Broncos 2020 mock draft: Playmakers for Pat Shurmur

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BOULDER, CO – OCTOBER 06: Laviska Shenault, Jr #2 of the Colorado Buffaloes carries the ball in the second quarter against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Folsom Field on October 6, 2018 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Predominantly Orange writer Cameron Parker recently shared with us that the Broncos’ offense could really benefit from another local product, and he’s not wrong.

It’s important to remember that John Elway and Matt Russell don’t just arbitrarily go to college games, either.

I recently put together a short thread of tweets discussing Shenault’s abilities and fit with the Broncos since the addition of Pat Shurmur as offensive coordinator, and I can’t help but think he makes some of the most sense of any player in this draft class for Denver’s offense.

Let’s simplify it a bit. What does Shenault add that the Broncos need?

After-the-catch ability
Long speed
Positional flexibility
Strong hands

If you watch even a handful of Shenault’s games at Colorado, you can see that he plays a number of positions not because he’s a jack of all trades and master of none, but because Colorado’s quarterback (Steven Montez) is not able to consistently see the entire field to get him the ball when he’s open, which was borderline all of the time in games that I observed (7 games between 2018-19).

Shenault is the type of player at the wide receiver position who can just as easily take a screen or slant for 80 yards as he can run a deep route and beat defensive backs with speed and physicality or work the middle of the field with strong hands.

His route running may not be nuanced at this point, but Shenault is a good enough route runner who can play inside as a slot or outside and torch defensive backs one way or another.

Thinking of pairing this guy with Courtland Sutton and Noah Fant absolutely thrills me to my core. That would give the Broncos three guys capable of turning any type of pass play into a big play, which is a quarterback’s best friend.

Shenault’s skillset is exciting and despite the fact that he’s been battling injuries (turf toe in 2018, torn labrum in February 2019) he has been a consistent playmaker with a rare combination of size, athleticism, speed, field vision, and strong hands.

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