Fantasy Upside
Coming off of another huge season, Demaryius Thomas was recently rewarded with a five-year contract extension. Over the past three years with Peyton Manning as his QB, D.T. has been over 1,400 yards every time and has averaged 99 receptions for just under 1,500 yards and 12 TDs during that span. Thomas has the most 100-yard games in the NFL since 2012 with 25 - two more than second place Calvin Johnson and six more than third place T.Y. Hilton. He's also one of only two receivers, along with Johnson, to post over 4,000 receiving yards since ‘12. Demaryius has not missed a game the past three seasons.
Fantasy Downside
There’s not a lot to be concerned about with No. 88. Manning is a year older and Denver looking to run the ball a bit more with HC Gary Kubiak, you’ve got to assume that reaching 111 receptions for over 1,600 yards like he did last season will be tough to achieve. However, Thomas is still the Broncos No. 1 weapon in the passing game.
Bottom Line
With Julius Thomas now in Jacksonville, look for Demaryius and Emmanuel Sanders to receive at least as many targets as they had in 2014. After signing the contract that will keep him in a Bronco uniform for at least the next five seasons, you can bet there won’t be any distractions for D.T. Thomas, who is third in our WR rankings and is being projected to again register over 100 catches and over 1,500 yards – so just another average season since Manning has been his QB.