Name: Demaryius Thomas Height, Weight: 6’3″, 229 Position: Wide Receiver Age, Experience: 24, 3 College: Georgia Tech

Demaryius Thomas was drafted by the Denver Broncos with the 22nd pick in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Drafted three spots ahead of Tim Tebow, the wide receiver and quarterback began to find a rhythm in 2011 that exploded into Thomas’s breakout game in the first round of the AFC Wild Card playoffs against the Pittsburgh Steelers. An 80-yard catch-and-run (and a handful of NFL playoffs records) later, Thomas is thought to be a focal point for the offense the Broncos will build around Tebow.

2011 Analysis: Many thought Thomas might miss the entire 2011 season when he tore his Achilles tendon during a workout on February 10, 2011 (almost exactly one year ago today). He fought through the injury, however, and made his sophomore season debut after the bye — just in time to see the Broncos’ #1 and Pro Bowl wide receiver Brandon Lloyd traded away. It took Thomas awhile to find a rhythm with Tebow (and vice-versa), as he only hauled in seven catches during his first six weeks as a starter. But he finished the season strong, catching 25 passes in the season’s final five weeks. That all led to the postseason, where Thomas set a handful of NFL playoff records with his four-catch, 204-yard performance against Pittsburgh. He had six catches for 93 yards against the Patriots.

Contract Status: Signed through 2014; unrestricted free agent 2015

2012 Outlook: There perhaps isn’t a brighter outlook for any Broncos player in 2012 than there is for Demaryius Thomas. Marred by injuries his first two season, if he can stay healthy, the sky really is the limit for this third-year player. His infamous 80-yard Stiff-Arm was a microcosm of the traits Thomas can display to take him to the top: he has the size, speed, and strength to take on any defensive back in the NFL. If he stays healthy and works with Tim Tebow during the offseason, 2012 will be a big year for Thomas.

As always, we invite you, the readers, to participate. Are you excited by Thomas taking on the role of #1 WR in Denver, or do you still have your doubts?

We hope you enjoy these posts as BroncoTalk develops a one-of-a-kind fan-powered Denver Broncos roster on the web.

MaxDenver.com

The Denver Broncos re-signed fullback Austin Sylvester Wednesday, who was a free agent, the club announced.

Sylvester, an undrafted rookie out of Washington in 2011, spent five weeks on the Broncos’ practice squad before joining its active roster for the team’s final two contests. He did not appear in any games.

With Spencer Larsen set to become an unrestricted free agent, the signing makes Sylvester (6-1, 255) the only fullback on the team’s 2012 roster.

[Image via]

Name: Jason Hunter Height, Weight: 6’4″, 271 Position: Defensive End Age, Experience: 28, 7 College: Appalachian State

Jason Hunter has had a lot expectations placed upon him in his two years with the Denver Broncos. A defensive end his entire career, Hunter was asked to switch positions in 2010 to outside linebacker when he signed with the club as a free agent. At the time, he admitted it was going to be a “huge challenge”, but he rose to it, tallying 61 tackles and three sacks in 12 starts as one of the relatively bright spots on a dismal defensive year in Denver. Then, in 2011, the Broncos asked Hunter to move back to DE. (Oh, and they also asked him to heal quickly following the stabbing injury caused by his girlfriend.)

2011 Analysis: Hunter started in two games in 2011 — the two games Elvis Dumervil missed in Weeks 2 and 3, which tells you all you need to know about Hunter’s role. He was the primary backup for Doom at RDE and played predominantly there. He didn’t miss a game, tallying 25 tackles and one sack including the postseason. Of note: Hunter’s largest production came early in the year; for the 11 weeks between the Broncos’ bye and the end of the regular season, he had only seven tackles.

Contract Status: Unrestricted free agent 2012

2012 Outlook: Hunter has voiced his desire to remain with the Broncos.

As always, we invite you, the readers, to participate. Should the Broncos bring Hunter back or look elsewhere?

We hope you enjoy these posts as BroncoTalk develops a one-of-a-kind fan-powered Denver Broncos roster on the web.

2012 NFL Draft

The first round of the draft will take place on the evening of Thursday, April 26th. The second and third rounds will take place Friday, April 27th, with the remaining four rounds taking place on Saturday, April 28, 2012.

The full first round is available after the jump:

What positions should the Broncos be eying as they prepare try to follow-up the success they had drafting the 2011 Defensive Rookie of the Year Von Miller? A cornerback? A defensive lineman?

A quarterback?

Name: Robert Ayers Height, Weight: 6’3″, 274 Position: Defensive End Age, Experience: 26, 4 College: Tennessee

Robert Ayers has had some big shoes to fill. A first round draft pick in 2009 — the second selection of the short-lived Josh McDaniels era — the defensive lineman added to expectations by choosing to wear jersey #56 in his first two seasons, just like another former Volunteer-alum with the Broncos, Al Wilson. Maybe that was why Ayers switched to jersey #91 in 2011 (or maybe it was simply because his number from college became available after Ronald Fieldswasn’t re-signed), but his career to date has nevertheless been up and down. There’s reason to feel good about Ayers’ future, though — he’s finding his footing, literally and figuratively, as a run stuffer on the edge and a much-needed pass rusher in the middle of the Broncos’ defensive line.

