Demaryius Thomas eases onto a bench along the Broncos’ practice fields at Dove Valley covered head to toe in orange and blue. A graphic “88” — his own logo — is stamped on his orange sweatshirt and paired with blue Broncos pants and a pair of socks bearing his likeness.

Thomas regularly advertises his team — and himself — but not even the full-body coverings can’t shield his scars. There’s still a line down his left pinkie, where he had surgery to repair a fracture. There are still nicks here and bruises there as postcards of games and practices of the past.

But as the longest-tenured Bronco on the roster — working on eight years — Thomas is nearing a milestone that belies the beatings he takes regularly and poses a defiant answer to his many critics who say he’s always hurt.

Truth is, he has been.

But since Jan. 8, 2012, rain or shine, win or loss, Demaryius Thomas has started for the Broncos. His 88-game starting streak — a good number, he’d probably say — is the longest among active receivers in the regular season. Including the playoffs, Thomas is only two starts away from hitting No. 100 on his career.

Sunday, he will play in his 100th consecutive NFL game, dating back to Oct. 23, 2011.

“That speaks to his work ethic and that speaks to his toughness,” coach Vance Joseph said. It’s a tough game and to play that many games in a row, it’s amazing. It’s a physical sport. I mean, he’s a receiver and he takes poundings all the time. Even being here with him for my first year year, watching the guy rehab, take care of his body and battle week-to-week injuries, he finds a way to play in the game and that’s special.”

But when Thomas looks back on his NFL tenure that has included five different head coaches, three different offensive coordinators and six different starting quarterbacks, he sees more than much more than history of toughness. He remembers the lessons learned in training, the lows of losing and the highs of winning it all.

He sees a career that, while still in the making, has afforded him a perspective no one on the Broncos’ current roster has or can fall back on when navigating the emotions of a four-game slide.

“The past two years I haven’t been healthy”

Thomas’ entrance and first two years in the NFL were dominated by injuries that seemingly kept him in training and operating rooms than on the field. A broken foot, a forearm injury, a concussion, an ankle injury, a torn Achilles tendon and that broken finger — all before the start of his sophomore season.

There’s there scroll of nicks and serious wounds, from his neck to his hips, to his feet, that have posed as speed bumps along his career but have also prompted Thomas to change his ways.

“My first two years, I learned from Brian Dawkins and Champ Bailey and I remember them telling me, ‘You ain’t no young player anymore.’ Because when you’re young you can go out and do whatever you want, you can eat whatever you want,’ Thomas said in a lengthy interview with The Denver Post on Thursday. “They were telling me to change my diet and continuously stay on top of my body. If I feel my Achilles and my ankle are tight, I make sure I get it worked on before I practice because I don’t want to put myself in the situation of possibly getting hurt.”

Before the start of this season, Thomas adopted a vegan diet in an effort to ease the pain his balky hips. And it’s worked, for the most part.

But when the Broncos host the New England Patriots on Sunday night, it’ll be an anniversary of sorts for Thomas.

“To be honest, completely, fully healthy, the best I ever felt playing was the year we played the Patriots for the AFC championship (in January 2014). That game I played was the best I’ve ever felt in my whole career,” he said, thinking back to his 134-yard, one-touchdown performance. “That game, I just felt I had all the juice, like I wasn’t missing anything. I wasn’t tight in my hip, I wasn’t tight in my Achilles, I didn’t have any hamstring problems. That game and probably the Cardinals game when I had 220-something yards (in October 2014). The past two years I haven’t been healthy. It’s either the hip, I had the neck problem.

“With pain, as long as you know it’s nothing super serious or nothing is structurally wrong, you start getting used to it. If I get hit, I know the pain is going to be temporary. I’m going to hurt for a second and that might be one of those times I run off the field. But then it’ll ease up and I’ll go back in. But when you get those, you can’t run the next play, so you want to come off. It’s a mind thing. I’ve had to learn about my body and I’ve had to figure out things that will work for me — I had to change my diet and, having been injured, I’ve been in the treatment room and learning from those guys and people outside of the treatment room.”

His regular walk to and from the training room to locker room, he hopes, has provided an example, too.

The Broncos, embroiled in a losing streak, are feeling the pangs of an offense without a Hall of Famer at quarterback. Twenty months since Peyton Manning retired, the Broncos are still searching for their true offensive identity. Many on the outside believe the leadership void is one too great to fill by those on the current roster.

Thomas disagrees.

