Third Amigo? Who will be the Broncos #3 WR?

Dec 28, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) reacts towards wide receiver Cody Latimer (14) after dropped a pass as wide receiver Demaryius Thomas (88) listens in the first quarter at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

With less than 3 days to go until the regular season opener against the Ravens, the Broncos are hard at work preparing for the 2015 season.  With a new coaching staff and influx of players joining the team this off-season, there were a myriad of questions that needed to be answered.  Who will start on the offensive line? Who will replace Julius Thomas’ production? Can anybody play special teams?

Fortunately for Broncos fans, many of these questions were answered throughout the preseason.  The one question that still lingers though is how the offense will exist with Kubiak at the helm?  Peyton Manning has spent his entire NFL career in the same offense, formulated by offensive gurus like Tom Moore and until recently, Adam Gase.  Very rarely did a Peyton Manning led offense have only two receivers and more than one tight end on the field.

With the change in coaching staff also leads to a major change in offensive philosophy.  In the new(old) Broncos offense, a stronger emphasis is put on the tight end position and an overall balance to the offense. The use of 3-4 WR formations will greatly diminish under Gary Kubiak’s watchful eye.  That’s not to say that Peyton won’t be able to use certain formations he’s familiar with, but make no mistake, the offensive buck stops at Gary Kubiak.  We will see formations using two tight ends, two receivers and a fullback on the field together and we will see it often.

Now with that said, that doesn’t mean that the depth at the WR position should be ignored.  For a team that will use primarily two WR sets, the Broncos elected to keep 6 WR’s on their active roster. Their reasoning for keeping that many has been directly correlated to the need for better special teams players, but it does present us with an interesting situation.  Who is the #3 WR?

Today, I’d like to take a look at each of the four receivers behind DT/Sanders and give you reasons why that player should or shouldn’t be the #3 receiver.  Let’s begin.

Next: Andre Caldwell