Demaryius Thomas appears at peace now. He walks down the hallway toward the Broncos locker room. He checks to make sure he isn’t forgetting anything.

“I got my keys, I got my phone,” Thomas said. “I think I have everything.”

This week left Thomas satisfied, exuberant and motivated in a way that he never could have imagined when he was 13 dreaming of playing in the NBA. Monday, President Barack Obama commuted the sentence of Thomas’ mother, Katina Stuckey Smith. Wednesday, Thomas signed a five-year, $70 million contract with $43.5 million in guaranteed money. Friday, he revealed a breathtaking goal.

“I want to lead the league in yards, touchdowns, basically about everything a receiver can do,” Thomas said. “I kind of want to break the NFL record in yards. There’s big plays to be made (in this offense).”

Detroit’s Calvin Johnson owns the single-season mark with 1,964 yards set in 2012. Thomas ranks 15th all-time with 1,619 yards last season.

“I know (it’s roughly 2,000 yards),” Thomas said. “If the first few games weren’t bad this past year I would have gotten it.”

Standing alone at the podium, dressed in a navy blue suit with a Broncos pin on his lapel, Thomas talked softly about the greatest week of his life. His mom should be in a halfway house soon, and possibly released to see him play for the first time in November. His right ankle, stepped on during practice on Dec. 2, has healed, allowing him to drop from 229 to 222 pounds through several months of jump training known as plyometrics. His contract is official, and it never worried him despite the anxiety shared by the Broncos and his agent.

Most salient moving forward, Thomas said he likely would have attended training camp and said, “I definitely wasn’t going to sit out games. I was still going to play.”

The gravitational pull of football remains strong in Thomas. When a team makes a player the second-highest paid in franchise history, character matters.

“That’s definitely part of the decision-making,” general manager John Elway said.

The Broncos know Thomas can produce in any offense with any quarterback — he has starred with Kyle Orton, Tim Tebow and Peyton Manning — but the expectations extend beyond the field. His statistics — he has averaged 99 catches, 1,494 yards and 12 touchdowns since becoming a starter in 2012 — provide a soundtrack for his success, but his voice can provide guidance.

As the longest-tenured Bronco with left tackle Ryan Clady sidelined by injury, Thomas welcomes a larger leadership role after serving as a co-captain last season. He said he should have been more assertive last season when he heard teammates grousing about playing in the cold weather in New England if the Broncos had beaten the Indianapolis Colts in the playoffs.

“I knew it was not a good situation,” Thomas said. “I have heard from guys like (former Broncos) Brian Dawkins, Shannon Sharpe, Champ (Bailey) saying I need to step up. When I hear it from those guys, it means something. I know I need to step up and have the guys listen to me.”

The Broncos view Thomas as part of the core as the team transitions over the next few seasons. Beyond Rod Smith, one of his early mentors, Thomas ranks as arguably the most prolific receiver in team history. He owns Broncos’ records for receiving yards in a regular-season game, a playoff game and a season.

Nearly two hours after his news conference, Thomas walked out Friday with his keys and phone, but missing a ring.

An ideal team finish starts with him.

“I watched some games I played, and there were some where I took a play or two off and missed a couple of blocks. If I have to take a play off, I should get out. Not having drops and not taking plays off, if I do that it will make everyone around me better,” Thomas said. “So far we haven’t gotten the Super Bowl. We still have work to do. I look forward to getting that before I am done.”

Troy E. Renck: trenck@denverpost.com or twitter.com/troyrenck