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Owners who selected Thomas saw a tremendous athlete who had a potentially large role in a high-octane passing offense at his fingertips, and they were handsomely rewarded for spending a late pick on him.

Thomas’ yardage total of 788 wasn’t spectacular, but he scored whopping 12 touchdowns and finished as the third overall tight end despite playing just 14 games. As a result of his strong season, his ADP jumped to the top 30 players selected overall, meaning fantasy owners are completely buying into Thomas once again in 2014.

After a Week 1 performance that saw him score three touchdowns in the first half, it begs the question of just how high Thomas can soar this season. Is anything stopping him from being the number-one tight end in fantasy, and perhaps somewhat of a bargain despite his relatively high draft cost? Let’s give it a look.

Peyton Manning and Tight Ends

A good place to start when looking at Thomas’ ceiling is identifying how detailed why you shouldn’t be spending an early-round pick on Thomas. One of his main arguments was that among “premium” tight ends, like Thomas, Jimmy Graham, and Vernon Davis, Thomas sees by far the smallest percentage of his teams total yards and touchdowns. His smaller slice of the pie is due to the abundance of options in the Broncos’ offense, and it’s generally never a good sign when your early-round pick isn’t the focus of an offense. With that said, Decker’s departure means Thomas has one less player to contend for looks with, and Wes Welker still has another three games left on his suspension.

Tallying Thomas

Overall, the combination of Manning’s consistent usage of tight ends coupled with Thomas’ increased opportunity in the Broncos offense is a recipe for him to have a huge season. He had a big red zone role last season, but it appears he’s set to be the go-to player when the Broncos are around the end zone this season. His player comparables include pessimistic outlooks like Heath Miller’s good-not-great 2007 season, but also gives a glimpse of his immense upside in the comparison to Antonio Gates’ monstrous 2004 season.