WR Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos

HT: 6-3, WT: 224, Born: 12-25-1987, College: Georgia Tech, Drafted: Round 1, Pick 0

2013 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of May 6th. [Full ADP list]

Overall: D Brees (19), C Johnson (20), Demaryius Thomas (21), R Gronkowski (22), S Ridley (23)
Position: D Bryant (16-WR4), J Jones (18-WR5), Demaryius Thomas (21 - WR6), P Harvin (26-WR7), R White (29-WR8)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

PPR Average draft position

Current as of May 6th. [Full PPR ADP list]

Overall: M Forte (17), R Gronkowski (18), Demaryius Thomas (19), M Jones-Drew (20), C Johnson (21)
Position: J Jones (13-WR4), D Bryant (14-WR5), Demaryius Thomas (19 - WR6), P Harvin (23-WR7), A Johnson (24-WR8)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

Outlook

Demaryius Thomas had a career year in 2012 catching passes from Peyton Manning. He should once again be the most featured receiver on the Broncos offense. The team added Wes Welker in free agency but he shouldn't cut into the downfield targets that Thomas is most known for. Thomas has the speed to get on top of the defense in a hurry and showed last year that his concentration can improve. Because of his size/strength combination Thomas also makes for a great target in the red zone. He finished last year as the 5th best wide receiver in fantasy football and will have a good chance to duplicate those numbers. 2012 was the first season Thomas played through the entire year so he does come with some durability risk other top five wide receivers don't.

Latest News

Broncos | Tavarres King to stretch the field (Tue May 7, 01:53 PM) - Denver Broncos WR Tavarres King, their fifth-round draft choice, has speed as his biggest asset, and he figures to add field-stretching ability to a stable of wide receivers - Wes Welker, Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker - that is best known for their short to intermediate passing contributions. King may see some playing time for this reason as another option for QB Peyton Manning. 'As a receiver I'm a guy that gets deep in a hurry, (I) led the FBS in yards per catch last year with 22. (I'm) somebody that you guys are going to be able to depend on, somebody who will do exactly as Peyton says,' King said. 'Peyton's going to put me in a position to succeed.'

Our View: King has good straight line speed and can take the top off the defense in a hurry. He's quick in and out of his breaks and has the footwork to consistently create separation. King is fourth on the depth chart right now but could have a bigger role if the Broncos lose Eric Decker in free agency next year.
link to story   

2013 Schedule

2012 Game Summaries

Week 1 - Thomas continued his utter domination of the Pittsburgh Steelers. While he didn’t get deep behind the defense as he did in the playoff game last January, he did make the game’s biggest play on a short bubble screen that he turned into a 71-yard touchdown. Thomas got great blocking on the outside, but his cut, vision, and speed were the reasons he was able to score nearly untouched. Many experts have said that Eric Decker will have better rapport with Peyton Manning because Decker is a more precise route-runner and Manning will always know where he is. That may have occurred on Thomas’ first target as a pass fell incomplete on the team’s opening drive. Either Manning made a poor throw, or he expected Thomas to be in a slightly different place. The relationship certainly blossomed as the night continued, though. Decker may lead the team in receptions, but Thomas’ big-play ability – on long passes and short – will likely see him lead the team in yards and receiving touchdowns. He’s a physical presence who once again showed Pittsburgh corner Ike Taylor how lethal is stiff-arm can be.

Week 2 - Thomas dropped his first pass of the day and it was nearly picked by the defensive back near the sidelines. From there, Manning threw two quick screen passes his way. On the first he showed a nice sidestep to evade an incoming defender and gain 11 yards, before the second went for four yards out of bounds. Thomas was quiet early in the game, but did score his team's first touchdown. Despite initially being ruled out of bounds, he made an excellent reception for a touchdown just before half-time. Thomas beat Dunta Robinson to the outside, but had to adjust to the ball in the air as it arrived. He snatched the ball out of the air with ease, but needed all of his concentration to plant his left foot in bounds and drag his toes on his right to complete the catch. The play showed off Thomas' phenomenal athleticism. Thomas appeared to have the beating of his man whenever the ball was thrown his way. He stockpiled yardage and receptions with catches for roughly 10 and 15 yards at a time, but never really got a chance to beat the defense deep. The defense appeared content with him making catches underneath and running with the football instead of giving him an opportunity down the field. A factor was also Manning's reluctance to throw downfield after his struggles early in the game.

