Broncos tight end Julius Thomas broke out as a pass catcher this season, his third in the NFL after playing basketball in college.
During Monday’s media session, Thomas said he never imagined his life would lead him to the Super Bowl when he was getting ready for NCAA tournament games at Portland State. He also probably didn’t imagine that he’d be getting ready to take hits from the likes of Kam Chancellor, although he’s ready for it now.
Thomas said he anticipates a physical matchup with the Seahawks and that the Broncos have to match Seattle’s physicality when the opportunities to do so present themselves. He also said that he plans to avoid big hits whenever possible, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be playing the game any differently than the way he played all season.
“No. I think all year I’ve been trying to avoid big shots,” Thomas said. “That’s just something you do as an offensive player, you don’t want to let guys tattoo you when you’re out there running with the football. On the line, that’s a physical part of the field. All physicality is welcomed down there in that part of the trenches.”
Thomas said the Broncos aren’t making a special point of being more physical for this game during meetings and practices, but it will be a different kind of test for their offense. The same is true of the Seattle defense, which makes the meeting of those two units something plenty of us will be anticipating between now and Sunday.