ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Listed at just under 200 pounds, Dymonte Thomas is one of the lighter safeties on the Denver Broncos’ roster. It’s why, during almost his entire time in Denver, he’s played the deep safety role, a place where he can use his above-average speed to cover ground.
Last week, though, with only two weeks left to show he deserves a roster spot at that position, a massive wrench was thrown in the gears of Thomas’ plans. With a season-ending injury to Jamal Carter and minor injuries to both Will Parks and Su’a Cravens keeping them out of last Friday’s preseason matchup against the Redskins, the Broncos were left with a massive hole at their dime linebacker position.
The dime backer, a favorite tool of defensive coordinator Joe Woods, is a position usually reserved for big safeties, almost tweeners who toe the line between a safety and a linebacker. For example, Cravens, who the team brought in this offseason in part because they saw him as a perfect fit for the role, is listed at 224 pounds.
The first line of Dymonte Thomas’ weaknesses category in his draft profile on NFL.com is “Too small to play a combo safety role.”
Without many options, though, the Broncos turned to the 199-pound Thomas to fill in for his injured teammates. While the 2017 undrafted free agent was being given an opportunity to show the team his athleticism and versatility, there was just one problem—he had never played the position. Oh, and there wasn’t much time.
“He practiced the dime position for about two days,” head coach Vance Joseph shared after the game, “and he wasn’t very good at it on Wednesday.”
“At first, I was very nervous,” Thomas admitted on Tuesday afternoon.
Luckily for the Michigan product, he had some helping hands around him. Obviously, Parks and Cravens did everything they could to bring the young safety up to speed, but even linebacker Todd Davis, one of the “quarterbacks” of the defense lent a helping hand.
When he hit the field, starting with the first-team defense, Thomas let his football instincts take over, and boy what a show he put on.
First, it was a fourth-down stop of Vernon Davis, dragging the big tight end down short of the sticks on fourth-and-short. Then, it was a third-down stop. Then another third-down stop. Oh and a third-down pass breakup in coverage of Davis to go with it all.
When all was said and done, Thomas was the unquestioned player of the game, looking less like a guy on the bubble and more like a potential answer to the team’s problems covering backs and tight ends, a true preseason success story.
“When I went out there, I was a little nervous at first,” he explained. “But once I settled in, I just had fun and played. I wasn’t worried about mistakes, I was just worried about running fast, getting to the ball, and not having any [missed assignments].”
A week ago, he wouldn’t have popped up on many 53-man roster predictions; now, he’ll likely appear on most. As the saying goes, “That’s why they play the games.”
As for Thomas, though, he’s got another chance to go out and strut his stuff on Thursday against the Arizona Cardinals, and he’s not taking anything for granted.
“I’m not worried about that game anymore,” he said. “I’m worried about the game we’ve got coming up in a few days. You can’t harp on just one good game; you have to continue to stack the dates… I feel a little bit of confidence, but at the end of the day, it’s a numbers game. Whether they have me on the practice squad or the have me on the active roster, I’ll just be appreciative of being a part of this organization.”
Spoken like a true pro. Literally.
