Wide Receiver Demaryius Thomas

DENVER BRONCOS QUOTES (5/25/17)

WIDE RECEIVER DEMARYIUS THOMAS

On what it means to be a resource for his teammates “I saw a lot of this offense. We have a couple new things, but it’s a lot of the same things we had back in the day, just different wording. Some of the guys ask how I know it. Then I try to help out the younger guys; the older guys are learning so quick. I’m here to help them because it’s kind of the same things that I have been learning before with (Former Head Coach Gary) Kubiak’s offense.”

On being a rookie and learning a new system “I understand totally what they’re going through. I couldn’t even line up my first time running this offense. I still remember the day that [New England Offensive Coordinator Josh] McDaniels came to Atlanta and quizzed me on it. It was tough. It’s going to take some time, but they’re picking it up kind of quick.”

On WR Isaiah McKenzie and WR Carlos Henderson “They can fly. They both can run and catch the ball. They can do things after the catch. I look forward to seeing what they can do for the team.”

On whether he’ll be more excited if the offense throws more “It really didn’t matter to me. Of course, I’m a receiver, so I like to catch the ball. We used to run more with Kubiak’s offense. I’m excited about having this old offense back.”

On whether switching between quarterbacks in practice makes it difficult for the offense “Not right now. Everyone is in the state of learning the offense. That’s every position, not one guy fully knows the entire offense. It really doesn’t matter who you go with because you’re basically trying to get timing down with whoever you go with. I don’t think either quarterback knows the whole offense and what we can do. We’re basically trying to get reps and get better and better every day.”

On what it means that Head Coach Vance Joseph wants him to be more dominate “Finally, somebody had to say it (laughing). I’m excited about it for him to say that I need to be the guy that he’ll come to for one-on-one coverage. I’m excited for it. I’ve been wanting that my entire career and I’m looking forward to it.”

©2017 Denver Broncos Football Club. All rights reserved. The individual quotes cited in this document may be used for the purpose of news reporting and other fair uses as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. Duplication or posting of this quote sheet, in its entirety, or any other use of this material which is not a fair use as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act is strictly prohibited without the prior written consent of the Denver Broncos Football Club. On what it means to be more dominate “Taking advantage of one-on-one coverages. Make sure every completion is 100 percent. When the quarterback gives you a chance, you get open and you make the play. From there, if someone tries to help you, the other guy can get open because there are going to be a lot of people in this offense running wide open. It’s going to be hard to double team anybody.”

On the intensity and physicality at practice “I stayed out of the way now. Coach did a good job of telling the guys, ‘Don’t hurt our players.’ We’re out here trying to get better every week. You can’t make the team right now. We’re basically going through the motions of trying to get better and better while taking care of your teammates.”

On the benefits of OTAs “You do. I think it helps a lot. We’re changing up a lot of things. Of course, the new offense, but it still helped a lot of guys to come in early to learn the offense and get into a weight room program because once we get rolling in training camp, there is no slowing down. It’s all fast. It’s helping big time.”

On his chemistry with QB Paxton Lynch “It’s been good. We get better and better every day. We stay out there on the field and we work together. That’s with both quarterbacks trying to get the timing down. It’s a different one every other day, but we’re doing whatever we have to do to get that timing down. I think working after practice and staying on the field is helping a lot.”

On Lynch’s confidence “It’s totally different. It’s something he’s more comfortable in. He’s used to being in the shotgun and seeing the defense instead of turning his back to the defense. I say that about every other quarterback that I have played with, the same with Peyton [Manning]. He was with an offense in college where he was in the shotgun all the time and he was comfortable with that, and now he’s in it now. His confidence is way better than it was last year.”

On how he wants to approach this season physically “I’m going to be a little leaner because we’re going to be running a lot. If I remember from a couple years ago when I played in this offense, I was still heavy, but it’s the running that gets you down to where you want to be.”

On why he is happier going into this season “This is the best I’ve felt my entire career. That kind of helps as well. If you go out without pain, you can run routs on this side or that side. It’s basically getting equal now. There’s more joy. I’m having a lot more fun. I’m not worried about guys covering me on one side or the other. I’m enjoying it.”

On going against the ‘No Fly Zone’ “Well, the trash talk isn’t too bad. They’re going to talk here and there. We had a little bit today, but it was all good trash talk. We’re just out competing. Going out there and getting your feet wet against the best secondary in the league, and you come back without having done nothing against anybody in a long time. It’s not easy by far. You look forward to it. It helps you tell yourself where you’re at right now in this state of mind, which is, not too bad. But it’s good to go up against those guys.”

On what he’s looking forward to with new routes “It just depends what type of routes. You got a few different routes when I was one and two. I had a lot of other routes where I could catch the ball and get up the field. Most of the routes I’m catching now these past two years were down the field or deep comeback, or a deep in where it’s bang-bang. But now, it’s not bang-bang because you

©2017 Denver Broncos Football Club. All rights reserved. The individual quotes cited in this document may be used for the purpose of news reporting and other fair uses as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. Duplication or posting of this quote sheet, in its entirety, or any other use of this material which is not a fair use as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act is strictly prohibited without the prior written consent of the Denver Broncos Football Club. have so many options on the field. You can spread out with so many other players running around. With us, most of the time, it was wide receiver here and a wide receiver here. It was two safeties on top of each one of us.”

On his hip injury last season “At first I wasn’t [in pain], but after the first game against the Carolina Panthers, that’s when I started feeling all of the pain. It came back after one hit, the first play of the game. And that’s when I felt my hip again. It just lingered.”

©2017 Denver Broncos Football Club. All rights reserved. The individual quotes cited in this document may be used for the purpose of news reporting and other fair uses as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. Duplication or posting of this quote sheet, in its entirety, or any other use of this material which is not a fair use as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act is strictly prohibited without the prior written consent of the Denver Broncos Football Club.