PFF Views WR as Broncos' Biggest Roster Need in 2020

The Denver Broncos are a team on the rise. Despite finishing the last three consecutive seasons with a losing record, the Broncos finished 2019 on a 4-1 tear and have many positive indicators that point towards playoff contention being a real possibility come 2020.

With head coach Vic Fangio reaching his second year and allowing the team another offseason to better fit his vision for the defense from an experience and personnel perspective, GM John Elway has done a solid job building a well-respected coaching staff with plenty of skins on the wall, especially factoring in renowned offensive line coach Mike Munchak returning for year two, and obtaining one of the more sought after offensive coordinators in Pat Shurmur.

From a personnel perspective, Denver has some blue chip talents on both sides of the ball. With Bradley Chubb returning to complement Von Miller, the Broncos’ pass rush should see a boost overall going into next season. Furthermore, Justin Simmons has arrived as one of the best young safeties in football and isn’t going anywhere.

While the Broncos still finished last season ranked as the fifth-worst offense from a points-per-game perspective at 17.6, the core on that side of the ball is young and emerging. Walking out of the last two offseasons with the likes of Courtland Sutton, Philip Lindsay, Noah Fant, Dalton Risner, and Drew Lock would have any team’s offense trending up.

The talent already in place in Denver, on top of Elway having over $60 million in cap space at this point in time to along with five picks in the top-100 of the draft means that Denver could be a team that experiences a meteoric rise next season, like that of the San Francisco 49ers in 2019. Even still, there is no such thing as a ‘perfect roster’ and the Broncos have ample holes to fill this offseason in order to maximize the upcoming competition window and bridge the gap with the division-rival Kansas City Chiefs.

With many different directions the team could go, Pro Football Focus believes that taking advantage of a talented wide receiver class to help take heat off of Sutton and give Lock another weapon should come first.

DENVER BRONCOS: SOMEONE TO LIGHTEN THE LOAD ON COURTLAND SUTTON AT WIDE RECEIVER

Secondary needs: offensive line, cornerback

“Sutton emerged this season as a legitimate No. 1 wide receiver who could step into the void left by Emmanuel Sanders after his trade and flourish in it. He was the only player to step up in that receiving corps, though. Tim Patrick led the rest of the Broncos’ wide receivers with only 1.18 yards per route run — almost a full yard less than Sutton — and DaeSean Hamilton was next in total receptions (28). If the Broncos want to full evaluate Drew Lock next season with a full arsenal of weapons at his disposal, they need to give Sutton some help.

The Broncos’ offensive line wasn’t as bad as the consensus claims, finishing 12th in PFF’s end-of-the-year offensive line rankings, but there is still room for improvement. They also have a potential big swing at cornerback if they don’t retain one of the best at the position over the past decade in Chris Harris Jr. Even if they keep Harris, all the other cornerback positions could be upgraded. As a team, the Broncos’ cornerbacks graded in the bottom half of the NFL this past season.”

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A Deep-Dive

It is true that the Broncos have a good chunk of cap space heading into the 2020 offseason. However, one of the reasons for it is the fact that Denver is set to lose a number of incumbent starters.

Already gone is Ronald Leary, whom the Broncos declined to option, saving $8.5 million against the cap. Also a matter of when not if, Joe Flacco will soon be shown the door creating another $10M in cap space for the Broncos. The offense is young and cheap and not set to lose many previous contributors.

On the other hand, the defense could look a lot different and fast. With the three biggest previous contributors set to hit free agency in Derek Wolfe, Shelby Harris, and Chris Harris, Jr., a lot of that cap savings Denver has on paper will go towards finding replacements for previous starters and newly created ‘holes’. In tandem with needing to pay Simmons, you can see how quickly that cap space can dry up once the contracts are being doled out.

Still, the Broncos will have the financial means and space to make a few moves come free agency to fill depth chart concerns and potentially add some difference-makers on either side of the ball.

