Denver Broncos tight end Julius Thomas (80) warms up before the game against the Baltimore Ravens Sports Authority Field at Mile High. (Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports)
News broke Thursday morning that Broncos tight end Julius Thomas was arrested Aug. 28 for failing to appear in court for a traffic offense, but that didn’t throw off his Thursday night.
Thomas has four catches for 97 yards and two touchdowns in just one half of play. Fantasy owners that drafted him from the start are throwing their hands up in celebration and toasting to the third-year player who had just one catch in his first two NFL seasons combined.
Thomas saw plenty of action with the starting offense throughout preseason with Joel Dreessen out after a second knee scope, and Jacob Tamme missing a chunk of time due to a quad injury.
The former basketball player out of Portland State really is showing that he has Antonio Gates-like capabilities, which is why the Broncos drafted him in the fourth round despite the fact that he had limited experience on the football field coming out of college.
Thomas didn’t even play varsity football in high school. He quit before preseason of his freshman year because of lower back pain.
He went to Portland State on a basketball scholarship, and after his four-year career on the court ended, he asked the school’s football coach if he could play. He ended up catching 29 balls for 453 yards that season.
Thomas struggled to get on the field his rookie season, and then had ankle surgery in April 2012 to repair some ligaments.
If any year was his time to shine, it had to be this year. If any half was the time to shine, it had to be this half, the first of the Broncos’ 2013 season.
Forget his near miss on the “layup” over the goal post after his second score. Thomas just needs to get the ball over the goal line from here on out to make Broncos Country happy.
Make sure to follow Predominantly Orange on Facebook and on Twitter.