Demaryius Thomas immediately became Peyton Manning's best friend when the veteran quarterback made the decision to sign with Denver last year.
The results were great for Denver on the field, but Thomas' performance swept through the fantasy football world in a scale that we had only seen from Calvin Johnson during his "breakout" 2011 season.
Thomas racked up career-highs in receptions, yards and touchdowns as the Broncos passing offense neared and then quickly entered elite status.
2012 Statistics | Rec | Yds | TD | WR Rank | PPG |
| 94 | 1,434 | 10 | 5th | 12.34 |
2013 Outlook
The addition of Wes Welker in free agency from New England isn't going to hurt the amount of targets that Thomas receives. Instead, the likes of Eric Decker and Denver's tight ends are going to be hurt more here. Thomas is still Manning's favorite target, and that means top-tier WR1 production.
Thomas caught 68 percent of the 138 balls throw in his direction last season. His 11 drops did rank in the top-10 of the NFL among receivers, but that's to be expected when being targeted as much as he was in 2012. While Thomas' targets likely won't increase from a season ago, hit catch rate of 68 percent is sure to go up a bit more due to Denver's added talent at skill positions.
While it would be hard to indicate that Thomas will put up better numbers than 2012, that's exactly what I am planning on doing here. All of the markers are there for him to have a second consecutive career season.
Dynasty Outlook
It gets a bit more cloudy here. Manning likely has just two or three more years of football ahead of himself, if that. Unlike the Calvin Johnsons, Julio Jones' and A.J. Greens of the world, he doesn't have a true franchise quarterback to rely on after that. Denver is high on Brock Osweiler, but his experience has been limited to mop-up duty in the regular season and backup duty in the preseason. We just don't know what he brings to the table as it relates to being "the man" moving forward.
As it is, Thomas' dynasty outlook is solid. He's one of the most talented young receivers in the league and should benefit from Osweiler's strong arm, should the young quarterback take over for Manning at some point in the not-so-distante future. Expect a run of 1,000-yard seasons with double-digit touchdowns.
Projected 2013 Statistics: 100 receptions, 1,500 yards and 12 touchdowns.