Week 3 - Thomas was tied for the team lead in targets with 11, but the two struggled to find any consistency, connecting only three times. Thomas did have one drop, which could have been a big play as Thomas was alone in space. However, the biggest missed opportunity for Thomas was the missed 31-yard TD pass where he couldn’t get his 2nd foot down. Manning threw a perfect ball, but Thomas’ stride just took him out of bounds. Manning and Thomas again went to the quick screen at one point, but Houston was prepared and it only gained four yards. Thomas is definitely the big play WR in the offense and he will have games like Sunday’s, but it is also important to note how close it was to a 4 catch, 65 yard and 1 TD day.

Week 4 - Tied for 2nd on the team with six targets, Thomas caught five (three of which were on the same screen play) and nearly broke one for another long TD. Coming off play-action, Manning hit Thomas on the quick screen for his first catch. Just like week one versus Pittsburgh, it appeared to be a foot race to the end zone. However, as Thomas was switching the ball to his left (and outside) hand in preparation for a stiff arm, Thomas fumbled the ball away inside the Raider 15-yard line without any contact (after a 40-yard gain). Thomas may not have scored on the play, but the gaffe did cost Denver a scoring opportunity as Oakland recovered the fumble. Thomas’ 2nd catch wouldn’t come until the 3rd scoring drive of the 3rd quarter. Again, it was the play-action quick screen, this time to the opposite side and Thomas picked up 24 yards on the play. Manning would again go to the quick screen a 3rd time as Oakland’s secondary continued to play off the Denver WRs. Later Manning would find Thomas on a quick out on 3rd down as Denver looked to bleed the clock in the 4th quarter. On a day when short passes and the running game did everything it wanted, it was nice to see Thomas still hit the century mark.

Week 5 - Thomas continued his emergence as a stud fantasy receiver against an over-matched New England secondary. He was targeted early and often by Manning en route to nearly 200 yards on the day. His game was filled with impressive plays like a one-handed long catch on a slant-and-go route and winning versus double coverage for over 30 yards. The lone blemish for Thomas was his early game red zone fumble that took almost certain points off the board for the Denver offense. He was active after the catch, avoiding defensive backs with ease when moving in space. Thomas’ lone missed opportunity was a short target tipped at the line of scrimmage. There was plenty of room for yardage after the catch for the wide-open Thomas on the play.

Week 6 - Curiously, Thomas wasn’t a huge part of the Denver offense in this one. He presents a physical mismatch for just about anyone who covers him, but this seemed to be a particularly good matchup for him on paper. He caught a pass on the first play from scrimmage, and didn’t see another catch until the opening drive of the second half. Of course, it was a 29-yard touchdown reception that he ended up hauling in for Denver’s first score of the game, but it was also the last time we heard from Thomas in the game. He had beaten his man downfield, and a perfect Peyton Manning pass had split the defenders to put the ball right in Thomas’s hands. But after that, it was the Eric Decker show for Denver.

Week 8 - Even though he had seven receptions for 137 yards, it seemed like Thomas was underused and never got out of first gear in this game. The Saints' cornerbacks are so bad that they couldn't stick with Thomas at all in single coverage. Despite this, the Saints never really focused the defense on containing him. Thomas' first target was a reception...a big one. He simply ran past Patrick Robinson in single coverage before high-pointing the football for a 41-yard reception. Thomas had another big gain in the second quarter, when Roman Harper bought play-action to allow Thomas a huge amount of space towards the left sideline. He didn't have to work hard at all for the catch. After being burned repeatedly by Thomas in the first half, the Saints held Thomas on his first target of the second half. Alas, Thomas used his strength to brush off the defender and still make the reception. On the same drive he caught a screen pass with good blocking infront for a first down, before then capping off the drive with an easy touchdown on a backshoudler throw from Manning. Whenever the ball went Thomas' way, good things happen. There was a serious gulf in class between the defense and Thomas on the day.

