The Broncos are huge fans of wide receivers.
Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton likes the wide receivers he’s collected for the 2024 seasons. On paper, he appears to have more depth and quality than roster spots, although finding a “WR1” could remain a work in progress; no one in the room has posted a 1,000-yard season in the NFL since 2019.
“If you study it closely, it’s big across the board, and it has speed,” Payton said. “So there’s going to be heavy competition there.”
Indeed, a receiver like seventh-round pick Devaughn Vale certainly qualifies; he stands 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds. Veteran Tim Patrick, the player to whom Vele is often compared, is 6-foot-4 and 212 pounds. Newcomer Josh Reynolds has length; he’s 6-foot-3 and 192 pounds. Returning Lil’Jordan Humphrey is 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds. Even speedy Jalen Virgil carries 210 pounds on his 6-foot-3 body.
In Sean Payton’s years with the Saints — including the 2012 season in which he served a one-year league suspension — two players amassed at least 500 receptions and 5,000 receiving yards: Marques Colston and Michael Thomas. Colston played at 225 pounds on a 6-foot-4 frame; Thomas stands 6-foot-3 and 212 pounds. In other words, both could be classified as big receivers.
This doesn’t mean that there wasn’t room for the smaller wide receiver. The 5-foot-9, 187-pound Lance Moore flourished during eight Saints seasons. Brandin Cooks had back-to-back 1,100-plus yard seasons in two of his three years in New Orleans; he stands 5-foot-10 and checked in at 189 pounds.
So, for Broncos wide receivers like Marvin Mims Jr. (5-foot-11 and 182 pounds) there exists a success template in Payton’s attack. And while fourth-rounder Troy Franklin is big in length and frame (6-foot-3), he weighs just 180 pounds. Still, he’s big with speed, checking off both boxes Payton cited last week.
But the use of big receivers also explains why Courtland Sutton — 216 pounds on a 6-foot-3 frame — remains in the mix, as well.
The Broncos have enough wide receivers to where they can cobble together a unit without Sutton if they wanted to move on from him. And enough big ones, specifically. But last week, Payton affirmed his belief in Sutton, even as the wide receiver sits out voluntary OTAs in search of a reworked contract.
“He’s a tremendous worker,” Payton said. “A tremendous makeup, leader of our team. That will sort itself out.”
The sorting certainly isn’t the more, the merrier. After all, there will only be room for but so many wide receivers on the Broncos roster. But with more players who fit what Payton wants, it’s possible the Broncos will carry more pass-catchers on their initial 53-player roster in late August than the four they had coming out of cuts last year.
And, Payton hopes, the competition will make them better.
“I think there’s that old saying, ‘iron sharpens iron,’” Payton said, “and I feel like that’s going to happen.”