The Denver Broncos were sporting one of the more underwhelming wide receiver rooms in the NFL, but at the perfect time, the team swung a deal for Jaylen Waddle, a player who fits right into the room as it's constructed.
Denver is clearly now embracing an all-in mentality approaching a hugely important 2026 season. Had the Broncos won the Super Bowl this past season, a Waddle trade may have never happened, to be honest.
Overnight, Denver's wide receiver room goes from one of the shakier rooms in the league to one of the best and deepest. However, given how good the room is right now, could the Broncos soon have some extremely tough decisions to make at the position?
How will the Denver Broncos sort out the wide receiver room for 2026?
Since we're only just now approaching the middle of May, there are some lesser-known names in the room, but the main pieces of the puzzle are:
Jaylen Waddle
Courtland Sutton
Troy Franklin
Marvin Mims Jr.
Pat Bryant
Lil'Jordan Humphrey
The Broncos will likely keep five wide receivers in the room, as they have done in recent years, and on the surface, you might look at the top six players in the room and think that Humphrey is the one who gets the axe, right?
Well, Humphrey has been a part of the Broncos plans for multiple years now, even being brought back during the season in 2025 and coming up clutch in the Divisional Round. However, this room could be a bit more complicated than that.
Mims is entering the final year of his deal, and he's an All-Pro return man on special teams. He also has upside as a receiver when given the chance. Franklin broke out in 2025 and would be eligible for a contract extension next offseason.
Sutton's contract is actually quite cuttable following the 2026 season as well, and Pat Bryant is only set to play in his second season.
It doesn't feel super likely that the top-5 in the room of Waddle, Sutton, Franklin, Mims, and Bryant are all back together in 2027. If the front office believes this, they could simply let this year plan out, or they could get ahead of the game.
With Mims being one of the more dynamic players in the NFL and being in a contract year, it would not be a terrible idea getting an extension done with him, right? In that event, Mims becomes a long-term piece in the room, but that could leave, for example, Franklin as being vulnerable.
The Broncos could then, in this scenario, try and trade Franklin and recoup some draft capital, allowing Humphrey, a Sean Payton favorite, to likely make the roster. This is just one scenario, but it does prove that this room could get a bit frisky.
Sutton is entering his age-31 season and might not be in the team's plans after 2026. Contractually, that may be the case, as Sutton has no guaranteed money left on his deal following this coming season. Would the Broncos really let Mims walk out the door in free agency and part with Sutton?
Bryant is the closest player in the room who could takeover for Sutton's skillset, so could there be a future solution with, let's say, Waddle, Bryant, Mims, Franklin, and someone else in the room, and not Sutton?
And again, this is yet another scenario that could transpire. All of Sutton, Mims, and Franklin could realistically not be on the roster in 2026, and there could be a chance that one of Mims or Franklin sees their role get smaller on offense with Waddle in the picture.
At some point, there will have to be some tough decisions made in this room.
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