Denver Broncos: Rising star, breakout player, rebound player, and more

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DENVER, CO – AUGUST 31: Defensive back Dymonte Thomas #35 of the Denver Broncos celebrates in the end zone after intercepting a pass for a pick-six touchdown in the second quarter during a preseason NFL game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on August 31, 2017, in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

Dark Horse: Dymonte Thomas, S

What is a dark horse candidate?

This is a player who even Broncos fans are sleeping on a little bit.

Therefore, this guess is almost a shot in the dark but an educated one, and a player that could surprise the fans and media at training camp is safety Dymonte Thomas.

In the Broncos’ season finale against the Chiefs, Thomas played nearly 66 percent of the snaps and saw action both defensively and on special teams in the three games he was active for near the end of last season.

The Broncos chose Jamal Carter to be on their active roster at the start of last season, and he led the team with 341 special teams snaps, but played just 77 snaps defensively.

Though his usage went up at the end of the season similar to Thomas’, Thomas out-snapped Carter in the final three games of the year and finished with just six fewer defensive snaps in three games compared to Carter’s over 16 games.

What I’m trying to say is that the Broncos clearly like Thomas as an option to rotate into their defense, and he’s got a real chance to separate himself this offseason and preseason to snag that 10th or 11th defensive back spot.

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