Fantasy Football Crystal Ball: Pierre Thomas

As a running back, Reggie Bush makes for an excellent slot receiver. As the former No. 2 overall pick in the draft, Bush has run for at least 100 yards in a game just once in his three-year career. In fact, he’s had more than 80 rushing yards in a game just twice.

Meanwhile, Pierre Thomas, an undrafted rookie out of Illinois, ran for at least 87 yards four times in the Saints’ final six games last season, and for his career, has two games of at least 100 rushing yards.

This season, with Deuce McAllister having departed, Thomas should get his chance to shine in New Orleans’ backfield.

As his six-game explosion at the end of the 2008 season showed, he could be primed to do big things with that opportunity. Thomas isn’t just a one-trick pony who can only run the ball. He’s a proficient pass-catcher as well. And, though he isn’t at Bush’s level in that regard, he can more than hold his own. Last season, he caught 31 passes, three of them for touchdowns.

It remains to be seen how the Saints will utilize both Thomas and Bush this season, but the smart money is on Thomas getting more carries. New Orleans can’t keep going to the same well (Bush) when they’ve seen how dried up it is over the past three years.

Thomas has held off stiff competition in the past. Some fans may remember that he was the one who held Steelers first-round pick Rashard Mendenhall out of the starting lineup when the two were at Illinois together.

The evidence is right in front of our faces as to why Thomas should get the nod over Bush.

For his career, Thomas has run the ball 181 times for nearly 900 yards, picking up 4.8 yards per carry while scoring 10 times and fumbling just once. He’s also caught 48 passes for nearly 435 yards, an average of 9.1 yards per catch while scoring four times.

Bush?

With his 418 carries, he’s picked up just over 1,500 yards for a measly yards-per-carry average of 3.7. He’s only scored 12 times on the ground while fumbling the ball 11 times, losing seven of them. And, even though Bush has 213 career catches for over 1,500 yards and eight scores, he averages fewer yards per reception (7.5) than Thomas. If your fantasy league is of the point-per-reception variety, then yes, Bush is likely the better choice. Otherwise, snap up Thomas over Bush.

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