Week 5 vs. Tennessee Titans
Julius Thomas has failed to score a touchdown or reach 30 yards in a game this season. He's not a viable fantasy starter in Week 5.
Week 4 vs. New Orleans Saints (game in London)
Julius Thomas hasn't reached 30 yards in two games with the Dolphins. You're not starting him if you can find better options in Week 4, which is most likely the case.
Week 3 at New York Jets
The Dolphins have a top-10 implied team total this week as they play the lowly Jets on the road. The Jets allowed 4-53-1 to Charles Clay in Week 1 and 4-25 to Jared Cook in Week 2. Thomas has the matchup for you to make the argument he's a tight end streamer option this week, but we like a couple of other TE2 options to serve as streamers in our Week 3 rankings.
Week 2 at Los Angeles Chargers
It remains to be seen if Thomas will be a sleeper tight end with red zone usage after reuniting with Adam Gase. We didn't get an early litmus test after a Week 1 bye due to Hurricane Irma. At best, Thomas is a TE2 stash on your bench for Week 2. We have to see it first before starting him.
Week 1 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This game has been postponed due to Hurricane Irma and will now be played Week 11. Make sure you do not have any Dolphins or Bucs in your Week 1 fantasy lineups.
Fantasy Upside
Julius Thomas is reunited in Miami with his head coach from Denver, Adam Gase, after a couple of uneventful seasons in Jacksonville. At a position where fantasy success relies heavily on touchdowns, Thomas joins on offense where 7-of-18 red zone touchdowns went to tight ends. Thomas is an instant upgrade to what Miami trotted out at tight end last season (Jordan Cameron, Dion Sims, woof). Thomas also has a career red zone touchdown rate of 45.3 percent; whereas, the top returning Dolphin in that area is Jarvis Landry at 21.7 percent, per 4for4's Chris Raybon.
Fantasy Downside
Can Thomas stay healthy? From 2013-2016, he has missed 17 games and been on the injury report for another 17 games. When on the injury report during that span, Thomas averaged 4.1 fewer PPR points per game than when healthy.
2017 Bottom Line
Thomas is the lone pass-catching TE option left on the Dolphins with Cameron and Sims gone. Yes, there's injury risk, but at his cheap round 12 ADP, the risk does not outweigh the reward here.
Week 12 at Buffalo
Thomas has been a touchdown-reliant player this season, so when he posted a line of 3-12-0 last week, it wasn't unexpected. He's also dealing with a back injury this week and a Buffalo defense that has given up just three TE touchdowns all season. The Bills have given up a lot of catches and yards in two games against New England and once vs. Seattle, but Thomas isn't Rob Gronkowski or Jimmy Graham. Look elsewhere for help this week.
Week 11 at Detroit
The plus side last week was that Thomas caught a season-high six passes. The downside was that it was just for 24 yards as he and Blake Bortles continue to try to get on the same page. He did score his fourth TD of the season to salvage the day, but wow, four yards per catch? The big news is that Detroit has given up nine touchdowns to opposing tight ends this season. Given that Thomas gets a lot of looks inside the 10, he's a decent sleeper play this week at tight end.
Week 10 vs. Houston
After a quick start to the season, Thomas has been the forgotten man in Jacksonville's offense. He had two catches for 21 yards last week and hasn't had more than three receptions in a game since Week 2. Houston has given up just one TD to the tight end position this season, so that doesn't bode well for Thomas, who is now a touchdown-dependent player.
Week 9 at Kansas City
Thomas had three catches for 28 yards last week, but did score for the second consecutive week. He's dealing with an ankle injury, but is expected to play. New offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett used his tight ends a lot when he was in Buffalo, so Thomas could benefit from the change in OCs. Thomas isn't a top start this week, but he should be on your radar moving forward as we see what happens with Jacksonville's offense.
