Demaryius Thomas might have been the story of the offseason for the Denver Broncos, but it is the run that is getting the most attention in training camp. Despite getting Thomas back under contract, new head coach Gary Kubiak is aiming to make the run game more of a focal point for the Broncos in the upcoming season. With a three-headed rushing attack, CJ Anderson, Montee Ball and Ronnie Hillman are battling for time on the field and Thomas is perfectly ok with letting that play out.
Thomas told the media that he is totally in favor of a run game being to focus of the offense rather than the passing game. Last year Adam Gase ran a pass-friendly offense leading to Thomas putting up 1,619 yards off 111 catches. He was second in the NFL in both categories. He believes this type of offense will take the attention off the receivers and all them to make more plays in the long run.
"It's going to leave me one-on-one and probably open down the field a lot," Thomas said, via the Denver Post. "When everybody was saying they're going to run the ball, I'm like, 'I'm fine with that.'"
According to Thomas, the run game focus has nothing to do with potential struggles of Peyton Manning. Last year the quarterback struggled to stay healthy and make quality throws. He came under fire at the end of the season with plenty of people speculating that retirement was in his future. However, Thomas believes that right now Manning is throwing the ball better than ever.
"He's smiling. I feel like he's good," Thomas said, via ESPN.com. "I don't know if you all are going to believe what I say, but I think it's a little more zip on it. I don't know how he can do that. He's an older guy -- one of the oldest guys on the team -- but I feel like every year around this time, there's almost more zip on his ball. You can notice it. He threw a couple posts, probably 50, 60 yards, and I'm like, 'Whoa.'"
Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders will take over as the top two receivers. Virgil Green will likely be the starting tight end as Cody Latimer could round out the starting group. Anderson is being predicted as a fantasy football home run pick, but it is unclear what his amount of work will do to the value of the rest of the offense.
