Demaryius Thomas

Let's get him signed baby!

The firesale in Denver is underway, and they probably won't bring him back.

Give Wilson Demaryius and he may end up with an MVP award next season.

hieroglyphics":36m8wg30 said:

Let's get him signed baby!

The firesale in Denver is underway, and they probably won't bring him back.

Give Wilson Demaryius and he may end up with an MVP award next season.

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Isn't he the guy who drops passes against the dolts? Plus, he's still terrified of Kam.

OkieHawk":3dy3hkhu said:

hieroglyphics":3dy3hkhu said:

Let's get him signed baby!

The firesale in Denver is underway, and they probably won't bring him back.

Give Wilson Demaryius and he may end up with an MVP award next season.

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Isn't he the guy who drops passes against the dolts? Plus, he's still terrified of Kam.

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All the more reason to come here, so he'd never have to face Kam in a real game

I would rather have the other Thomas... I think they will both hit the market.

Mike 4G":rb6np8zw said:

I would rather have the other Thomas... I think they will both hit the market.

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Me too, and Denver put themselves in cap hell selling out to win this year.

Demaryius and Julius strike me as the type of "buy high" free agents that teams constantly get burned on. See: Eric Decker. The guys who usually pay off are the ones with sneaky value on average offenses (e.g. Emmanuel Sanders in Pittsburgh).

This is irrelevant, though. Who are you cutting to create the cap space? Seahawks are already up against it assuming they extend Wilson and Wagner. Won't even have enough to retain Maxwell.

I like D. Thomas. He played really hard in the Super Bowl even though he got smacked around. Much respect.

However, you guys have to remember that our cap is going to go to retaining our own players. If you want a WR, it's probably best to read a few mock drafts because that's where we're going to get one. We'll need to draft at least one to replace Richardson for next year.

If we're going to try and get a Bronco, let's get Clady.

DavidSeven":6qmq6l3j said:

Demaryius and Julius strike me as the type of "buy high" free agents that teams constantly get burned on. See: Eric Decker. The guys who usually pay off are the ones with sneaky value on average offenses (e.g. Emmanuel Sanders in Pittsburgh).

This is irrelevant, though. Who are you cutting to create the cap space? Seahawks are already up against it assuming they extend Wilson and Wagner. Won't even have enough to retain Maxwell.

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I dont agree with any of this.

First, Decker is not anywhere near the player either Thomas is. It's not his fault a team with NO QB and no way to get him the ball offered him a decent size contract. They Jets weren't "burned" because we still don't know if Decker is a #1 type WR, the Jets offense is just bad and it has nothing to do with Decker's ability.

As for the cap stuff, we have no idea how much space Wilson's and Wagner's contract will take up. On top of the Hawks having tons of cap space this upcoming year, they are very good at staggering salaries to make the cap hits work. If they wanted to go out and get a Julius Thomas, they could.

Staggering cap hits works up until a point. At some point, the bill comes due. Both Demaryius and Julius will command long-term deals with huge cap hits that will be unavoidable by at least the 2nd or 3rd year, which is also when we will be in the heart of Wilson, Wagner, Sherm, ET, et al.'s deals.

Yes, Demaryius is better than Decker. However, he will also command way more money. Are you comfortable with paying him Dez Bryant type money? I am not. I don't think he is that kind of player. I could be wrong.

Julius will be more affordable. It's possible they could fit him under the cap. Personally, I think he is a good player but not a difference-maker outside of Denver's system. I wouldn't love the idea of handing him a huge contract. Again, I could be wrong.

IMO, the last thing this team needs to do is hand another $10-14M APY contract to a "weapon" player before he proves anything in a Seahawks uniform. SEA should either keep drafting or hope that Fitzgerald is open to a mid-level, short term deal.

I think if Lynch retires we'll actually have no choice but to improve our passing game. Not to mention we'll have some extra change lying around at that point.

Not sure why some people want Julius over Demaryius, especially since Luke Willson has been stringing together some great performances lately.

If Lynch retires, I hope we get Gurley or Gordon and continue to pound the ball. I feel good about Gordon/Gurley plus Turbin and Michael.

I wouldn't mind Julius, but I'd rather draft Maxx Williams and get probably the same performance for less capital.

If Lynch retires we sign Murray or draft a bruiser back.

