Broncos Wide Receiver Corps Ranked No. 9 by PFF
By the end of the 2019 season, it was apparent that the wide receiver position was a vulnerability for the Denver Broncos. It was an irony because the Broncos boasted one of the best young wideouts in the NFL in Courtland Sutton.
Beyond Sutton, however, the Broncos simply lacked dynamic impact. What resulted was opposing defensive coordinators selling out to bracket Sutton with double coverage while taking their chances with cornerbacks being lined up one-on-one with Broncos WRs like DaeSean Hamilton and Tim Patrick.
Hamilton and Patrick occasionally made a play but when push came to shove and the chips were down, if Sutton could win in double coverage, it often resulted in a failed play, whether incomplete, sacked, or a short-gain dump-off. This team needed vast upgrades at wideout and that's just what GM John Elway focused on early and often in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Alabama's Jerry Jeudy and Penn State's KJ Hamler were the Broncos' first two draft picks. Elway didn't stop there, though, drafting Florida's Tyrie Cleveland in the seventh round while adding Wake Forest's Kendall Hinton and Tarleton State's Zimari Manning as college free agents.
On paper, the Broncos look drastically improved over the wide receiver depth chart that closed out last season. And outside scrutiny has begun to take notice.
Pro Football Focus placed the Broncos WR corps No. 9 overall in their NFL rankings heading into 2020. That's quite the distinction because we were talking about a bottom-5 corps in December, despite the best efforts of the Pro Bowler Sutton. Here's a snippet of what PFF said to sum up the ranking:
9. DENVER BRONCOS
Sutton’s size, combined with Jeudy and Hamler’s ability to stretch the field both vertically and horizontally, gives the Broncos plenty to work with from a game plan standpoint. The No. 4 spot will be a battle between 6-foot-5 Tim Patrick, who had a solid 65.9 receiving grade on 30 targets last season, and third-year receiver DaeSean Hamilton, more of a possession option who has averaged 9.3 yards per reception in his career. If the two rookies develop quickly, the Broncos will have one of the best receiver groups in the NFL.
It's an exciting time for the young Broncos offense. With Drew Lock at the helm, the Broncos now have a dynamic distributor of the football and an improved, bolstered offensive line.
Combined with the expected leap forward of TE Noah Fant in his second year, and the additions of Jeudy and Hamler, and the Broncos offense could end up taking the NFL by storm in 2020. If new OC Pat Shurmur is worth his salt, the Broncos should be a top-15 offense this coming season.
And if that's indeed how it shakes out, with what we already know about Vic Fangio's defensive acumen and the talent and experience on that side of the ball, the Broncos could end up being a very dangerous team.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
