2014 Denver Broncos Prospect: South Carolina WR Bruce Ellington

Nov 16, 2013; Columbia, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks wide receiver Bruce Ellington (23) is brought down by Florida Gators defensive back Brian Poole (24) in the second half at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Broncos have one of the league’s most potent offenses, but it isn’t without fault. Last season, outside of Demaryius Thomas and the occasional burst from Julius Thomas, the Broncos really lacked a speed presence offensively.

Ronnie Hillman was traded up for and drafted in the third round in 2012 to provide some speed to the Broncos’ offense, but the problem with him has obviously been his ability to make people miss and then fumbling.

Eric Decker, as good as he was for Denver, wasn’t a speed guy by any means, and neither is Wes Welker. Nor was Knowshon Moreno. Nor is Monte Ball.

The Broncos know they need more speed offensively, and that’s one of the big reasons why I think Emmanuel Sanders was the top free agent WR on their board.

With Sanders now locked in, the Broncos have added another speed element along with Demaryius Thomas on the edges, but there’s no reason not to continue to upgrade in that regard.

One prospect that I  love is South Carolina’s Bruce Ellington, a guy that a little more than a month away from the draft is one that I absolutely covet for the Broncos.

Ellington isn’t a prototypical 6’5″ 230 pound, Calvin Johnson-type player, but he does have elite potential out of the slot and I think drafting him in the 3rd round or so would allow the Broncos to keep Emmanuel Sanders on the outside whenever Wes Welker decides to retire or leave Denver, which many assume to be after this season.

Ellington is only 5’9″ but he’s a very solid 197 pounds. He’s an explosive athlete with 4.45 speed and posted a 39.5-inch vertical jump. When you watch his games, Ellington is a guy that became a primary focus of the South Carolina offense, consistently made big plays, and found ways to get open out of the slot.

In my opinion, Ellington has the potential to be a consistent 100 catch, 1,000 yard receiver as Wes Welker has done since joining the New England Patriots. The crew at CBS Sports compared him to Randall Cobb, and I don’t care how good your receiver group is, if you have a chance to add someone of that caliber, you have to take a look.

See for yourself what has gotten me so excited.

H/T to the guys at Draft Breakdown, who do an incredible job year in and year out providing us with prospect videos. Check out their site for more.