, is that the talent is likely still there, but nascent. What the Broncos created with Thomas showed the budding potential of a superstar at the tight end position. What the Jags showed is that even the best talent can be misused when put in poor situations.
All this is important to think about when considering the trade to Miami. Adam Gase, head coach of the Dolphins, came over to Miami in large part because of his work in 2013 and 2014 with Peyton Manning and Julius Thomas. He turned Thomas into Manning’s best friend and made him into a star.
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Gase is fully committed to Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill and quickly put to rest any concerns that another quarterback would beat him out in 2016. Going forward, expect Gase to work with Tannehill to try and turn him into a Manning-lite that can effectively use players like Julius Thomas to beat defenses consistently.
In fact, for Thomas, this may be the best news of his career since hearing that Manning was coming to Denver. After jumping ship for the money he gets a chance to reunite with his former offensive coordinator and, likely, deliver the same kind of production he did for the Broncos.
RELATED: JAGS-DOLPHINS STILL WORKING TO FINALIZE ALBERT-THOMAS TRADE
Nothing in guaranteed in the NFL and Thomas will have to work at it (and so will the Dolphins) but if things do go forward, it’s good to see that it may work out well for the soon-to-be-former-Jaguars player. Thomas hasn’t been great for the Jags but it is always nice to see a former member of the black and teal find success. Hopefully he manages to do that in Miami. It’s his best shot to revive his career.