Denver Broncos: Who gets more targets with Courtland Sutton out?

The Rest

4. Tim Patrick

Tim Patrick is somewhat of a forgotten man in the mix from the outside, but he now has a major opportunity to help replace Courtland Sutton as the Broncos’ only receiver on the outside with a 6-foot-4 frame.

Patrick was telling the Denver media that he spent the offseason evolving his game beyond using just his size to make plays, and we’re going to get to see the evidence of whether or not that’s true one way or another.

Patrick is a candidate for 4-5 targets on most weeks, with the upside of getting more looks if he has the hot hand.

5. Jake Butt (TE)

Jake Butt should be the Denver Broncos’ TE2 right now.

Nick Vannett was signed in the offseason to replace Jeff Heuerman, and his signing makes some sense considering it came before the Broncos had the chance to draft Albert Okwuegbunam and it was also long before they ultimately discovered Jake Butt was fully healthy.

Butt is simply a superior player, and can offer the Broncos a much better option as an outlet in the passing game.

Even if it’s just 2-4 targets per week, Butt should see expanded work.

6. DaeSean Hamilton

Hamilton has done great work for the Broncos in the run blocking department, and he is really doing all he can to stay on the field.

With that said, it’s clear the team is going to be elevating KJ Hamler when it comes to a target share, and Hamilton is going to have to make the most of what I believe will still be fairly limited opportunities.

He should see 2-5 targets on a given week, and similar to Tim Patrick, that number could be higher if he has a hot hand.

7. Tyrie Cleveland

Tyrie Cleveland proved in his four years with the Florida Gators that he doesn’t really need a lot of targets to be impactful.

Even if it’s just 1-3 targets per game, Cleveland has excellent speed and toughness and can make big chunk plays. The Broncos got him out for some offensive snaps against the Titans with Courtland Sutton out, so it stands to reason that we could see packages for him now with Sutton out the whole year.

8. Albert Okwuegbunam

It’s understandable that the Broncos want to make sure that Albert Okwuegbunam is not a liability as a blocker when he’s out there on the field, but this is a team struggling to convert red zone appearances into touchdowns dating back how many years now?

Okwuegbunam has tremendous red zone abilities as a receiver and the team needs to elevate him for games and start getting him a look or two per game down in the red area.