Miami Dolphins should bring in Demaryius Thomas to help receiver corps

The Miami Dolphins need some help at the receiver position and veteran Demaryius Thomas could be worth taking a chance on to get that.

Allen Hurns and Albert Wilson made the decision of opt-out of the 2020 NFL season before the league’s deadline on Thursday, leaving the Miami Dolphins with a few holes at the wide receiver position.

DeVante Parker and Preston Williams, when he is fully healthy, are currently penned in as starters for the Dolphins, but the team need some reinforcements before the start of the new season rolls around.

While the team is giving seventh-round rookie Malcolm Perry a chance to learn the slot receiver position, help is more than likely to come from a free agent or a trade if the team is serious about competing this season.

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One player that could be a possibility is 32-year-old veteran Demaryius Thomas, who most recently played for the Dolphins’ bitter AFC East rivals the New York Jets.

The one-time Super Bowl champion has had a couple of down seasons in 2018 and 2019, leaving the Denver Broncos and playing seven games for the Houston Texans and 11 games for the Jets.

In the 2019 season, with the Jets, Thomas caught 36 passes for 433 yards and one touchdown, which incidentally came against the Dolphins in Week 14.

During his prime, Thomas was a perennial 1000-yard receiver, reaching over 1600 in 2014, but hasn’t hit those heights since 2016 – with 949 yards in his last full season in Denver in 2017.

While he isn’t the number one receiver he once was, he could still offer the Dolphins a lot in terms of experience and leadership for a young corps, while working to prove he can be a number two receiver opposite Parker.

He currently sits 237 yards under 10,000 total in his regular-season career – a statistic that he will undoubtedly be hoping to break before the end of his playing days.

He still has plenty of football left in him at 32 years old, even though his best days are well behind him. With the Dolphins needing to add a bit of quality and experience to their receiver corps, Thomas could be a guy that can fill the gaps left open.

His spell with the Jets wasn’t ideal, but it will also give him an idea of their schemes, something the Dolphins could benefit from, while also giving him a desire to prove himself to the team after they let him go after the season.

Given his advanced age and point to prove, Thomas wouldn’t cost too much to add to the active roster, with the Dolphins having plenty of space to add a guy to a deal costing around $1 million with incentives that could increase it further, much like the deal he had with the Jets.

With few options available to the Dolphins at present, Demaryius Thomas may be the very best available outside of Antonio Brown, a player the team should avoid considering his ongoing investigation and likelihood of being absent for most of the season through suspension.