Eric Decker choked back tears as he remembered his friend and former teammate Demaryius Thomas on Monday ... giving a powerful speech at the former NFL star's celebration of life.
Past and present members of the Denver Broncos flew to Atlanta to pay tribute to Thomas ... with John Elway, Champ Bailey, Courtland Sutton, T.J. Ward and more attending the service.
Georgia Tech's McCamish Pavilion was filled with mementos of Thomas' career -- including game balls, jerseys, and a large #88 hanging behind the stage.
Decker and Bailey -- who both played with Thomas on the Broncos -- spoke to the crowd ... and it's pretty emotional.
"He was the brother I always wanted," Decker said, fighting tears.
Here's some of the emotional moments from today's Celebration of Life Service honoring Demaryius Thomas.
— Alison Mastrangelo (@AlisonWSB) December 20, 2021
"We talked about everything, I'm going to miss that guy. I love him to death." @champbailey
"He was the brother I always wanted," @EricDecker87 #Broncos #BroncosCountry pic.twitter.com/qtEsUsYSGw
Bailey added ... "I just hope that D.T. understands that I have tremendous love for him. And I hope he felt it, because I definitely felt the love he had for me. I was one of those people that he stopped and paid attention to."
"I don't know why he came into my life, but I'm sure glad he did. I'm going to miss him so dearly."
"No regrets, no fear."
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) December 21, 2021
Celebrating the life and career of Demaryius Thomas: pic.twitter.com/A46sBkL0ju
Tim Tebow and Peyton Manning also recorded tributes to Thomas that were shown at the service ... and the Broncos played a long video tribute to the Super Bowl champ.