“That’s what I think a lot of people miss. Everybody is so used to the greats always leading. There were a lot of leaders that weren’t always the greats and never even get mentioned or talked about. I feel like I’m one of those,” he said. “I’m not a Peyton Manning or a Brock (Osweiler) or anybody else. I lead by example, but if I have to speak I will because it’s simple. We do this for a living. We get paid to do this, so you should do your best every chance you get because it’s not always promised.” Related Articles Week 2 NFL Picks: After winning debut, Cam Newton leads Patriots to Seattle

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“Now they’re saying I’m sorry …”

There’s a silver lining to being the most veteran Bronco in the locker room. When tempers flare, when frustration builds, when the bad times outweigh the good, the roller-coaster of years past can often temper the flames.

Thomas has experienced the lows of 2010 that no other player in Dove Valley has. He knows the patience and extra work required when a new coaching staff rolls in and when a new quarterback is appointed. He knows how a loyal fan base can be both his biggest supporter and loudest critic in successive days.

In the Broncos’ record books, Thomas sits most receiving categories alongside a Ring of Fame receiver and Hall of Fame tight end. Career receptions (589), career receiving yards (8,229), career receiving touchdowns (53) — Thomas ranks third in the Broncos’ annals, behind Rod Smith and Shannon Sharpe, respectively, in each.

But Thomas sits at No. 1 with 35 100-yard games. And league-wide, only Thomas, Torry Holt and Marvin Harrison have recorded five consecutive seasons with at least 90 catches and 1,000 yards.

Yet, the critics so often call Thomas “average,” at best.

“That’s been there since I started,” he said. “When I was playing with (Tim) Tebow they were saying stuff. When I was playing with Peyton they said it was all Peyton. Now they’re saying I’m sorry. I hear it all the time. When I was playing my best ball I was still not what people expected me to be. I got to a point where it used to bother me. But now, they’re going to say what they want to say.”

Thomas began to tune them out when Emmanuel Sanders signed with Denver in 2014. Because he, too, is rarely considered a No. 1 receiver. He, too, rarely gets his due.

“All I care about is what the people here think — the guys I work with, the coaches that coach me,” Thomas said. “If they start having a problem with me, that’s when I need to do something about it. But all the other talk, I never get mentioned as being among the best receivers. I don’t really care about that.”

“I want to be the ultimate receiver”

Despite a week of chatter about Thomas’ 13-game touchdown drought prior to the Broncos’ loss at Philadelphia on Sunday, the cameras failed to capture the biggest moment.

The Broncos’ window to climb back had already closed, but with about 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Osweiler connected with Thomas for a 1-yard touchdown, the team’s first of the day.

The Broncos still trailed by nearly 30, so a true celebration (like the last time, when Thomas spiked the ball and gave out a primal scream in New Orleans) was uncalled for. So he simply handed the ball off to a fan and made his way to the sideline — where he bawled.

“It felt amazing. I’m not gonna lie to you,” he said. “I got on the sidelines and I started crying. I was boo-hooing. I felt like a girl over there crying. I’m just so emotional about the game and with all the talent we have and the situation we’re in, we’re 3-5, and I know being a player on this squad for eight years, the longest-tenured Bronco, I’ve been around a lot of teams — this team we got right here is so special. The fact that we can’t go out and (get a win) it can sometimes get emotional.”

The emotions for Thomas are amplified because of the experience, he says. He remembers the feelings of 2010. He remembers the roster and the team’s potential, too.

This time around, it’s different.

“It makes it tough because we got players,” he said. “We have to come out every week and can’t back down to nobody and think anyone’s going to give it to us. I feel l like we’re one of the most hated teams in the NFL to tell you the truth. And that’s how I feel every week.”

Thomas rarely thinks too far ahead. He won’t let himself. He doesn’t think about the end or when it may come or when he wants it to come.

“I always say, ‘If God called me today and I couldn’t play anymore, I guess it’s my time.’ So whenever He calls me and says it isn’t my time anymore or he gives me a reality check, I won’t play,” he said. “Now, I’m not going to be a receiver playing 20 years if I’m still able to play. But I’m blessed right now to be able to play eight. Because I’ve torn my Achilles, I’ve broken my hand, I’ve broke my foot, I’ve torn a labrum in my hip. It’s a lot. So being able to come back from all that is just a blessing in itself.”

But like Manning, Thomas is the type to remember every game, every play, every good moment and bad.

Like Manning, he can visualize the past seven years and can see vividly how he wants it to be remembered. But he thinks back to the times he felt the most satisfaction from a game, he remembers the 226-yard outing against Arizona, but he also remembers the block he had on a third-and-2 to spring a running back free for a touchdown.

“I want to be the ultimate receiver,” he said. “A lot of guys go out and catch all the balls, make all the plays, score all the touchdowns. I just want to be the ultimate receiver and be able to block, so when they remember me, they can say D.T. knows how to block.”