Will this finally be the week that Julius Thomas fantasy owners get to unveil their touchdown catching tight end machine? To hear at least one Jacksonville Jaguars player tell it, the answer is a resounding yes. With Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles performing like a fantasy stud so far this season - he's the sixth-best fantasy signal-caller in the NFL through five weeks of the season thanks to his 108 completions, 1,299 yards, 10 touchdowns and just four interceptions - and an on-the-ropes Houston Texans team blowing into town, there may be no better time than now for Thomas to reassert himself as the top red zone threat in the league.
While Thomas struggled to make an impact in his first game back after surgery to repair an injured finger, managing just two receptions for 20 yards, the aforementioned unnamed Jaguars player believes that Thomas' role for Week 6 against the Texans is going to be "significant," according to ESPN. In fact, it seems the only reason Thomas wasn't more of a factor in Week 5 was because he didn't receive clearance from the team's doctors until the night before the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
While big-bodied young wideouts like Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns have become the go-to targets for Bortles, if Thomas is able to make a triumphant return to the lineup and reacquire the form he displayed while playing alongside future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning in Denver - form that allowed him to collect 27 catches and 17 touchdowns in the red zone in the 2013-14 season - that could mean he's finally be ready to take on a starring role in the Jaguars offense and on your fantasy team.
Of course, much of Thomas' fantasy value this week comes down to the Texans defense and whether Thomas can get the better of Houston's inside defenders. With Houston's weakness seemingly on the outside where Kareem Jackson especially has struggled after signing a lucrative long-term contract extension this offseason, it could mean Bortles looking to Robinson and Hurns over Thomas in Week 6, even if the intention is for Julius to see more targets.
