After a couple of seasons of some underrated productivity for Sean Payton's offense, the Denver Broncos said goodbye to wide receiver Lil'Jordan Humphrey in the 2025 offseason. Or should we say, "See you later..."?
The Broncos just surprisingly brought back Humphrey, who was on the New York Giants' practice squad. Humphrey was actually second on the Broncos last year at the wide receiver position in snaps played, which definitely felt like more of a problem than a part of the future solution after the season was over.
However, seeing the Broncos struggle in one particular area in recent weeks, Humphrey can be a huge help for the stretch run, and can potentially be part of unlocking a major piece of the offense that has been missing.
Lil'Jordan Humphrey can help revive Broncos' screen game on offense
Part of the reason the Broncos' offense has struggled the past two games is fatigue. They won seven games in less than 40 days. Another part of the reason the offense has struggled is a lack of success in the screen game, especially on early downs.
The Broncos have not blocked the screen game well, which was not supposed to be a problem with Trent Sherfield on the roster. Sherfield has been known throughout his NFL career for blocking well and playing great special teams. That hasn't been the case this season in Denver.
Lil'Jordan Humphrey had a number of frustrating dropped passes in his time with the Broncos, but he was also not bad in terms of creating yards after the catch as well as springing some plays downfield with his blocking abilities. With Marvin Mims Jr. set to return to the lineup and the Broncos in desperate need of any spark however they can get it, the addition of Humphrey might loom larger than anyone realizes.
And he doesn't have to necessarily be getting the ball to make that impact.
“I think just as we’re into this run, having depth. We know the player really well. One of his strengths is his football I.Q. He can play a lot of different spots, and I think it was we had that roster availability. So we’ll see how that plays out. [WR] Mike Bandy has done a great job. We wanted to make sure that during this stretch, we had the depth at that position. But you know exactly what you’re getting from him, and that’s a real good trait to have as a player. Then you can put him in these places where he could excel. It was unusual seeing him on the opponent’s sideline a few weeks back, but we’re glad to have him back.”
- Broncos HC Sean Payton (via team PR)
The Broncos' lack of overall success offensively this season has been maddening, frustrating, and feels a little helpless. It's been incredible to see the team come through in the fourth quarters of some games during this stretch of seven straight wins, but in the final eight weeks of the season, the Broncos will play four pivotal division games that could determine both the division race as well as potentially whether the Broncos are the top overall seed in the AFC.
Not to make a mountain out of a molehill, but if Humphrey can help literally spring the Broncos' short passing game, we could look back on this signing as a pivotal turning of the tide for the offense.
As frustrating as Humphrey had been for this team previously, perhaps his return can allow the Broncos to use Pat Bryant differently as well.