After Vance Joseph declared that he wants Demaryius Thomas to be dominant “all the time”, Thomas has accepted the challenge and is excited to get started…
Nearly two weeks ago, Denver Broncos head coach Vance Joseph expressed that he wants Demaryius Thomas to be consistently dominant. Fast forward to OTAs and the Broncos star wide receiver has taken a liking to Joseph and has embraced the challenge.
Ultimately, Thomas is ready to get to work in what looks to be a statement year for him.
After players finished their workouts on Tuesday, Thomas had a chance to speak with the media to talk about this upcoming season. One of the first questions asked by reporters was what his thoughts were on the challenge issued from his new coach…
"“Definitely, the first thing I thought was more opportunities and chances to get the ball more, but also that I can be that guy to get the offense sparking. I’m excited about it and I look forward to it. I just have to step up to the plate.”– Demaryius Thomas after Tuesday’s workout"
Generally, Thomas’ response is a great indicator that he has bought in to what Vance Joseph wants for the Broncos organization. Thomas has spoken up more after Joseph’s hire than he did when Gary Kubiak was Head Coach.
DT Wired:
While Demaryius is excited to work with a new coach, he can’t stop smiling in particular over having Mike McCoy back. The Broncos had attempted to get Thomas the ball with screen plays, but the blocking scheme was ultimately different with Rick Dennison than it was under McCoy.
Reuniting with McCoy will generate some motivation for Thomas.
"“That was kind of one of my first thoughts—the screen passes. I remember talking to [Wide Receivers Coach] Tyke [Tolbert] and he was mentioning the same thing. The years we played together with Mike were some of my best years. I look forward to it this year as well.”"
Thomas disclosed that he struggled last season with a hip injury that limited his route running and ability to get off of press man to man coverage. He hopes that he can get that to 100% this season.
"“It was tough. Sometimes I couldn’t stop and sometimes I couldn’t run certain routes that I wanted to run. Sometimes I couldn’t get off press because I had no power in it. Like you said, it wasn’t my excuse. I was out there, going out, trying to help my teammates out and trying not to make it look bad on my part.”"
In my opinion, I believe Thomas has confidence in himself and the coaching staff that is in place. My hope is that he becomes that dominant wide receiver that we saw a few years ago.
He has the ability to change a game completely with his size and athleticism and burst speed. I imagine he will be working with Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch up until training camp to develop some chemistry that will help the team become consistent.