2018 NFL trade deadline: How each new acquisition will help their new team
By Ian Wharton
Texans acquire receiver Demaryius Thomas
Another big-name 30-year-old moved was one that wasn’t nearly as surprising. As the Denver Broncos have fallen apart, they were wise to move longtime receiver Demaryius Thomas for an asset while they could. The Houston Texans were desperately needing a quality talent after Will Fuller suffered a torn ACL.
Thomas is no longer the superstar he was two years ago. The emergence of rookie Courtland Sutton, presence of other rookie DeSean Hamilton, and Thomas’ $14 million cap hit in 2019 all led to their parting. It didn’t make sense for the Broncos to hold on to him.
On the other hand, Thomas will benefit from playing with Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins. Thomas doesn’t offer the speed Fuller does, but he’s more well-rounded and capable of bringing a new dimension to the Texans’ offense. The Texans will likely ask slot receiver Keke Coutee to take on more deep routes while Thomas takes care of shorter routes.
Thomas is still a powerfully-built tank with the ball. Like Tate, he’s better at creating yards post-catch than the vast majority of receivers, and can be a pseudo running back. For Houston, who is struggling to run the ball consistently, screens and quick-hitters to Thomas can lead to easier offense.
Deshaun Watson will squeeze more out of Thomas than Case Keenum could. He’s more willing to trust his receivers than Keenum is, and Thomas is capable of winning at the catch point more than he’s been given the chance to since Peyton Manning retired.
Both teams look like winners. Houston has more than enough cap space to keep Thomas on the books through 2019 even after Fuller returns, and will form a fun quartet at that time.
Denver may be able to use that fourth-round pick to move up for a quarterback in the 2019 NFL draft, and will benefit from opening more cap space.