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Julius Thomas Joins Jaguars; Can He Raise Their Level Of Play?

Written By Bob Harris | fantasy football | Posted 10-Mar-15 @ 16:27 PT

The expected is now official: Tight end Julius Thomas is getting a five-year deal worth an average of $9.2 million each season with $24 million guaranteed.

The question now is how excited should fantasy football owners be about this move?

Thomas spent his first four NFL seasons with the Broncos, growing into one of Peyton Manning's most reliable targets in the back end of his Denver run. As NFL.com's Dan Hanzus suggested, Thomas emerged as one of the NFL's best red-zone threats, seemingly overnight.

He immediately gives the Jaguars a proven offensive threat for second-year quarterback Blake Bortles.

But what does that mean?

Jacksonville's offense has 31 TD passes over last two years; Thomas has 24 touchdown catches over that same span.

Even with an emerging cast of young playmakers like Allen Robinson, Marqise Lee and Allen Hurns at wideout, do the Jaguars have the overall firepower to turn things around?

Something is going to give. I suspect it will be Thomas' value.

Whatever the case, the Jaguars believed in Bortles enough to take him with the third overall pick last year. Importing a playmaker like Thomas should boost the young passer's development.

For the record, the Raiders and Seahawks (who subsequently traded for Jimmy Graham) both made aggressive plays for the 26-year old Thomas.

The Broncos attempted to retain the tight end, though they were financially strapped after using their franchise tag on wide receiver Demaryius Thomas. Faced with a decision, Hanzus believes Denver chose the right Thomas to keep in the building.

For what it's worth, the Broncos added Owen Daniels to their roster today; they also re-signed tight end Virgil Green.

Daniels has a long history with new Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak. He played in Baltimore last year when Kubiak was the Ravens' offensive coordinator, and Daniels played for Kubiak in Houston from 2006 to 2013.

Although Daniels isn't quite the same kind of explosive playmaker that Thomas is, he's a productive pass catcher who already knows the Broncos' offense. He'll be a good fit in Denver.