Demaryius Thomas to the Broncos

In a surprising move, the Denver Broncos traded up with the New England Patriots to select Demaryius Thomas 22^nd overall.  Thomas was the first wide receiver taken in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Dez Bryant was widely regarded as the top wide receiver prospect available.  Bryant fell because of character and maturity concerns and had been linked to the Denver Broncos in many industry mock drafts.

Thomas is an intriguing player and has several qualities that will get him on the field early in his rookie season.  Thomas has impressive size (6’3” 230 lbs), attacks the football in the air, and is a devastating blocker from his days in the Georgia Tech triple-option offense.

Thomas broke his foot while training in February and was not able to run a forty-yard dash for scouts before the NFL Draft.  Thomas stated that he had run his forty-yard dash in 4.38 seconds before injury.  If Thomas is correct, that size and speed combination will be an asset at the next level.

Concerns will remain about Thomas’s ability to learn the NFL route tree after playing in the Georgia Tech’s run heavy offense.  Many times Thomas was able to break off big plays on busted coverage or beat single coverage on a go-route.  Thomas has great build-up speed, but he will need to show suddenness and quickness to get in and out of his breaks to get open at the next level.

Now that Brandon Marshall is a member of the Miami Dolphins, Demaryius Thomas has a golden opportunity to assume Marshall’s role in the Broncos passing attack.