Sunday presents a unique opportunity for Demaryius Thomas. After being traded to the Houston Texans earlier this week, DT returns to Denver for his first game with his new franchise.
The Broncos have already publicly stated that Thomas will be honored prior to kickoff, but the veteran wide receiver is likely much more excited for an opportunity to square off against his former team’s secondary. While the trade made sense for Denver from a financial standpoint, having to immediately face Thomas and the red-hot Texans is less than ideal.
“It’s ball and I’ve got to deal with it,” Thomas said. “It means a lot, but at the end of the day, it’s still the Houston Texans trying to get a win. That will be my main focus before the game, throughout the game and if we get to do it at the end of the game, that will be the focus.”
Chris Harris Jr. will presumably shadow Deandre Hopkins for the majority of the game, which means that Thomas will receive favorable matchups throughout. This is bad news for Denver, considering Thomas has practiced against these defenders for years, and knows the ins and outs of the Broncos’ defensive schemes.
Typically teams try to ease players into the system, especially when those teams have an upcoming bye week like the Texans do in Week 10. But the Texans lost wide receiver Will Fuller with a torn ACL last week, so Houston does not currently have a ton of depth on the outside.
When also factoring in that Deshaun Watson has thrown for less than 250 yards in each of Houston’s last three victories, it would not be surprising to see Bill O’Brien (Texans head coach) look to get a dynamic receiver like Thomas heavily involved in the passing offense from the get-go.
How exactly the Texans will use Thomas is a mystery as DT runs a complete route tree, and has the ability to line up anywhere on the field. O’Brien explained on Wednesday that Thomas’ experience is already paying off in practice though. Some of the language may be different, but Thomas’ vast understanding of the game has allowed him to hit the ground running.
