Denver Broncos: Take a flier on rookie WR Gary Jennings

The Denver Broncos have the top waiver claim right now, so they might as well use it with fourth-round pick Gary Jennings being waived by the Seahawks.

The Denver Broncos are 0-3 to start the 2019 season. It’s not a place anyone wanted to be, but it’s the reality at this point.

Although losing comes with plenty of criticism and harsh judgment from the outside no one wants, losing also comes with some perks.

Perks like high draft picks and high waiver priority.

Right now, the Broncos are somehow tied with the Washington Redskins for the highest waiver priority in the NFL. This news was dropped by Field Yates of ESPN the other day.

For those who don’t know what all of that means, it means that when teams waive a player off their roster, he’s subject to the rest of the NFL in sort of a blind auction where the worst teams have higher priorities.

For the time being, the Broncos have the top spot on that list. At least, they’re currently tied for it.

I am not an NFL general manager, and I don’t know all of what the Broncos are trying to do, but if I were a GM, I would have seen this name come across the waiver wire yesterday and I would have done a double-take.

The Seahawks drafted Gary Jennings this past year out of West Virginia in the fourth round, and I don’t think anyone expected he would be on the waiver wire come late September.

Imagine if the Broncos had cut DaeSean Hamilton or Josey Jewell last September.

Fourth-round picks aren’t first-round picks or anything, but Jennings is a talented player and even as a fourth-rounder was a high enough draft pick to see if he could develop into what they thought he could be.

Now that he’s hit the waiver wire, the Broncos would be wise to use their top claim priority to get him on the roster.

Why not?

Let’s take a look at what this guy brings to the table.

Gary Jennings at a glance

• Height: 6-1
• Weight: 214
• College: West Virginia
• 40-time: 4.42
• Vertical: 37 inches
• Bench press: 20 reps

Jennings is a big-bodied receiver at 6-1, 214 pounds. He has the ability to be a monster receiver after the catch at the NFL level, and he’s one of the best downfield trackers of the football I watched in this year’s class.

Jennings played in an air-raid offense in college at West Virginia and had 151 receptions for over 2,000 yards and 14 touchdowns over the course of the past two seasons.

He averaged 17 yards per catch this past year with the Mountaineers and was one of the standout players at the 2019 Senior Bowl.

I thought Jennings would work perfectly with Seahawks QB Russell Wilson who is one of the best deep ball throwers in the league, but apparently the Seahawks were unhappy with his development.

Why should the Broncos pick this guy up? They don’t currently need a receiver, do they?

I would argue against that.

The Broncos have six receivers on the active roster right now and while they just promoted Fred Brown yesterday off the practice squad, adding Jennings is like getting a free fourth-round pick from the most recent NFL Draft.

Why not see if you can get this guy developing with Zach Azzanni in that receiver room?

The Broncos don’t have a ton of speed offensively, and Jennings is the type of guy who could blow the top off the defense with his size, speed, and contested catch ability.

Again, he’s not a first-round talent or anything. This is not a can’t-miss player. Jennings is a traits based player whose traits are top-notch and worth the investment if you’re a team like the Broncos who need players like this and situations like this at the top of the waiver order to make the team better over the long haul.

If Denver doesn’t claim him, I’d be fascinated to know why.