Week 9 - Thomas ran two precise routes early in the game, both converting third downs by less than a yard. With tight coverage in tow, Thomas also caught a quick slant route. Thomas then got free deep, which would have been a long touchdown except for a shoestring tackle after a 45-yard gain. Thomas came up limping after that play and appeared to miss some of his normal offensive snaps. He did return to game and have an impact. Thomas ran a nice pick play-type block for Eric Decker’s red zone score. After three straight targets on quick-hitting pass plays, Thomas then made his second, and final, huge play of the game. With single coverage, Manning threw a pass up for grabs to Thomas in the end zone. While Thomas did not come down with the reception, he drew a crucial pass interference penalty, setting up a Denver touchdown. Thomas did return from the injury to play well and received a deep target later in the game, a great sign after the scare for his fantasy owners.

Week 10 - While Decker struggled, Demaryius Thomas thrived against the Panthers’ secondary. The Broncos’ clever play design played a large part in their success, as did the accuracy and timing of Peyton Manning. Thomas ran a nice post pattern to isolate him on the FS; the SS was occupied by underneath crossing routes and allowed Thomas to get behind him. Thomas leapt into the air and attacked the ball at its highest point. Thomas seems to be mastering the route tree and ran a variety of patterns to good effect, including a shallow crosser that he broke a tackle on. He had an injury scare in the first half, but returned in the second. The Broncos took their foot off the pedal to a large extent with the game out of reach for Carolina, and so Thomas’ targets dropped off. However, Thomas reeled in one of two deep targets late on as the Panthers keyed on stopping the run. Beating man coverage down the sideline, Thomas reeled in a pass on a 9-route and almost scored. The ingenuity of Manning combined with well-designed plays helped the Bronco receiver tremendously.

Week 11 - Thomas caught just three passes in the game, but one was a highlight-reel touchdown grab. QB Peyton Manning put some air under a pass over the head of Thomas, who not only adjusted to the ball and made the grab, but also did a fantastic job of dragging his back foot across the grass to remain inbounds. It was initially ruled out of bounds, but changed to a touchdown after review. Thomas nearly added a second touchdown on another end zone fade in the corner, but there was a bit too much air under that one. He was also the target of a deep ball near the end zone on a floater from Manning earlier. Thomas made an adjustment on the ball and it seemed like he was going to get to it, but the pass fell harmlessly incomplete. The Broncos really spread the wealth around in this game, with no receiver catching more than four passes while eight guys caught at least two or more balls.

Week 12 - Thomas was shut down for most of the first half, and had a lot of trouble getting separation. His first reception went for 15 yards mostly because of an excellent run after the catch. He had two balls bounce off his fingertips on balls that Manning had to throw well outside because of the tight coverage. Even on his touchdown catch he had a step at most of separation, but a perfectly thrown ball over his shoulder gave him the score. Thomas did a nice job of looking the ball in in tight coverage while looking directly into the sun. To start the fourth quarter he dropped a screen pass because he looked for the defender before the ball got there but he finished really strong. Thomas sealed the game with two receptions on the Broncos drive, and got his best separation of the day on the two plays. The first was a cross where beat his man inside and the across the middle for a third down conversion. Then on the next third down play the defensive back played inside technique and Thomas ran a go route to catch the game clinching pass.

Week 13 - Thomas led the team in both receiving yards (with 99) and TDs (two), catching eight of his 10 targets with a long of 28 yards. Able to do as pleased against the very short-handed Buccaneer defense, Thomas kicked off three drives with catches, including the Broncos’ 1st drive with an eight-yard catch. Always good for at least one quick screen, Thomas and Manning connected off the play fake quick hitter for 19 yards as Thomas was free in space and nearly broke a much longer run before Mark Barron brought him down. Thomas’ next catch was a thing of beauty from Manning, as Thomas did little more than run by the coverage and underneath the perfectly placed ball for 28 yards. It was Thomas who drew the interference penalty on the Broncos’ 2nd TD drive and Manning rewarded him the following play with another pin point pass for the eight-yard TD. Thomas faked the corner route and broke in across the back of the end zone. Just as Thomas came out of his break, with barely enough time to react and as if Manning handed it off, the ball was slotted right into his arms. The following drive Thomas was the target again once the offense reached the end zone. Lined up in the slot, Thomas ran a shallow post and the help coverage didn’t react in time as Manning put the ball perfectly on Thomas again, this time for a 10-yard TD. Tampa had no answer for Thomas, who was consistently open, often making catches with no defender within a couple yards.