I'd rather draft Gordon or Gurley than spend the dollars on Murray, who was finally healthy for a full 16 games in his walk year.

I'd be very surprised if we sign Gurley or Gordon (but very happy) even if Lynch retires - I think there are more pressing needs than a RB (WR and TE basically).

And more likely than not we'll trade down out of the 1st round anyway

No bueno. You dont pay big bucks for a WR when it doesnt fit the system. our system doesnt require a true #1, and paying for one decreases cash available for areas we need to spend it.

Even if Peyton retires Denver will probably re-sign Demariyus. Julius might walk but I highly doubt they let DT go.

DavidSeven":eoe2q8xo said:

Demaryius and Julius strike me as the type of "buy high" free agents that teams constantly get burned on. See: Eric Decker. The guys who usually pay off are the ones with sneaky value on average offenses (e.g. Emmanuel Sanders in Pittsburgh).

This is irrelevant, though. Who are you cutting to create the cap space? Seahawks are already up against it assuming they extend Wilson and Wagner. Won't even have enough to retain Maxwell.

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I agree with all of this.

It was easy to see a drop off from Decker (though he still had more yards than I thought he'd end up with), same with Greg Jennings in Minnesota (who could be cut next year). Emmanuel Sanders is a good example of someone who could provide good value, as is Tate with the Lions, Steve Smith in Baltimore to an extent.

If Stevie Johnson gets cut this year (they'd save over $6m with no dead cap in doing so) then there's no doubt he could put up more than 35 catches and 435 yards on almost any other team. He might be a nice Richardson replacement for us on a one year prove it deal.

I don't think there's any debate that the Thomas brothers are very good players, but it's not difficult to see them earning a significant amount of money whilst having a reasonable drop off, particularly in a system like ours. That wouldn't be good value, better value would be if Demaryius went somewhere like the Pats where he'd have a good chance of replicating his numbers and influence, or if Julius went somewhere like Atlanta, where they're pretty desperate for a decent TE in their passing offense.

If we have the cap space I'd rather spend it on Maxwell that either Thomas.

Granted they articles were written earlier in the season but here is one of the two better salary cap sites projecting what both Thomas's will earn this off season. Even if their numbers are 20% off that is still too much I feel for the Seahawks to swallow. Yes we have cap space right now and yes they can conform the contracts of Wilson and Bobby to be friendly for 2015 but that just means bigger numbers in the years after. Regardless I trust whatever they decide as Pete/John have a very good track record.

Demaryius Thomas: Spotrac's Prediction: 6 years, $129,250,000
http://www.spotrac.com/research/nfl/updated-contract-forecast-demaryius-thomas-480/

Average Salary: $21,541,666
Guaranteed Money: $54,900,000

Concluding Thoughts
Obviously we're aware this is a huge number. The current highest average paid wide receiver in the league is Calvin Johnson at $16.2M per year. The long and short is that Thomas' current pace of production is nearly 50% better than any of our variable receivers at the time of their signing. Should he continue this trend, there's no reason to believe he won't command the highest average salary in the league at the position.

In terms of guaranteed dollars, the percentage has been rising with recent signees (Vincent Jackson 47%, Julian Edelman 48%, Mike Wallace 50%). Thomas will warrant anywhere between 40-50% should he remain healthy through the 2014 season. It should also be noted that the expiring contract of Dez Bryant should play well into the process for Thomas who are likely to find similar paydays after the season.

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Julius Thomas: Spotrac's New Money Extension: 5 years, $45,000,000
http://www.spotrac.com/research/nfl/contract-forecast-julius-thomas-481/

Average Salary: $9,000,000
Guaranteed Money: $19,000,000

Final Thoughts
Has Julius Thomas done enough to warrant becoming the 2nd highest paid tight end in the game? It's certainly debatable, as the numbers clearly exist on paper. Many believe a world without Manning decreases Thomas' value immensely, to which we respond - who doesn't that apply to? What's become crystal clear, is that Thomas has become a must target 3rd and short/red zone player, a priceless weapon for any quarterback with professional accuracy. He'll never be the dynamic athletes that Jimmy Graham and Vernon Davis are (were), but he finds a way to create space, has elite hands, and makes people miss with the ball. He'll benefit both productively and financially because of his time spent in a Peyton Manning offense, even if he signs elsewhere in 2015.

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