Coming off a disastrous 2022, the Denver Broncos swung their second major deal in as many offseasons, acquiring a new head coach in Sean Payton from the New Orleans Saints. Payton will be tasked with getting last year’s big addition, Quarterback Russell Wilson, back on track after the longtime Seattle Seahawk stumbled through a miserable first year in the Mile High City.
While the Broncos need improvement in all areas offensively, their receiver corps will be paramount to Denver’s ability to challenge in a division that includes the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs as well as the Los Angeles Chargers. There’s a lot of talent in the receiver room, led by wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton, but injuries have been a major problem for this group. Heading into 2023, here’s a look at what we can expect from Denver’s receivers.
Jerry Jeudy
After injuries submarined his second season, Jeudy was one of the team’s few silver linings in 2022, leading the club and setting career highs in receptions (67), receiving yards (972), and touchdowns (6) — nobody else on the team had more than two TD grabs. While there were reports that Denver shopped Jeudy before the draft, they ultimately chose to retain him and even exercised his fifth-year option.
Although he’s already entering his fourth season in the league, Jeudy is just 24 years old, and he showed a much better rapport with Wilson than anyone else. That bodes well for 2023 as the Payton teams in New Orleans often leaned heavily on a primary receiver — most recently that was WR Michael Thomas, who caught just shy of 118 balls per year before injuries altered his Hall-of-Fame trajectory. There’s a lot to like about Jeudy entering Year 4.
Courtland Sutton
Like Jeudy, Sutton was reportedly discussed in trades, but he returns as well. That might be where the similarities end. Ever since posting a 1,112-yard season in 2019, Sutton has failed to meet expectations. To be fair, his decline began in 2020 when he tore his ACL and MCL in the opener. In two years since the injury, Sutton has averaged 61 receptions, 803 yards, and two TDs. His yards-per-catch has also dropped noticeably post-injury, going from 16.1 in 2018-20 to 13.2.
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While things have been trending the wrong way for Sutton, he has plenty of incentive to turn things around, including a contract that makes it highly unlikely he’ll be back in Denver in 2024.
Entering his age-28 campaign, Sutton will be hoping Payton’s offense will reinvigorate his sagging career. From a physical standpoint, he’s much closer than Jeudy to Thomas, and some chatter suggests he could be the possession guy, but no one should bank on it.
Marvin Mims Jr.
With Jeudy (6-foot-1, 193 pounds) and Sutton (6-foot-4, 216 pounds) on the outside, there’s a chance for the 5-foot-11, 183-pound Mims to push for the slot job. Between the Wilson and Payton deals, the Broncos have given away a lot of draft picks, so it says something that they spent their first pick of the 2023 draft (a second-round selection) on Mims despite their depth at the position. The rookie has good burst and the speed to get deep. If he can learn the offense quickly, Mims could contribute.
Tim Patrick and K.J. Hamler
Rounding out the group are Patrick and Hamler, both of whom finished 2022 on Injured Reserve. In the case of Patrick, he never played a down, tearing his ACL in August. Hamler, meanwhile, missed 10 games dealing with a hamstring injury after missing 14 games the season before. Patrick has been a nice success story, but — at 30 and coming off serious injury — it’s fair to wonder what his role will be.
For Hamler, everything begins with staying healthy. The former second-round pick is entering a contract year, so if he’s on the outside looking in, and the Broncos could try to deal him.
Fantasy football outlook
Despite the quality of Denver’s receiver depth on paper, Jeudy is the only legitimate starting fantasy wideout in the group. He looks like a player on the rise and could be targeted as a low-end WR2 or high-end WR3 with the potential to finish 2023 in the top 15.
Sutton presents a nice depth add as a WR4 that might outperform that slotting. In what may be a make-or-break campaign, he could emerge as a weekly flex or better if everything comes together.
Further down the depth chart, the name to keep an eye on is Mims. He’s a different type of player, and he’s the only one with a certain future in Denver. Hamler hasn’t proven he can stay healthy, and Patrick probably maxed out as a 50-700-5 type, and that was before suffering a torn ACL.
