BRONCOS NEED HELP FROM YOUNG WRs
EDITOR’S NOTE: First of a series looking at the position groups for the Broncos heading into camp.
It is easy to divide the Broncos’ 13 wide receivers into two groups. Club that has done it: Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders have a combined 1,093 regularseason receptions.
Club that has not done it: The other 11 receivers have combined for 33 catches, 29 from Jordan Taylor. Eight players have not played in an NFL game.
“It’s unique,” said new receivers coach Zach Azzanni. “You’ve got two guys in Demaryius and Emmanuel who have played a ton of ball, and you can add Jordan in there. And then you’ve got guys who are green and wet behind the ears, but obviously very talented.”
Leading the young-but-obviously-talented crowd are secondround pick Courtland Sutton and fourth-round selection DaeSean Hamilton.
The Broncos’ task during training camp is figuring out who fills the Nos. 3-6 spots on the receiver depth chart.
Sutton and Hamilton will be on the team, but how big of a role will they fill? Will Taylor be ready for Week 1 after offseason hip surgeries? Does Isaiah McKenzie have to win the punt return job to make the team? And does 2017 thirdround pick Carlos Henderson figure in the mix?
Thomas and Sanders will lead the way, as they’ve done the past four years.
Thomas has led the Broncos in catches for six consecutive years,
and his 575 catches are second-most in the league in that span. (Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown is first at 648.)
“I don’t always talk about myself and my goals, but I always want to be the best at what I do,” Thomas said. “I want to get back over 1,200 yards (and) do whatever I’ve got to do to help my squad.”
Thomas had four consecutive years of 1,200-plus yards receiving from 2012-15. His production dropped to 1,083 and 949 yards the last two years. Sanders’ streak of at least 1,000 yards receiving ended at three years when he missed four games and posted only 555 yards last season, his lowest total since 288 with Pittsburgh in 2011.
The Broncos had the future in mind when they drafted Sutton and Hamilton.
In 2019, Thomas will have a salary cap number of $17,533,334 and Sanders $12,937,500, third- and fourth-highest on the team, respectively, according to OverTheCap.com. Does that mean the Broncos move on from Thomas and Sanders after his season? Hardly. But what the Sutton/Hamilton additions give the Bron- cos is insurance if they choose to give them prominent roles next year, assuming they make a favorable impression in training camp.
Azzanni listed three primary challenges for all rookies in general and Sutton/Hamilton in particular.
“No. 1 is speed of the game — everybody is fast,” Azzanni said. “No. 2 is a different system, different terminology. But the biggest challenge right now is a lot of things in college are nohuddle, so they didn’t verbally hear the play call as much as getting a signal.”
During the offseason program, the 6-foot-4, 216pound Sutton looked fluid working on the perimeter and winning matchups in the red zone. In three-receiver personnel, the Broncos could use Thomas and Sutton outside and move Sanders inside.
“Being a big guy, Courland is probably more suited to be an outside guy, but he’s quick and is a mismatch inside,” Azzanni said. “But in our offense, everybody moves around.”
If keeping Sanders outside makes sense against certain opponents, Hamilton could be the third receiver and play in the slot.
“He’s a playmaker,” Sanders said of Hamilton. “I think he’s one of those diamond-in-the-rough type of guys. He has deceptive speed. He can get open. He has good hands.”
The receiver position gets interesting after the top four. To open 2017, the Broncos kept six receivers.
A hamstring injury kept Henderson out of the final two days of minicamp this spring and earned him a public verbal salvo from coach Vance Joseph, who stressed the importance of Henderson (out all of last year with a thumb injury) being available.
McKenzie enters his second year hoping to reclaim the punt return post he earned and lost as a rookie. He fumbled six times (lost two).
“Those guys have come out and there is nobody comfortable, which is fun,” Azzanni said last month.
Joseph targeted midway through training camp as a potential return date for Taylor. Azzanni expects him to catch up quickly and if he does, it may be trouble for Henderson and/or McKenzie in terms of making the roster.
“Jordan’s a smart guy — he’s a pro so he’s in the room every day taking notes and he’s out there (on the practice field) with the script going through it mentally,” Azzanni said. “I doubt he would have any trouble jumping in knowing the system.”
Coming Thursday: Defensive line.