Week 14 - Thomas caught a deep out for 15 yards after running an excellent route to lose the defender. Manning went back to Thomas with his next pass on a slant when he took the ball and broke across the field for a 13 yard gain. Thomas missed much of the first half with a shoulder injury, but returned at the start of the third quarter when he drew a pass interference for a first down. Three plays later, Thomas made an outstanding reception for a first down on third and 13 against tight coverage. It was Thomas' drive, as Manning tried to find him in the endzone. Thomas didn't catch the ball, but Thomas drew the pass interference penalty. Thomas beat a defender in man coverage on a deep crossing route to make a reception for 19 yards. Thomas caught an easy slant for a first down to help finish the game out late in the fourth quarter.

Week 15 - Demaryius Thomas had a fairly quiet day that could have been better if not for a few miscues. Peyton Manning overthrew Thomas on a 35 yard deep bomb that would have been an easy touchdown. Thomas also dropped a couple of passes and ran a couple routes just short of first downs that would have extended drives. However, he also showed his great ability with a nifty one handed catch on a reception, and had another near TD taken away from him with a great pass breakup by Ravens CB Cary Williams. Most of Thomas's 4 receptions came on slip screen type plays, but the Ravens did well to sniff them out and limit his yardage, as his yards per catch was a meager 3.25.

Week 16 - Thomas had more than double the targets of the second-most Denver receiver this week and had one of the most productive first quarters of his career. Thomas had 5/68/1 in the first 15 minutes alone, showing impressive physical skills in the open field and tight coverage. All of this despite drawing Joe Haden more times than not in coverage. One of the finer points for a receiver is working their way back to the quarterback as the ball comes in, shielding a defender from making a play. Thomas did that to perfection on an early comeback route, returning 2-3 yards towards the line of scrimmage to make the play look routine. Manning and Thomas showed good chemistry on a back shoulder throw in the second half, something that has eluded the pair at times earlier in the season. Despite the big game, there were chances for an even bigger one. Thomas caught a 30-yard crossing route that flagged Brandon Stokely for offensive pass interference on a pick play. Manning was hit as he threw a deep ball to Thomas, which fell woefully short. Thomas was also targeted three times in the end zone outside of his touchdown. One resulted in a defensive pass interference penalty; the other two were off-target throws to Thomas. This had the ingredients of a 10/150/2 type game for Thomas. After his impressive late-season run in 2011, Thomas has expanded his skills with Peyton Manning in 2012 and has a shot at 90 receptions, 1400 yards, and 10 touchdowns with a strong performance in Week 17 against Kansas City.

Week 17 - Thomas’ seventh one hundred-plus yards receiving game of the 2012 season was an impressive one. Thomas and Peyton Manning connected for some massive gains – a twenty-four yard completion on an out-and-up route, a twenty-yard completion on a hitch route that Thomas took fifteen yards down the field after the short catch, and a thirty-six yard completion on another out-and-up route in which Manning hit a streaking Thomas in stride – to name a few. All told, Thomas reeled in seven Manning passes on eight targets for one hundred and twenty-two yards through the air, his fourth-highest receiving yardage total of the season. The Georgia Tech product physically dominated the smaller members of the Chiefs’ secondary every time he caught the ball. Thomas found the end zone at the beginning of the third quarter on an thirteen-yard touchdown catch. Running a post-in route, Thomas snagged the ball with one hand and exhibited fantastic body control to reel in the pass and stay in-bounds after he caught the ball at its highest point. Thomas’ touchdown catch gave the Broncos a twenty-five point lead. With the Broncos earning a first-round bye in the 2012 playoffs, Thomas will have to wait a week to showcase his talents on a national stage.

Week 19 - Until Thomas broke free for a receiver screen touchdown in the fourth quarter, it was a pretty non-descript game for the 2012 breakout receiver. He saw a deep target early in the game, which had some contact during the route, but Thomas seemed to lose his balance as the ball arrived. That was a potential long touchdown lost. Manning’s passes were inaccurate on a couple occasions, but Thomas’ other opportunities were tough plays to make. He had to make diving attempts or reaching behind far more than usual. On his touchdown, Thomas picked his way through the inside blocked before outrunning the defense for the touchdown. That score made it 35-28 in the fourth quarter and, until Baltimore’s last heave to tie to the game, looked like the potential game-winner. With Manning looking healthy to return for 2013, Thomas is one of the elite receivers in the game capable of expanding on his already impressive statistical line from 2012.