Demaryius Antwon Thomas (December 25, 1987 – December 9, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Denver Broncos. He played college football for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, earning third-team All-American honors in 2009. Thomas was selected by the Broncos in the first round of the 2010 NFL draft. With Denver, he made five Pro Bowls and won Super Bowl 50 against the Carolina Panthers. Thomas also played for the Houston Texans, New England Patriots, and New York Jets.
Thomas was born in Montrose, Georgia, on December 25, 1987. When he was a child, police raided the house where his mother and grandmother lived. Thomas' mother was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and his grandmother to life in prison, for crack cocaine distribution. By all accounts a shy and introverted child, Thomas grew up with his aunt and uncle after his mother was sent to prison. As a child, Thomas was given the nickname "Bay Bay" by his uncle in reference to the bad kids from the movie Bebe's Kids. On July 13, 2015, President Barack Obama commuted his mother's sentence. She was released at midnight a few months later on November 11, and saw her son play football for the first time on January 17, 2016. On August 2, Obama commuted the sentence of Thomas' grandmother.
Thomas attended West Laurens High School in Dexter, Georgia, where he was a three-sport star in basketball, football, and track. Thomas played wide receiver for the Raiders football team under the direction of then head coach John Kenny. As a junior in 2004, Thomas recorded 32 receptions for 330 yards and three touchdowns. He was named an all-region and all-Heart of Georgia player. As a senior, Thomas recorded 82 receptions for 1,234 yards and 10 touchdowns. After the game, he participated in the North-South All-Star game. Thomas was again selected as an all-region and all-Heart of Georgia, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution named him to its Class AA all-state first team and PrepStar to its All-Region team. Scout.com assessed Thomas as the 22nd-ranked college prospect in the state of Georgia, and Rivals.com rated him the 34th-ranked such prospect. Thomas received scholarship offers from Duke, Georgia, and Georgia Tech.
In addition to playing football, Thomas competed in track & field at West Laurens. He earned a fourth-place finish in the triple jump event at the 2006 Georgia Olympics after clearing a personal-best mark of 13.92 meters (45–4). As a sprinter, Thomas posted a personal-best time of 10.99 seconds in the 100-meter dash and was a member of the 4 × 100 m relay squad.
Thomas chose to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) where he majored in management. Under Yellow Jackets head coach Chan Gailey, Thomas sat out the 2006 season as a redshirt freshman.
Thomas made his collegiate debut in the 33–3 victory over Notre Dame, recording a single reception for nine yards. He scored his first collegiate touchdown on a 56-yard pass from Taylor Bennett in the Yellow Jackets' fourth game against Virginia. In the next game against Maryland, Thomas recorded his best statistical game of the season with nine receptions for 139 yards and a touchdown during the narrow 28–26 loss. During the 2007 Humanitarian Bowl, he had four receptions for 69 yards and a touchdown in the 40–28 loss to Fresno State. The Sporting News named Thomas to its freshman All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) first team and a freshman All-America honorable mention.
In 2007, Thomas saw action in all 13 games including 10 starts, and recorded 35 receptions for 558 yards, which ranked second on the team behind Greg Smith's 588 yards. Thomas also led the team in receiving touchdowns with four.
In 2008, Paul Johnson was hired as the head coach and implemented the run-heavy triple option offense. Thomas considered transferring but decided against doing so. During the season, he recorded 39 receptions for 627 yards and three touchdowns as the leading receiver. Despite playing in a heavily run-oriented system, as one of the team's few experienced players, Thomas recorded relatively high numbers for the Yellow Jackets. Still, compared with other receivers in the Atlantic Coast Conference Thomas's statistics were much smaller. He said, "Sometimes I think about [not getting many passes], but most of the time I just want to win." Thomas's mark was the best of any wide receiver from the school since Calvin Johnson had 1,202 yards in 2006. In the 27–0 victory over Duke on October 4, he caught nine receptions for 230 yards, the second-most in a single game in school history.
Thomas began his senior season strong with four receptions for 101 yards in a 37–17 victory over Jacksonville State. In the third game, he recorded six receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown in the 33–17 loss to Miami. On October 3 against Mississippi State, Thomas had eight receptions for 174 yards and a touchdown in the 42–31 victory. On November 28, in the rivalry game against Georgia, he caught five passes for 127 yards and a touchdown in the 30–24 loss. Georgia Tech finished the regular season with a 10–2 record and qualified for the ACC Championship Game against Clemson. In the 39–34 victory, Thomas had a 70-yard touchdown reception. The Yellow Jackets qualified for the Orange Bowl. Thomas played in the game against Iowa but did not record any statistics in his final collegiate game.
Overall in 2009, during his redshirt junior year at Georgia Tech, Thomas had a breakout season with 46 receptions for 1,154 yards and eight touchdowns. This earned him First-Team All-ACC honors. He finished his collegiate career with 120 catches for a conference-leading 2,339 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Many draft experts had Thomas gaining momentum with NFL scouts going into the last couple weeks leading up to the draft and most had him as the number one or two-rated wide receiver along with Dez Bryant in the 2010 NFL draft, including Sporting News. On January 8, 2010, he declared for the draft.
Before the combine, Thomas broke his foot and was unable to participate in combine drills as a result. Thomas scored second highest among wide receivers with 34 on the Wonderlic test, second only to friend, fellow wide receiver, and future teammate Eric Decker, who had the highest score in the Combine with 43.
The Denver Broncos selected Thomas in the first round (22nd overall) in the 2010 NFL draft. He was the first wide receiver to be chosen that year. On July 31, 2010, the Broncos signed him to a five-year, $12.155 million contract with $9.35 million guaranteed.
In his NFL debut, Thomas had eight receptions for 97 yards and a touchdown as the Broncos defeated the Seattle Seahawks by a score of 31–14. His first career touchdown reception came on a 21-yard reception from quarterback Kyle Orton. Thomas was just the ninth player since 1970 to record at least eight catches in his first game. Thomas had the second-most catches by a rookie in franchise history, trailing only Eddie Royal, who had nine in a game against the Oakland Raiders in 2008. The highlight of Thomas' season came when he beat All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis for a 17-yard touchdown when the Broncos hosted the New York Jets in a 24–20 loss in Week 6 on October 17.
Thomas was plagued by injuries as a rookie. He first missed playing time due to a forearm injury and then a concussion; an ankle injury rendered him inactive for five more games late in the season.
Thomas finished his rookie year with 22 receptions for 283 yards and two touchdowns.
On February 10, 2011, it was announced that Thomas tore his Achilles tendon while working out and was expected to miss a majority, if not the entirety, of the 2011 season. However, he was surprisingly activated from the Physically Unable to Perform List prior to the start of the season. Broncos general manager Brian Xanders said that Demaryius had responded to rehab well and was "ready to go." Unfortunately, during his first practice back, Thomas broke his left pinkie finger and missed the first five games of the season.