Julius Thomas Becoming Touchdown Machine for Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos have arguably the best tight end in the league this year. Fourth-year pro Julius Thomas had a breakout year in 2013, finishing the season with 65 catches, 788 yards and 12 touchdowns.

This season, Thomas has taken his game to the next level.

In the Week 6 game against the New York Jets, Thomas caught his eighth and ninth touchdown passes so far in 2014. This mark represents the most by a tight end in NFL history through the first five games of the season.

Player	Team	Year	TDs
Julius Thomas	Denver Broncos	2014	9
Antonio Gates	San Diego Chargers	2010	7
Mike Ditka	Chicago Bears	1963	7
Julius Thomas	Denver Broncos	2013	6
Jimmy Graham	New Orleans Saints	2013	6
Wesley Walls	Carolina Panthers	1999	6

Simply put, Thomas has become a touchdown machine for the Broncos.

A fourth-round pick of the Broncos in the 2011 NFL draft, Thomas has grown and developed from a former basketball star with potential into one of the most dangerous pass-catchers in the NFL.

Thomas still uses his basketball skill set to make plays every Sunday. He effectively uses his big frame to "box out" smaller defenders when passes are headed his way.

He can play "above the rim" in the red zone, and Thomas does a good job of consistently high-pointing passes. His ability to get vertical makes Thomas a threat when the Broncos are close to pay dirt.

Scoring touchdowns has come all too easy for Thomas in 2014. 

Thomas creates mismatches every time he’s on the field. His speed makes it difficult for linebackers to stay with him on seam routes. His size makes it difficult for safeties or cornerbacks to cover him, and his leaping ability is problematic for any defender charged with covering him.

Peyton Manning praised the performance (and versatility) of his superstar tight end after the Jets game.

“Well, we work hard on our timing and those guys are capable of making a lot of plays. Julius, as we’ve said throughout the season, is a tough matchup problem for teams, 'Do you put a corner on him? A safety? A linebacker? What do you do?' They had some double-teams towards him so that tells you what they thought of Julius.” Manning continued, “Adam (Gase) did a good job mixing it up, moving Julius around and able to get him two big touchdown plays to really help us win the game.”

The record for touchdown receptions by a tight end in a single season belongs to Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots. In 2011, Gronkowski hauled in 17 touchdown passes from Tom Brady to set the new mark. Thomas is already over halfway to that point—and the Broncos have 11 games remaining on the schedule.

More advanced stats show that Thomas is getting big-time production on a smaller workload than other tight ends.

Player	Routes	Targets	Rec/Target	Rec/Routes Run
Jimmy Graham	143	47	72.3%	23.8%
Rob Gronkowski	90	47	55.3%	21.1%
Julius Thomas	119	29	82.8%	16.8%

Thomas has run 119 routes this season, only a shade above the league average of 112. His 29 targets in 2014 rank below the league average of 32 at this time. His 18 first-down receptions rank above the league average of 12. Unlike Graham (1) and Gronkowski (3), Thomas doesn't have any dropped passes this season.

So will all these touchdowns equal a big payday?

Thomas is in the final year of his rookie contract. The team tried to get a deal done with Thomas before the season, but no new deal was agreed upon. Each week that Thomas produces, his price tag likely goes up.

With an annual average salary of $420,750 over his rookie contract, Thomas doesn’t even rank in the top 100 for tight ends’ annual average salary. Sure, he’s got a cap number of $741,000 this year, but he’s still incredibly underpaid when compared to other tight ends with his production level.

What kind of a deal should Thomas be looking at?

Earlier this year, New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham signed a four-year, $40 million contract with a $12 million signing bonus and almost $21 million guaranteed. Thomas may not quite be Graham, but he’s close in ability and his new contract could reflect that.

Kyle Rudolph from the Minnesota Vikings also signed a new deal earlier this offseason. That contract was a five-year, $36.5 million deal with a $6.5 million signing bonus and $18.5 million guaranteed. While Graham has an average annual salary of $10 million, Rudolph’s average annual number is $7.3 million. One could rationally argue that Thomas’ new deal needs to be more than Rudolph’s but not quite Graham’s.

Moving up in the 2011 draft via trade with the Green Bay Packers (they moved down and selected tight end D.J. Williams—oops) was a masterstroke by Broncos general manager John Elway. Thomas has been one of the best players drafted by this new regime, and they should work diligently this offseason to compensate him properly.

Thomas has become a touchdown machine for the Broncos. If Indianapolis Colts tight end Dwayne Allen has the nickname of “Robocop”, then Thomas should be nicknamed “The Terminator.” He plays like he was sent back in time to dominate as a new-generation tight end.

The Denver Broncos are fortunate to have one of the league’s most dangerous weapons. To steal the tagline of Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter, "All he does is catch touchdowns."

All quotes and injury/practice observations obtained firsthand. Record/statistical information provided via email from the Denver Broncos unless otherwise noted. Transaction history provided by ProSportsTransactions.com. Contract and salary-cap information provided by Spotrac.com.