Denver Broncos: Constructing an All-Decade Team from 2010-2019

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OAKLAND, CA – NOVEMBER 09: Julius Thomas #80 of the Denver Broncos celebrates a third-quarter touchdown against the Oakland Raiders at O.co Coliseum on November 9, 2014, in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Tight end: Julius Thomas

Others considered: None

Was Julius Thomas just a product of having Manning at quarterback? You can certainly make that case as he was terrific in Denver with Manning and wasn’t nearly as good in his other two stops with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins.

But boy was he good in Denver.

Thomas spent four seasons in Denver as a former fourth-round pick of the team. His career got off to a slow start as he didn’t get on the field much in his first two years, but he was a touchdown machine in 2013 and 2014.

Manning looked his way often in the red zone area as he scored 24 touchdowns in those two seasons while also catching 108 passes in those two seasons. He was far from a complete tight end as he didn’t offer much in the way of blocking, but he was a terrific athlete.

The big numbers he posted in 2013 and 2014 helped earn him a big pay day from the Jaguars, who gave him a 5-year, $46 million contract the following March. His time in Denver ended there.

The Broncos have gotten pretty average play from the tight end spot in the years since. Owen Daniels played one season with the team, helping the Broncos win the Super Bowl, but his one season eliminated him from consideration.

The Broncos hope that Noah Fant will be the guy that is the best tight end of the current decade, but for the previous 10 years, that honor goes to Thomas.

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