Denver Broncos: What's Behind Julius Thomas' Recent Slump?

The Denver Broncos feature one of the league’s best assembly of passing-game weapons. Wide receivers Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders both had over 100 catches in 2014. Wes Welker makes for a fine slot receiver, and rookie Cody Latimer is a fine developmental prospect.

Tight end Julius Thomas splashed onto the scene last year with 12 touchdowns and 788 yards receiving. Thomas has only played in 13 games this year, and his receiving numbers are down. He still has 12 receiving touchdowns, but he’s only caught 43 passes for 489 yards in 2014.

Thomas missed most of his first two years in the league with an ankle injury that required surgery. He missed two games last year with a minor knee injury, and he’s missed three games in 2014 with another ankle injury.

The former basketball star from Portland State is a fine talent—when he’s healthy enough to play.

Broncos fans have become frustrated because Thomas is such a great weapon, and he doesn’t look like himself in recent weeks. Thomas himself knows his frustrations too.

“It’s a frustrating game. But I always say life’s always going to throw something at you, so you’ve got to be prepared for it and do what you can to overcome it. So I’ve dealt with adversity before, and I’ve found a way through it, and I’ll continue to do so.”

What’s behind the recent slump for Julius Thomas? Let’s take a look.

Injury

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This is probably the biggest problem for Thomas.

Broncos head coach John Fox knows the team needs to work Thomas into the offense. “He did come off an injury. He’s working his way back into it. [He] just [has] to continue to get healthy and continue to work his way back into it.”

When asked if Thomas was struggling with his injured ankle, Fox succinctly says, “I don’t think he’s struggling.”

Thomas acknowledges his recent limitations, but he’s doing the best to work through them.

“I just try to do everything I can, continue to get better and try to get healthier. Some things feel great, some things I’m still trying to improve on. It kind of changes day-to-day, but I’m just going to keep working with it and keep doing all I can.”

After the injury, Thomas knew he was going to be facing the road to recovery.

“Yeah, I knew it was going to be one of those things where you’re going to have to fight through it. Talking to the doctor about it, it’s something that is going to linger a little bit.”

Thomas continued, “There is no time frame on when you feel like you’re ready to just go run around and it’ll feel great again. He kind of expressed that it’s going to be a long time coming, but you can’t injure it worse, so just continue to do what you can. You never know really how they are going to work out, but you just try to stay positive and do all you can.”

Only time will tell if Thomas can get healthy before the Broncos season is over. We’ll see if he can regain his form in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Run-Heavy Offense

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Another reason why Thomas’ numbers have suffered is the new direction for the offense. Over the last six weeks, running back C.J. Anderson leads the NFL in rushing yards (648) and rushing touchdowns (eight). With Anderson playing so well and emerging as a fine starter, the passing game has taken a back seat.

Thomas doesn’t think the offense looks drastically different than it did earlier in the year.

“I don’t know. It’s still the same offense; we’re still running the same plays. Still the same calls. Me being a little limited changes some of the things I can do to help out the team, so there is that, but we’re still finding a way to win games.” Thomas finishes, “We’re still finding a way to win them, and that’s what we’re looking to do going into this postseason.”

Playoff football is all about running the ball and playing strong defense. Unless the team needs to play catch-up football, they should continue pounding the rock with Anderson and limiting the pass offense. Thomas isn't much of a blocker, so the Broncos could keep replacing him with an extra offensive tackle at tight end to get more beef up front.

Three-Wide Receiver Sets

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In addition to the run-heavy nature of the offense in recent weeks, the Broncos have begun using more three-wide receiver sets. This means more playing time for Wes Welker as a slot receiver. Even rookie Cody Latimer has been getting a few extra snaps here and there.

Thomas believes the team has a great mindset as they prepare for the playoffs.

“Everybody’s happy. You don’t want to take for granted making it to the playoffs, even though it’s been something we’ve been able to do here. You’ve still got to understand it’s an accomplishment.

Thomas continued, “A lot of teams worked hard and put everything they had into this year and didn’t make it. But other than that, we’re trying to stay pretty calm. And it’s about doing what we have to do. This is where you focus in extra. Everything you’ve done up to this point is great, but you have to do more.”

He summarized, “So we’re happy, but that’ll fade in the next day or so, and we’ll tune in and make sure we’re ready to go for two weeks from now.”

The Broncos offense is not cemented in one formation or another. Depending on the matchup, if they feel three-wide receiver sets are called for—they will use them.

Defensive Adjustments

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After Thomas emerged as a premiere weapon in 2013, defenses have started to cover him differently this season.

Thomas says the coverage isn’t the same every week.

“I think it just depends on which team we’re playing. Certain teams will do different stuff. For the most part, you just watch film, try to prepare for what they are going to do, go in the game and hope they are going to do that.” Thomas concluded, “Most of the time they switch it up a little bit, and from that point, you just react to what defenses you’re seeing.”

Thomas creates mismatches every time he’s on the field. He’s too big for corners or safeties to cover, but he’s also too fast for linebackers to keep up with. Thomas will see bracket coverage with one defender underneath and one defender over the top on multiple snaps.

With defenses paying extra attention to Thomas, it can open up routes for other receivers—but it does limit how open he’ll get.

A Much-Needed Bye

As the second seed in the AFC, the Broncos earned a first-round bye in the playoffs. They’ll get the week off as other teams compete to move on in Wild Card Weekend. In the divisional round, the Broncos will be facing either the Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers or Indianapolis Colts.

Thomas is glad to have some extra time off.

“I definitely needed this bye. I’m looking forward to it. It’ll just give me an opportunity to focus on rehab. When you’re practicing and playing, it’s kind of hard. It’s a little bit of give and take. So this next week, it’ll be big for me from a recovery standpoint and good for our team as well. A lot of guys are nicked up.” Thomas concluded, “It’s a long, tough season, so it’s definitely a great blessing to earn a bye.”

He’s been slowed by injury—as others have on the roster—but Thomas isn’t going to use their early-season bye (Week 4) as an excuse.

“It’s a pretty physical job, and it’s pretty demanding. But it’s just something you have to do. We’re not going to make excuses or talk about, ‘We had to play 13 weeks in a row.’ It is what it is. We found a way to be pretty successful, have the No. 2 seed now, and we’re looking forward to this tournament.”

Summary

When healthy, Julius Thomas is still one of the best tight ends in the game today.

Thomas wants to look like his old self as the Broncos hit the postseason.

“That is definitely the goal. I’m hoping that in two weeks it’ll be a big change for me. So get over that hump and get back to looking like the guy I used to be. So I’m looking forward to it and definitely anticipate being in better health.”

The Broncos want to put their best foot forward in the playoffs. That formula includes utilizing Thomas in the best way possible.

They are going to run the ball more than they did earlier this year, and that will limit his playing time. They will use more three-wide receiver sets than they did before, and that will also limit the number of targets that Thomas sees.

However, if healthy, Thomas can be a dangerous weapon all across the field—and primarily in the red zone. What’s been wrong with Thomas in recent weeks? He’s been banged up, and the team was trying to get him ready for the postseason.

Now that the playoffs are here, we could see Thomas look like he did to begin the season.

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