Houston Texans: Grading the Demaryius Thomas trade
By Erik Lambert
The Houston Texans suffered a major blow to their offense when wide receiver Will Fuller tore his ACL in the victory over the Miami Dolphins.
It was a big threat removes from what had been a passing attack that was just starting to find its groove. Now opponents will be able to focus their attention on stopping DeAndre Hopkins. Or at least that would’ve been the plan. Houston knows they’re close to possibly being a contender in the AFC. That meant they could be aggressive at the trade deadline to find help if the right opportunity presented itself.
Would another team make a wide receiver available who could help them right away? They found their answer when the Denver Broncos, after falling to 3-5 on the season strongly hinted that veteran former Pro Bowler Demaryius Thomas was available. The team was hoping to shed his sizable salary in exchange for a decent draft pick. Most of the way other teams weren’t making good enough offers. That changed after Fuller went down for Houston.
Terms: The #Texans are trading for #Broncos WR Demaryius Thomas in exchange for a 4th round pick and the teams are also swapping 7th rounders. Big move for Houston.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 30, 2018
Now the Texans passing attack should be stabilized as Thomas can become a reliable #2 option opposite Hopkins. The question is did the team make a good trade or did they overpay?
Demaryius Thomas isn’t a star anymore but he’s still effective
It’s always important not to get too absorbed in the name of the player being traded. Context is key. Thomas is not the player he was 3-4 years ago. He turns 31-years old in December and doesn’t have the explosiveness he used to. That said, people have made it seem like he’s washed up and has nothing left. That’s not true at all. He has 402 yards and three touchdowns this season and had over 900 last season.
Given the array of quarterbacks who have been throwing to him the past couple years, it’s hard to put the blame entirely on him. Now he has a legitimate player in Watson throwing him the ball with Hopkins pulling coverages away from him. This could end up being the second boon for his career. For Houston, it’s a move they could afford to make and the price they paid in picks wasn’t overly substantial. It was a calculated and acceptable risk to enhance their chances of winning.