Thomas under the radar
Tight end is quietly putting up decent stats
Move past the visual of Miami Dolphins tight end Julius Thomas celebrating a touchdown against the Denver Broncos by riding a football as though it was a bronco. Also move past the visual of Thomas taking a knee during the national anthem to protest social injustices to minorities.
Then ask Dolphins coach Adam Gase whether Thomas, one of Gase’s favorites, is having a good year.
“I see it differently than it seems like everybody else does,” said Gase, who believes Thomas hasn’t been a bigger factor because the Dolphins haven’t had favorable matchups.
“He’s done everything I’ve asked him to do.”
Thomas, the 29-year-old, seventh-year player, doesn’t seem to pass the eye test at first glance.
But he’s the Dolphins’ third-leading receiver with 37 receptions, one more than wide receiver DeVante Parker.
Thomas’ 362 yards receiving are fourth on the team, just 52 yards behind Parker.
Thomas’ three touchdowns are tied for second on the team behind wide receivers Jarvis Landry and Kenny Stills, who each have six, and alongside running back Kenyan Drake.
Thomas won’t come near the career bests he established in 2013 with Denver — 65 receptions, 788 yards and 12 touchdowns.
But he could threaten the second-best numbers of his career — the 46 receptions he had with Jacksonville in 2015, the 489 receiving yards he had with Denver in 2014, and the five touchdowns he had with Jacksonville in 2015.
“Would I love him to have 12 touchdowns? Sure,” Gase said. “We haven’t really had that many [redzone] snaps until the last five games. That’s where he’s made his money. … He’s done exactly what we’ve asked. [The touchdown against Denver] was a good example. That’s a big play. We wanted to get up. He’s the first guy I went to.”
Thomas hasn’t been a consistent threat the way he was during his best years in Denver, running the seam route and specializing in chunk-yardage plays.
But Gase maintains same skill set exists.
Thomas averaged 12.1 yards per reception in 2013, and 11.4 yards per in 2014. He’s averaging 9.8 yards per reception this year, which the is third on the Dolphins behind Stills (15.3) and Parker (11.5).
“There will be times [in practice] where we do stretch him down the field when we’re outside the red zone,” Gase said of Thomas.
“A lot of times DBs (defensive backs) think they have him covered and all of a sudden he pulls away, and then he really pulls away. That’s kind of been one of his things where people don’t think he’s very fast and then he builds up his speed, and he’s a tough guy to bring down and he’s a tough guy to catch.”
Those skills haven’t showed in games. But Thomas’ recent rise in activity can’t be denied. He’s had at least two receptions in each of the past eight games, and at least three receptions in six of the past eight. During that span, he’s totaled 276 yards and three touchdowns.
“He’s a hard guy to defend in the passing game,” New England coach Bill Belichick said. “He’s long, he’s fast, he’s very athletic. They split him out, and they keep him in tight.”
Belichick, known for being very gracious to opponents before games, said he hasn’t seen any drop-off in Thomas’ game. Gase said the same. “I haven’t seen that,” he said. “A couple of those opportunities that we’ve had, it’s been on a corner[back] and then the quarterback goes somewhere else with the ball.
“I wish I could get him more in space and see if we could get him turned loose a little bit in some green grass. But we haven’t had those opportunities.”
chperkins@ sunsentinel.com; On Twitter @Chrisperk