Quick Facts
Biography
Julius Dewayne Thomas (born June 27, 1988) is an American football tight end for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football and basketball at Portland State, and was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He has also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Early life and education
Thomas is the son of Greg and Toria Thomas. He has two brothers, Trenton and Marcus. Thomas graduated from Tokay High School in Lodi, California. Thomas graduated from Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration.
College career
Thomas was a First-team All-Big Sky Conference selection in football in 2010. He finished the season with 29 receptions for 453 yards and two touchdowns for Portland State's football team. Thomas had not played collegiate football prior to 2010.
Thomas played four seasons for the Portland State basketball team. During his collegiate basketball career, Thomas set school records for career games played (121), career wins (78), and career field goals percentage (.663), and also participated on one Big Sky regular season championship team and two Big Sky tournament championship teams as well two NCAA Tournaments (2008 and 2009). He was twice named to the Big Sky All-Tournament team. As a senior, he averaged 10.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, and shot a school-record .671 from the field.
Professional career
| Ht | Wt | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20-ss | 3-cone | Vert | Broad | BP | Wonderlic | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 4⅝ in | 246 lb | 33 in | 10 1/4 in | 4.68 s | 1.62 s | 2.63 s | 4.31 s | 6.96 s | 35½ in | 9 ft 3 in | 16 reps | x | |||||||
| all from NFL Combine | |||||||||||||||||||
Denver Broncos
Thomas was selected in the 4th round, 129th overall, by the Denver Broncos in the 2011 NFL Draft. His rookie contract was four years and $2,420,000 through the 2014 season [1]. It included a $384,000 signing bonus. Thomas had only one catch through his first two years in the league as he battled various injuries before erupting onto the scene in the 2013 season. He scored his first and second career touchdowns in the season opener against the Baltimore Ravens on September 5, 2013, having a five catch, 110 yard breakout performance. He followed up this performance in week two with a 6 catch, 47 yard performance that ended with a game-sealing touchdown. In week three he continued his scoring streak against the Oakland Raiders (3 catches for 37 Yards and a TD). Thomas played his best game of the season in week 5, catching 9 passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns in a 51-48 shootout win against the Dallas Cowboys. In week 16 in a win over the Houston Texans Thomas caught a touchdown from Peyton Manning, giving Manning his 51st touchdown pass which set a single season record. He ended the season with 12 touchdown receptions, the most by any Denver Broncos tight end. Thomas and the Broncos reached Super Bowl XLVIII where he had 4 receptions for 27 yards, but lost 43-8 to the Seattle Seahawks.
In the first game of the 2014 season, the Broncos hosted the Indianapolis Colts. During that game, Thomas caught three first-half touchdown passes from quarterback Peyton Manning, tying former Bronco Shannon Sharpe's franchise record for the most touchdowns by a tight end in a single season game. The Broncos went on to win the game 31-24. On October 8, 2014, Thomas was fined $8,000 for a chop block on Cardinals defensive end Calais Campbell. On October 12, against the New York Jets, Thomas caught two touchdowns, tying Calvin Johnson's record of 9 through the first 5 games of a season. Although his numbers in receptions and yards dropped from the previous season, Thomas recorded 12 touchdowns for the second straight season.
Jacksonville Jaguars
On March 10, 2015, Thomas signed a five-year, $46 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. On November 19, 2015, his 5-yard touchdown catch was the game-winner in Jacksonville's 19-13 victory over the Tennessee Titans.
In the 2016 season, Thomas played in nine games with six starts recording 30 receptions for 281 yards and four touchdowns. He was placed on injured reserve on December 10, 2016 after missing two games with a back injury.
Miami Dolphins
On March 9, 2017, the Jaguars traded Thomas to the Miami Dolphins, where he signed a new two-year contract.
Career statistics
| Year | Team | Games | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | DEN | 5 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2012 | DEN | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | DEN | 14 | 65 | 788 | 12.1 | 74 | 12 |
| 2014 | DEN | 13 | 43 | 489 | 11.4 | 35 | 12 |
| 2015 | JAX | 12 | 46 | 455 | 9.9 | 34 | 5 |
| 2016 | JAX | 9 | 30 | 281 | 9.4 | 24 | 4 |
| Total | Total | 57 | 185 | 2,018 | 10.9 | 74 | 33 |
Source:
Personal life
Thomas is a Christian. Thomas has spoken about his faith, saying, "When you're going through tribulations and it's one thing after another, it's easier to doubt your faith. It's easier to doubt the Lord. I never allowed that to creep into my mind. I thought, 'God brought me here for a reason.'...What I've learned is that no matter what you're going through, God has a plan".