If a bobblehead doll were constructed in the likeness of Demaryius Thomas, 2017 NFL season edition, its main facial feature would be a grimace.
The Broncos’ top wide receiver, hobbled by deep pain in his hips, Achilles and other parts of his 6-foot-3, 229-pound body, caught 83 passes during Denver’s 5-11 slide in 2017, his lowest total since 2011. Emmanuel Sanders, who once formed one of the league’s most fearsome duos with Thomas, dealt with his own injury problems. A nagging ankle issue kept him out of four games and compromised him in a handful of the 12 in which he did play, and his 47 catches were by far his fewest in four seasons with the Broncos.