Denver Broncos: Three reasons to avoid free agent wide receivers
By Andrew Wade
The draft has plenty of cheap WR talent
Now, I’m not crazy. The Denver Broncos could use some talent at the wide receiver position. Like I said before, Sutton and Hamilton had solid rookie seasons but are no sure bets and Sanders is on the wrong side of 30.
Fortunately for the Denver Broncos, who are loaded with draft capital (eight picks total), there is a ton of talent and depth at the wide receiver position in the upcoming NFL Draft. This would allow Elway to improve a position with young players at a fraction of the cost of free agency.
The 2019 NFL Draft, although concerning initially, is beginning to look like it has some incredible depth.
In his seven-round mock draft, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller mocked North Carolina’s Anthony Ratliff-Williams to the Denver Broncos in the seventh round.
Meanwhile, Predominantly Or.ange contributor Domenic Gray believes Northern Colorado’s Alex Wesley, an incredibly fast and small wide receiver, could be a possible late-round option for John Elway.
To be honest, there are guys in every round that could make sense for the Denver Broncos.
In round two, jump ball threat Hakeem Butler from Iowa State could make a lot of sense as could South Carolina’s Deebo Samuel who had a great Senior Bowl week.
Round three could bring the Broncos speedy UMass wide receiver Andy Isabella or another jump ball threat in J.J. Arcega-Whiteside out of Stanford.
On day three of the NFL Draft, the Broncos could target a few sleepers like Nebraska’s Stanley Morgan, a fast and strong route runner, or Georgia State’s Penny Hart who has been flying up draft boards, or even former quarterback David Sills V from West Virginia (although he could go earlier than this).
Moreover, as John Elway has shown in his years, he is adept at finding talented undrafted free agents. A guy like Iowa’s Nick Easley comes to mind. Although he wasn’t invited to the NFL Combine, he is projected to have an outstanding Pro Day. Reportedly (according to Nick’s brother), during Iowa’s off-season workouts, Easley clocked out a program record 3.77 pro agility, a 1.46 second 10-yard split and jumped 39.5 inches in the vertical.
For context behind those numbers, a 39.5 inch vertical would have been second best among wide receivers at last years combine, and one of the fastest running backs to ever play football, Chris Johnson, ran a 1.40 second 10-yard split.
Even The Draft Network’s Jon Ledyard had something to say about Easley noting that he ran a “blazing” short shuttle time of 3.77.
It’s pretty obvious that there are quite a few talented options at wide receiver through the NFL Draft, which would also serve as a much more cost efficient way to bolster the position.
Next. Five takeaways from John Elway's press conference. dark
It’s just another reason why the Denver Broncos shouldn’t target a wide receiver through free agency or trade.