It’s football season, which means it’s time for your fantasy football drafts. Time to look into the Denver Broncos roster and who will help you dominate
August is upon us, and football is fast approaching, which means it’s almost time for your fantasy football drafts.
The past few seasons it was best to avoid Denver Broncos on your rosters as the offense failed to produce points in real life as well as in fantasy. The arrival of Russell Wilson has turned the tides on all of that, however.
Not only has Wilson brought excitement to the Mile High City but also to the Denver Broncos’ fantasy outlook. The Broncos’ wide receivers all of a sudden are high priority on draft days and the running backs should look to have even more success than an already productive 2021 season.
All in all the Broncos look to be big parts of winning fantasy championships.
I’ll break down every single fantasy-relevant player and what their value is based on where they are being drafted.
As a member of the fantasy football community and Broncos Country, it gives me great pleasure in helping you win your championships.
Denver Broncos fantasy football preview: Quarterback
Russell Wilson
Average Draft Position- Round 8
Average QB Ranking- QB 9
The Denver Broncos haven’t had a fantasy-relevant quarterback since 2014 when Peyton Manning threw for 39 touchdowns.
Since then having a Broncos quarterback on your roster hasn’t been a great idea. Russell Wilson is here to change that thinking.
In his first 10 seasons, Wilson finished in the top 12 of fantasy quarterbacks every year except one (last year while dealing with a finger injury).
Four of those years he finished in the top three, finishing as the number one guy in 2017. You are all but guaranteed a top 10 finish with Wilson.
His consistency, Nathaniel Hackett’s willingness to let him lead the offense, and the strong group of weapons around him make for a ceiling of top three once again.
So far with him going relatively late, Wilson has tremendous value for you in your drafts. You won’t have to spend one of those premium picks like you will for guys like Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and Justin Herbert but you get a very similar upside.
As long as you’re not in a draft with a ton of Broncos fans getting him in round eight seems not only likely but smart. Build up your running backs and wide receivers first and still get ol’ reliable in Russ.
Denver Broncos fantasy football preview: Running Backs
Javonte Williams
Average Draft Position- Late Second Round
Average RB Ranking- RB 11
I truly believe that had the Broncos not re-signed Melvin Gordon that Javonte Williams would be in the first round of all fantasy drafts.
Williams has all the tools needed to be a bell-cow running back but for now, he will still have to split the load with Gordon. Unlike last year though, Williams comes in as the presumed starter and to be the lead guy rather than the 50/50 split we saw all of last year.
While I have high expectations for Williams and expect a great year, I’m not as excited about the second-round pick that you’ll likely have to use on him.
We don’t know exactly how Coach Hackett will handle the snaps between the two backs and that is a bit intimidating.
With that being said we see many duos face this situation and still see success for the starter. Look at Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt or Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon for reference.
The best-case scenario is we see Javonte put together a lot of games as he did in Kansas City last season. In that contest, we saw him get 78% of the snaps and turn that into 23 carries, 102 rushing yards, six catches, 76 receiving yards, and a touchdown.
That ended with 28 points in points per reception leagues. For a talented back like Williams, the risk just may be worth it.
Melvin Gordon
Average Draft Position- Mid-Eighth Round
Average RB Ranking- RB 33
Gordon is at the age where most running backs seemingly lose a big step, will he be the next victim of “Father Time”?
Likely are gone the times of Gordon being a focal part of your fantasy rosters but that doesn’t mean he can’t be a nice depth piece. The main focus will be if Gordon keeps his role as the goal line back this upcoming year.
He contributed eight rushing touchdowns to Williams’s four. However, this is a new coaching staff and they may choose to go with the bruiser in Williams.
Where he is being drafted there aren’t very many starting running backs left and that is where you must decide between Gordon or the upside of a younger guy like James Cook or Rhamondre Stevenson.
I likely won’t be drafting Gordon but with a higher-scoring offense, both backs could be serviceable.
Denver Broncos fantasy football preview: Wide Receivers
Courtland Sutton
Average Draft Position- Late Fifth Round
Average WR Rank- WR 26
Courtland Sutton already has a top 20 fantasy finish… and that was with a mixture of Joe Flacco and Drew Lock. Sutton showed that he could be a premier receiver in the league still early on in 2021 putting up 159 yards against Jacksonville and 120 yards on the Steelers.
The rest of the season wasn’t much to talk about, mainly due to the sub-par quarterback play. Now with Russell Wilson in the mix Sutton and Jerry Jeudy are the talk of the fantasy community.
While both Sutton and Jeudy will have plenty of opportunities (even more with the Tim Patrick injury) one thing sticks out from camp. Pat Surtain II has been matching up constantly with Sutton, it could be nothing or it could be the number one wide receiver matching up with one of the better corners in the league.
I would be willing to take both guys on my team but if I were to bet on who has a better season I’m going Sutton.
Jerry Jeudy
Average Draft Position- Late Fifth Round
Average WR Rank- WR 23
There is no doubting that Jerry Jeudy is one of the most talented route runners in the entire NFL but he has yet to put it all together on the field.
The poor quarterback will obviously play a part in his struggles but the time to capitalize on the high expectations is now. With Russell Wilson leading the way and the unfortunate Tim Patrick injury the Denver Broncos and fantasy teams everywhere will be counting on Jeudy.
I think anyone who watched Broncos games last year was frustrated by the lack of creativity and opportunities for Jeudy in the pass game.
He was often used as a decoy which didn’t help with his production when healthy. To go along with that he only saw two red zone targets, which has to go up this year.
There are far too many reasons to expect a bounce-back season, one of those reasons is Player Profiler lists Jeudy as the number one receiver in creating separation.
My personal preference is to take Sutton in drafts but Jeudy does carry the possibility of finishing as a top five fantasy receiver if all goes right. I’m more than willing to take the shot on both guys.
KJ Hamler
At this point, KJ Hamler is going undrafted according to most sites but that may change with the Patrick Injury.
If you want to take him with your last pick and see how he looks in week one that may pay off. Expect to see Hamler on most waiver wires.
Denver Broncos fantasy football preview: Tight End
Albert Okwuegbunam
Average Draft Position- Mid-11th Round
Average TE Ranking- TE 15
If you’ve played fantasy football the last 5-10 years you know how frustrating the tight end position can be if you don’t have a top guy.
Every year we try to find a late-round guy that could get you by and this year Albert Okwuegbunam is a very popular pick.
At 6’5″, 255 pounds, Okwuegbunam not only has the size but also has tremendous athleticism (4.49 40-yard dash) to take over.
In limited action, Albert O has shown flashes and is one of the reasons the Denver Broncos felt ok trading away Noah Fant.
The issues that Okwuegbunam will face are battling for targets with talented wide receivers and running backs, as well as rookie tight end Greg Dulchich who the Broncos took in the third round.
Russell Wilson also hasn’t targeted the tight end position a lot over the years.
With Patrick out more targets have become available but will it be enough to make Okwuegbuman relevant enough to not hurt your team?
Right now he is being drafted near Hunter Henry of the Patriots who I prefer over Albert O at this time. Tight ends are always wild cards in fantasy football so grabbing an athletic marvel at the position is definitely a dart worth tossing.
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Best of luck with all your fantasy drafts… Unless I’m in your league.