Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas said earlier this offseason that 2015 was “the worst of my past four years,” citing a high number of drops as a reason why his performance fell short of where he wanted it to be.
During an interview with Alex Marvez and Kirk Morrison of Sirius XM NFL Radio, Thomas talked some more about feeling like he fell short last season. Thomas didn’t work with the Broncos during the offseason because he was trying to work out a long-term deal after getting the franchise tag and said criticism after he signed his new deal got to him while he was also adjusting to the news that his mother would be released from prison, all of which added up to too much noise in his head.
“I think the main thing was sometimes thinking too much,” Thomas said. “As I got my deal done, my mom got out. I was happy to be back with my team, but it was going out on the field, getting the timing down with the new offense. I wasn’t there for OTAs, I wasn’t there for minicamp. And then you had new routes. It was different for the quarterbacks because it was something Peyton [Manning] had never done before, Brock [Osweiler] had never done, either.”
Thomas will have to work with a new quarterback this year, but it’s the same offense and he’s already said he thinks the Broncos will be fine under center once they settle on their starter.
It’s hard not to think of linebacker Von Miller when hearing Thomas’ thoughts about playing catch-up after missing the offseason because Miller’s offseason under the franchise has played out the same way thus far that Thomas’ did last year. Miller knows the defense and all of Thomas’ laments didn’t stop him from catching 105 passes for 1,304 yards, so struggles can be a relative thing once players are at a certain level.