Finding Broncos: Five Wide Receivers to Raise the Floor of the Position

Finding Broncos scouts the 2023 NFL Draft with a group of wide receivers who can raise the floor of the position group for Denver.

The Denver Broncos have been heavily rumored to be listening to trade calls about Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton. If they trade either, the need for help at wide receiver would significantly increase. However, even if they don't trade one, they still can use help to improve the depth at the position, which got exposed during the 2022 season. 

Bryce Ford-Wheaton | WR | West Virginia

© Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Pros

• He is a height/weight/speed receiver at 6-foot-3, 221 pounds, and he ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash. 
• He is an excellent athlete with plenty of speed and explosion. 
• There is an excellent build and frame. 
• He has plenty of experience on special teams and solid showing as a gunner. 
• He did well in contested catch situations, where he caught 49.3% of his targets, with 52.9% in 2022. 
• He does well using his size and frame to protect the catch point. 
• He has an excellent catch radius. 
• He isn't afraid of dealing with physicality through his routes. 
• There is good hand technique for hand fighting through his routes. 
• He is a deep ball specialist with plenty of speed to challenge vertically. 

Cons

• There are issues getting consistent separation. 
• While the rate isn't terrible, drops are a slight concern, with a drop percentage of 11.2% in his career. 
• The production overall is solid, but there are few dominant games in college. 
• There isn't much to his route tree, and he will need significant coaching to develop. 
• He must improve his footwork and release technique to get off press coverage. 
• There is a limited role for him on offense as a rookie. 

Fit with Broncos

The Broncos want explosive ability at the receiver position, and Ford-Wheaton is a specialist. There is room for additional development, but as a rookie, that will be where he can make the biggest impact. He fits in well with what the Broncos are looking for and what they are missing at the position. 

Dontay Demus Jr | WR | Maryland

© Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Pros

• He has a good build at 6-foot-3 and 212 pounds. 
• He is a solid athlete overall. 
• He is extremely physical after the catch. 
• There is excellent length to expand his catch radius. 
• He has soft reliable hands to secure the catch. 
• There is enough elusiveness after the catch to make defenders miss in space. 
• There is potential for a large role on offense who can attack in various ways. 

Cons

• There is a significant knee injury in his past. 
• Production is lacking, with only two of five seasons breaking 500 yards receiving. 
• He needs to use his size and frame better to box out defenders at the catch point. 
• There could be lingering concerns about the knee injury. 
• His route running needs to improve, and there needs to be developed to cut out the tells with his route running. 

Fit with Broncos

Dontay Demus Jr is a big and physical receiver that can work in space. However, there will need to be more development in using his size to help his efficiency as a receiver, especially in contested catch situations. He isn't a significant big-play threat, but he works in Sean Payton's scheme. 

What happens next on the Broncos? Don't miss out on any news and analysis! Please take a second, sign up for our free newsletter, and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!

Antoine Green | WR | North Carolina

© Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Pros

• There is a solid build and frame with Green. 
• Overall, he is a good athlete who has good speed and burst. 
• He is a deep ball specialist that can strain defenses vertically. 
• He averaged 18.1 average depth of target in his career, with only one season under 17.8. 
• His hands are soft, reliable, and consistent in plucking to ball out of the air. 
• There is a great ability to turn 50/50 balls in his favor, catching 13 of 21 contested targets. 
• The production over the last two years is good, with over 1,400 yards and 12 touchdowns. 

Cons

• There may not be a lot of versatility with where he lines up and how he attacks in the NFL. 
• His route tree is minimal, and the route running lacks nuance. 
• Despite being a specialist on deep balls, his tracking isn't ideal. 
• He isn't overly fluid with his route running and rounds his routes, giving defenders a chance to recover. 
• He isn't super explosive and can take time to reach his top speed. 

Fit with Broncos

While he isn't overly explosive, Green can stretch the defense to give the Broncos a deep ball specialist. There is room for more development to make him more rounded as a player, but early on, teams must take advantage of his ability as a deep ball specialist, especially in improving his deep ball tracking. 

Mitchell Tinsley | WR | Penn State

© Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Pros

• He has solid size and is a solid athlete overall. 
• He had excellent production in 2021 at Western Kentucky and picked up things quickly after transferring to Penn State. 
• There are soft and reliable hands, and he does well winning contested catch situations catching 23 of 44 targets. 
• He tracks the ball exceptionally well. 
• He is a physical receiver who loves to be involved as a blocker in the run game. 
• He is an effective blocker on the outside. 
• With his build and hands, he best projects as a possession receiver working the 10-20 yard range. 

Cons

• There isn't a lot of juice to his route running, and it lacks varied tempo. 
• His technique as a route runner is lacking, with a high pad level and heavy feet. 
• He doesn't have much burst to get consistent separation. 
• There isn't much to his game with his start and stop ability, which significantly hurt his change of direction ability. 
• He doesn't have a lot of experience on special teams, and the experience he does have wasn't great. 

Fit with Broncos

Tinsley has the makings to be a solid depth receiver that brings reliability as a possession receiver and blocker. The Broncos can use him for that blocking ability, especially if they trade away Courtland Sutton. However, he doesn't bring that explosive play-making ability they can use at the receiver position. 

Joseph Ngata | WR | Clemson

© Anderson Independent Mail-USA TODAY NETWORK

Pros

• He has a great build and frame for the NFL. 
• His athleticism is solid overall. 
• He is right at that 50% mark on contested catches. 
• There is a solid experience on special teams, though most came in 2019. 
• His body control and hand-eye coordination are excellent. 
• He showed up in a big way in multiple big moments. 
• There is an excellent catch radius that he can extend with solid leaping ability and body control. 

Cons

• There isn't much production, with 157 targets and 88 catches in his career, with 111 targets and 64 catches in the last two seasons. 
• He dealt with multiple injuries, leading to a lack of experience and production. 
• He is predictable with his release footwork/technique when getting off press coverage. 
• His route running has no nuance, and he lacks technique. 
• While drops were not a huge issue, it isn't ideal with 10 drops in college. 
• He doesn't have a quick acceleration. 
• There is no variation of his speed through his routes, which can be easy to stick with. 

Fit with Broncos

The injury history with Ngata is a concern, which could be enough to keep the Broncos away. A lot of work is needed to develop Ngata, and there isn't a great trait to see him have a role as a rookie. As an undrafted free agent, to try and stash on the practice squad, Ngata makes sense, but outside of that, it is probably better to look elsewhere. 

While the draft class at wide receiver isn't great, some potential hidden gems can be had. With the Broncos having so few picks, they may be more inclined to find help at the position with undrafted free agents unless they manage to add more picks. 

---

Follow Erick on Twitter @ErickTrickel.

Follow Mile High Huddle on Twitter and Facebook.

Subscribe to Mile High Huddle on YouTube for daily Broncos live-stream podcasts!