The wide receiver group is up next in our positional grades series for the 2019 season.
The Denver Broncos were not a strong passing team last year, ranking 28th in the league in passing yardage. That was mainly because the team lacked weapons that could stretch the field, but one of the team’s wide receivers still managed to make the AFC Pro Bowl roster.
Let’s see how the wide receivers graded out his year.
Courtland Sutton
Sutton was a major bright spot in his second year with the team, leading the Broncos with 72 receptions for 1,112 yards and six touchdowns. That helped him become a Pro Bowler, even if he wasn’t part of the original roster.
Sutton asserted himself as one of the league’s top young wideouts and going into next season, there should be plenty of excitement surrounding him. He seems to have all the tools to be the No. 1 wide receiver that Demaryius Thomas was for many years.
Sutton put up the best numbers he could have in this offense this year and there wasn’t much to complain about.
Grade: A
DaeSean Hamilton
As I touched on, the reason the Broncos were among the worst passing teams is the fact that there is a pretty steep dropoff from Sutton to the team’s No. 2 wide receiver who is . . . Hamilton — I guess?
The Broncos traded Emmanuel Sanders to the San Francisco 49ers ahead of the league’s trading deadline this season, hoping that a guy like Hamilton would step up and assume part of his role. Instead, the term “draft bust” began to creep up.
Hamilton only made 28 receptions on the season, which translates to less than two catches per game. Luckily, he finished the season strong by catching 11 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown in the team’s final two games, which at least gets his grade to a passing mark.
Hopefully, he can carry that momentum into next season and start to become an offensive force for this team.
Grade: C-
Tim Patrick
Under the league’s new rules, each team is allowed to bring back two players off of injured reserve during the season. The Broncos used one of those spots to bring back Patrick, a curious decision.
Patrick played in eight games and caught 16 passes for 218 yards. Those are pretty meager numbers for a guy the team felt it had to get back on the field this season.
Grade: D
Diontae Spencer
Spencer was not part of the team’s original plans this season. This roster spot belonged to River Cracraft following the preseason, but after teams made their roster cuts, the Broncos grabbed Spencer off of waivers and parted ways with Cracraft.
Mainly signed for his abilities as a kick returner, Spencer didn’t offer much in the passing game, catching six passes for 31 yards. He did average 29.1 yards on kickoff returns and 8.0 yards on punt returns.
He’s similar to the team’s old return specialist Trindon Holliday, a player that the Broncos would try to get a spark out of on offense now and then.
Spencer is a more explosive player than Cracraft, but Cracraft likely would have offered a bit more in the passing game.
Still, you can’t fault Spencer for any shortcomings as a wide receiver as that’s not what he was brought onto the team to do.
Grade: C
Fred Brown
The only other wide receiver who registered a reception during the season was Brown, who appeared in 13 games for the team. He caught two passes for 21 yards on the season.
Brown will have to fight his way onto the 53-man roster next season as the Broncos will likely look to upgrade the wide receiver position in a big way.
Grade: C
Overall grade
Sutton was tremendous for the Broncos in 2019, but the trade of Sanders shut down any chance the team had to be a threat throwing the ball.
In 2020, some combination of Hamilton, Patrick and Brown (or a player the team finds through free agency and/or the draft) must step up to make the passing game more dynamic.
In 2019, Broncos wide receivers had a grand total of 154 receptions, and that includes the 30 catches posted by Sanders. That’s not great, especially when you consider that Michael Thomas of the New Orleans Saints caught almost that many by himself.
If you’re clamoring for the team to address the wide receiver position in the draft, try to be a little louder. Maybe those in charge will hear you and recognize how weak this group is.
Overall Grade: C
