Denver Broncos: Week 9 Position Grades

Wide Receivers Grade: C
Tight Ends Grade: C+

Trevor Siemian made sure to hit his Denver Broncos wide receivers in good short yardage situation throws, but never gave them a chance to make a play except once. Emmanuel Sanders nearly made a game changing catch to end the half that would have swung momentum in the Broncos favor. Sanders failed to get two hands around the ball.

It did seem Demaryius Thomas and Sanders were getting good enough separation for Siemian to see them, but never materialized. Overall, the corps did well, but the lack of Bennie Fowler in the offense too is surprising. The offense should never revolve around the slot receiver unless you are the New England Patriots. Jordan Norwood is not the number one target for the offense. Thomas and Sanders is 1A and 1B, which is where it needs to stay.

The Broncos made a trade for AJ Derby from the New England Patriots. Yes, the Broncos completed a deal with the enemy. Derby expected to be active for the game against the Raiders and had one target the entire game. Whether it is a bad angle of the camera or the dropped it, but replay officials seemed to make the decision quickly Derby did not catch the ball. An unfortunate read of what transpired.

Virgil Green saw his production raise more on Sunday as Siemian used him on pass to the middle of the field. The tight end made an impression as a run after the catch ability. This is a great scenario where the Broncos need to utilize Green more as a passing threat to stretch the field. In Gary Kubiak’s offense (at least historically), the tight end is one of the most valued positions on the team. They help seal the edge in the running game and expand a playbook by their routes/pass catching ability.

Both the wide receivers and tight ends earned decent grades but nothing higher. Each position receives a C grade, they are just different: C position grade for the receivers and C+ position grade for the tight ends.