2011 Analysis: Ayers played in all 16 games for the Broncos, starting in 13 at left defensive end while also seeing time at defensive tackle in nickel and dime packages. He graded out as the 43rd best 4-3 defensive end by Pro Football Focus this season, and Football Outsiders had the Broncos Left End position graded at 22nd in the NFL (a stat that accounts for all players at the position for the Broncos, not just Ayers). But Ayers came on strong as the year went on — an observation that makes sense since he was getting infused into a new scheme at the professional level for the first time. He had a sack in the season finale and two more in the Broncos’ playoff victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers — as many sacks as he had in his first 41 career games combined.

Contract Status: Signed through 2013

2012 Outlook: Ayers is on the payroll for an affordable $965,000 in 2012, so there’s no reason to believe the Broncos won’t keep him around for what will be a make-or-break fourth season. He’ll compete to keep his starting job at LDE into training camp, but he finished strongly enough in 2011 to believe he could fight off a high draft pick or marquee free agent pickup.

As always, we invite you, the readers, to participate. Is the Broncos’ patience with Ayers beginning to pay off, or will Ayers never live up to his first round expectations?

We hope you enjoy these posts as BroncoTalk develops a one-of-a-kind fan-powered Denver Broncos roster on the web.

Getty Images/Justin Edmonds

The release of longtime Denver Broncos cap manager Mike Bluem didn’t go unnoticed, but it didn’t cause a huge stir either. Executives and personnel come and go, especially with regime changes, and the hiring of 25-year player rep Mike Sullivan could simply be a matter of John Elway finding a person with whom he felt more comfortable working.

Or it could be a matter of the Broncos making a dramatic move to “get tough” in player contract talks, as this tweet from former GM Ted Sundquist (posted minutes after the news of Bluem’s departure broke) suggests:

Anxious to see how the #NFL agent community takes to the new “get tough” negotiating strategy in Denver. Bull dogs, really? @NFLPA @nfl

— Ted Sundquist (@Ted_Sundquist) February 3, 2012

“Bull dogs.” Hmm…

While this is all speculation, it seems likely to us that the former Broncos GM would reach out to Bluem, his former colleague, upon hearing the news and glean some info behind the decision. Clearly that decision was business-driven: the Broncos weren’t happy with the way Bluem was negotiating contracts, and putting two and two together, it was because Bluem was becoming too soft for the Broncos’ liking.

Did it have to do with the mega-contracts the Broncos have dealt to Elvis Dumervil and Champ Bailey in the past two offseasons? Was it the years of dead cap money they’ve been suffering under since the Mike Shanahan days? Was Tim Tebow‘s oft-cited, oft-debated rookie contract a factor in any way?

We likely won’t ever know, but the Broncos’ decision to hire Sullivan in Bluem’s place is very interesting. The AP reports that Sullivan was regarded as “one of the top contract negotiators in the business” before he was hired by Elway. He’s credited for inventing the option bonus in modern NFL draft pick contracts, and he’s been managing a sports agency for over a decade. Who better to toughen the Broncos’ contract negotiation strategies than someone from the other end of the table?

At the very least, Sullivan will offer a fresh, unique perspective in contract negotiations for the Broncos moving forward. He knows all of the agent’s tricks, and he knows the loopholes.

But, reading between the lines, the Broncos are hoping for more than a fresh perspective from Sullivan. They’re hoping he’ll turn the Broncos into contract-negotiating bull dogs.

That’s a conclusion all the more interesting considering the slew of contract negotiations the Broncos will soon be facing, in-house alone.

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning jumps onto defensive end Justin Tuck after defeating the New England Patriots in the NFL Super Bowl XLVI football game in Indianapolis, Indiana, February 5, 2012. (REUTERS photo/Jim Young)

I’ll admit it. I’m a Justin Tuck fan.

The New York Giants defensive end was a Denver Bronco for a day after the Broncos traded for him in 2006. Ultimately the deal was nullifed after Broncos middle linebacker Al Wilson, the trade compensation for Tuck and a fourth round pick, failed his physical, but since then I’ve always followed Tuck’s career closely.

Since then, he’s thrived. Tuck has gone from a backup’s backup to a playoff-dominating, Super Bowl-excelling monster on that Giants’ defensive line.

In 2008, Tuck had two sacks, a forced fumble, and six tackles against Tom Brady and the Patriots that many felt should have earned him MVP honors.

Yesterday, in my opinion, Tuck one-upped Eli Manning again.

Don’t get me wrong, Manning was good. He was extremely efficient (30 of 40), but I wouldn’t call his evening spectacular (296 yards, one touchdown, 7.4 yards per attempt). He made a helluva clutch throw to Mario Manningham, who made an even tougher catch in the fourth quarter, but that doesn’t mean the MVP committee should just fall on the winning team’s quarterback by default. Quarterbacks get enough credit as it is.

“Somebody had to win MVP, but let’s give the MVP to the collective group,” Tuck said after the game.

No, the best performance belonged to Tuck, and the MVP trophy should have too.

You want clutch play? You got it. In the fourth quarter, after Bill Belichick conceded the Ahmad Bradshaw touchdown, it was the Tuck-led defense that had to seal the win for the Giants. Perform Tuck did. He tallied his second sack on third and long with 48 seconds left in the game, forcing the Patriots to use their last timeout.

You want big plays from start to finish? Tuck was the only player on the Giants’ fearsome defensive line to tally a sack, and he tallied two. He was also the force behind Brady’s intentional grounding penalty for a safety in the first quarter, a huge play that won’t show up in Tuck’s stat sheet, but deserves mentioning all the same. It was the first defensive play of the game.

Tuck had as good a Super Bowl as you can ask any defensive player — twice. He drove the Giants to two Super Bowl rings. He, and not Eli, should be driving that Cadillac.