Broncos training camp 2015: Emmanuel Sanders still growing

Denver Broncos training camp is knocking at the door, and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders is taking no days off.

It’s so easy in this ‘what have you done for me lately?’ world to forget how good you have it as a football fan sometimes, especially as Broncos fans. We’re spoiled, if we’re honest, with great players and a rich history of winning, and Emmanuel Sanders spoiled us in his first year as a member of this team.

The scary thing for other teams is, he’s only getting better. I am not sure how I missed this video from last week, but Sanders is a freak of nature when it comes to catching the football. Check this out —

Sanders proved last year with the Broncos that if it was thrown in his direction, odds were he was going to catch it. I don’t see anything changing with that this season. In fact, I think Sanders is going to be even better, and he could surpass Demaryius Thomas for the team lead in receptions and yards.

He was already the Broncos’ highest graded player in the passing game last year, in front of Thomas and quarterback Peyton Manning, and he proved that he should have been one of the highest paid receivers last year on the open market rather than a bargain basement find for the Broncos late in the free agent process.

When the Broncos let go of Eric Decker, there was a bit of an outrage from some of the fan base because of the numbers Decker had put up, but some also felt he was a product of the system and Peyton Manning. The Broncos apparently leaned more toward that side as well, and they didn’t even make Decker an offer.

Did they know they would be able to replace his production so easily in free agency in the draft, spending about half as much on Sanders as the Jets did on Decker? Perhaps they did. Still, one can’t help but feel the Broncos got lucky when they signed Sanders after it appeared he was down to either the San Francisco 49ers or Kansas City Chiefs.

There were rumors that Sanders had agreed to a deal with the Chiefs, and honestly no Broncos fan saw it coming when the agreement of a contract between Denver and Sanders was announced. It was an absolute shocker, but perhaps the move that fans were most excited about all of last season.

That has proven to be more exciting than even the most optimistic supporters or fans could have predicted. Sanders set a personal best in every category statistically with the Broncos last year, and has become a leader for this team both on and off the field. He’s added an element of blazing speed to the receiver position opposite Demaryius Thomas, something the Broncos didn’t have before, and he should be in line for another huge year in the Gary Kubiak offense, which will open plenty of doors for deep passes via play-action.

Sanders is putting in extra work. He’s proving to be a team leader and when that first horn of training camp sounds, you can bet Sanders is going to be one who stands out in a big way.

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