While some fans will scream about improving the offensive line, others will push back about wide receiver. In the end, Denver cannot have a myopic view on improving the team. All options should be on the table and dependent on what opportunities present themselves via free agency, trades, and of course the draft.

With needs at wide receiver to pair with Sutton, offensive line talent that can provide depth but also push the current starting tackles, replacing two starting defensive linemen, and issues across the board at cornerback with Harris, Jr. likely leaving, hyper-focusing on a singular area is fool-hearted at best.

It does make some sense that one could argue about WR being the Broncos’ biggest need. With the possibility that one of the draft's ‘Big Three’ WRs in Henry Ruggs III, Jerry Jeudy, and CeeDee Lamb available when Denver is on the clock at pick 15, such a player could have a synergistic effect on the entire offense.

After Emmanuel Sanders departed last season, teams shifted their coverage focus to Sutton. Due to the overwhelming attention he received, Sutton created the second least amount of separation per target of any receiver in the NFL according to Next Gen Stats.

This is far more of an indication of just how much Denver relied on throwing it to Sutton even when he wasn’t open and the attention opponents gave him. Simply put, opposing defenses are not in the slightest fearful of the Broncos’ other receiving options — specifically in DaeSean Hamilton or Tim Patrick.

Netting another wide receiver of talent and complementary skill to Sutton as the ‘X’ receiver makes opposing defenses have to ‘pick their poison’ and can open up opportunities for Sutton and the rest of the offense. Luckily for Denver as well, all of the ‘Big Three' could compliment Sutton in different ways.

What makes them interesting is that they've all three shown to be dynamic after the catch. Lamb is the most physical of the bunch, but can change direction and make weak tacklers slide off of him on top of his physicality and ball skills at the catch point. Jeudy, despite his poor shuttle times at the Combine, is an electric route runner with good speed that can play Z or slot. He can make defenders look silly with his change of direction with the ball in his hands.

Ruggs can run around you where his speed can threaten all three levels of the defense and destroy practically any angle. Ultimately, it’s hard to make a wrong choice and if any are still available at 15, odds are one of them will be Denver’s ‘best player available' and at a position of need to boot.

Bottom Line

The Broncos have a multitude of holes heading into the 2020 offseason. With an offensive line that could use a further influx of talent, a defensive line needing to replace two good starters, and a cornerback room that has more question marks than can be remembered in Denver in many years, the needs are apparent.

However, given how the offensive line played down the stretch in 2019 once Lock was inserted into the lineup, the rumors of Denver looking to spend money on defense along the defensive line and at cornerback, there is an argument for the WR spot opposite of Sutton being the ‘biggest’ need.

Netting another ‘alpha’ to pair with Sutton will make everyone better. It will make it easier on Lock in his pre and post-snap reads. It will open up space not only for Sutton, but Fant underneath as well as receivers who are better off as tertiary options as well.

It will make the job easier for the line as what teams can do in the back seven will be more limited as opposing defenses must allocate resources to stop not only Sutton, but another dynamic weapon in space. This, in turn, leads to the potential of less single-high safety looks, or risk one of Sutton or another weapon getting open deep on the other side, and can limit the number of loaded boxes the running game must face.

It will come down to opportunity cost. If one of the top four tackles falls to Denver at 15 (increasingly unlikely given the buzz coming out after the Combine), then it would make sense to land a young cost-controlled tackle option to not only push the current tackles in 2020, but find a solid option for the next five seasons. If one of the blue-chip defenders falls to Denver as well, scrap it all and take the talent.

However, with Sutton emerging in the present, the Broncos expecting a second-year bump from Fant, on top of Pat Shurmur and his much heavier usage of 3-WR sets than that of former offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello, wide receiver is a big need and a valid concern. Despite the common anecdote that football is a game won in the trenches, the effect of Air Raid and spread concepts is changing the game.

Denver could go a number of different directions, but if the best opportunity for the Broncos is adding a dynamic weapon to help compliment Sutton and give Lock another playmaker to lean on as PFF suggests, then so be it.

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