Broncos rookie Seth Williams will make 2021 debut vs. Chargers

Denver Broncos rookie wide receiver Seth Williams will make his 2021 regular season debut against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Nobody likes to see players get opportunities at the expense of others, especially when it has to do with illness or injury. With that being said, Denver Broncos wide receiver Tim Patrick had to go on the COVID/reserve list after a positive test, putting him out for Sunday’s game against the Chargers.

That has paved the way for 2021 sixth-round pick Seth Williams to make his regular season debut.

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At his Thursday media session, Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio acknowledged that Williams has been doing good work in practice and he will get a shot to play on Sunday with Tim Patrick out.

Patrick out leaves the Broncos with just two receivers who were originally on the 53-man roster, not counting return man Diontae Spencer — Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy.

With KJ Hamler on injured reserve and fellow practice squad wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland also going on the COVID list, the former Auburn star is going to get his shot.

How many times will he see the ball come his way? That remains to be seen. The last time we saw Williams making plays was in the preseason when Drew Lock flipped him a pretty nifty pass, almost like a shortstop flipping the ball to a second baseman for a double play in baseball.

Williams has an outstanding physical profile, a 6-foot-3, 219-pound beast with sub-4.5 speed:

His explosiveness metrics in combination with his size make him a dangerous threat vertically but also after the catch and at the catch point.

With the idea that the team might need to replace Tim Patrick in mind (at the time, of course), a player like Williams made a lot of sense for the Broncos in the 2021 NFL Draft at the juncture they got him.

Williams dealt with a high percentage of uncatchable targets at Auburn and struggled with drops additionally. Even still, there were times when he looked like an early day two NFL Draft pick at Auburn and he put some impressive stuff on tape, just not overly consistently.

That’s largely why he landed on the practice squad instead of the active roster, but the Broncos must have been hearing rumblings about other teams wanting Williams because they have been protecting him on the practice squad in recent weeks.

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Even if his impact in terms of targets and receptions is minimal, it will be a ton of fun to have the rookie activated for this game against the Chargers. Williams brings exciting big-play potential to the field and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Broncos just promote him to the 53-man roster for the final two games of the season.