The Denver Broncos are 7-8 with a very slim shot at the playoffs, but they should still call up some secret weapons at WR against the Chargers.
Even though the playoffs seem like a very distant possibility, the Denver Broncos will be doing their best to get to 8-8 this weekend with a win on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Given some recent news regarding the status of a handful of players on the roster, that may require some creative roster maneuvering by general manager George Paton.
Even with revised rules for players based on CDC guidelines, the Broncos will no longer have wide receiver Tim Patrick available against the Chargers, obviously a huge blow to the offense, in general.
The time has come for the Denver Broncos to unleash practice squad WRs
Fangio: Tim Patrick, Caden Sterns, Calvin Anderson, Tyrie Cleveland based placed in COVID protocols. They will miss game vs Chargers. Purcell can return with new 5 day rule. #9sports
— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) December 29, 2021
Let’s not sugarcoat anything here, losing Tim Patrick is a devastating blow to an already ailing Denver Broncos offense. And by ailing, I’m not necessarily talking about missing personnel, but in terms of the fact that this unit just can’t seem to get anything going consistently whatsoever.
With that being said, George Paton has done an outstanding job at being proactive with the roster rather than reactive, and he’s got some secret weapons on the practice squad to help soften the blow of losing Patrick with KJ Hamler also already on injured reserve.
If even for a game, the Denver Broncos should be calling up wide receivers Seth Williams and Travis Fulgham.
Fulgham, you’ll recall, had an explosive first month of the 2020 season with the Philadelphia Eagles and has proven he can make plays against NFL defensive backs.
Williams is a promising rookie out of Auburn who has been among the Broncos’ most protected practice squad players so far this season.
A promotion to the 53-man roster might be in Williams’ near future anyway as the Broncos look to protect him from signing a reserve/futures deal elsewhere in 2022.
Although nobody wants to see a game without Tim Patrick, having players like Williams and Fulgham gives the Broncos the opportunity to throw a couple more big bodies out there at the wide receiver position and players who could legitimately have an impact against the Chargers.
For the time being, the team’s top receivers on the active 53-man roster are obviously Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, Kendall Hinton, and Diontae Spencer.
Both Williams and Fulgham should be getting game reps at receiver over Spencer, especially at the position Tim Patrick plays.
Time will tell if the Broncos agree here, but there won’t be a more perfect opportunity to get these two players on your practice squad involved in actual game reps.
Fulgham, like a couple of other players on the Denver Broncos’ roster, is a previous winner of the Angry Runs scepter on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football. In Week 8 of the 2020 season, Fulgham actually took home not only a scepter from his angry run, but he also won Nate Burleson’s Toe Drag Swag award of the week for a touchdown he scored on Trevon Diggs.
Obviously, Fulgham has not been able to repeat the success he had in 2020 in the first half of the season so far this year, but he might get an opportunity against the Chargers and a depleted secondary to go out and make some plays.
The same could be true for Seth Williams, who hasn’t really gotten much of a shot this year at all. The Broncos have had some opportunities to maybe call Williams up from the practice squad, but they’ve gone after veteran options instead.
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Now, after protecting him from other teams for months, the big-bodied receiver out of Auburn might finally get the chance to prove himself.