Denver Broncos: What will their wide receiver room look like in '23?

The Denver Broncos might have an interesting situation on their hands with their wide receiver room, which saw a couple of new faces added to it. I think this is a good problem to have, as the Broncos seemed to have added two bodies at WR who can both have roles with the team in 2023.

In free agency, Denver added Marquez Callaway. Callaway, 25, was undrafted out of Tennessee and spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons with the New Orleans Saints.

In 2021, he broke out and posed 46 receptions, 698 yards, and six touchdowns. He fell back down to Earth a bit in 2022, but I don't really blame him for that, because the Saints' offense in 2022 wasn't that great.

The team also drafted Marvin Mims Jr in the 2023 NFL Draft. He's a speedster who I've seen comped to Brandin Cooks. He's also got return ability, so this does feel like a replacement for KJ Hamler and Montrell Washington.

The team also will get Tim Patrick back into the lineup, and Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy seem to be here for the near future, at least.

So, based on the additions the Broncos have made at this position and what we know about them, what can we project the WR room to look like?

Well, I looked back at previous seasons when Sean Payton was still with the Saints and his roster tendencies at this position. I saw one year where the initial depth chart included just four wide receivers, but five seemed to be the key number, although there was a year with six as well.

It was a mixed bag, honestly.

Denver currently has 12 wide receivers signed, and will likely be cutting that down by at least six for the 53-man roster.

Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, and Tim Patrick are the top three, and I don't think that's up for discussion. The next two should end up being Marvin Mims Jr and Marquez Callaway. Callaway has been productive in a Sean Payton offense and the Broncos took Mims with a late-second-round pick, so unless something major happens, Mims is going to be on the roster.

At this point, I think Denver can get away with having five wide receivers on the roster. Part of me thinks they'll also keep Lil'Jordan Humphrey as well for the sixth, as Mims may end up being more of a return specialist.

So, that'll be my prediction. I think Denver ends up carrying six wide receivers on their initial 53-man roster: Jeudy, Sutton, Patrick, Mims Jr, Callaway, and Humphrey. I think the book needs to be closed on the KJ Hamler, Kendall Hinton, and Montrell Washington experiments.

Fans seem to gravitate towards Hamler and Hinton for varying reasons, but I think we need to realize that neither are NFL-caliber players at this point, and the Mims Jr selection in the 2023 NFL Draft is a huge indictment on Hamler and Washington as someone who will likely push them off the roster. I think Hamler, Hinton, and Washington could all be viable candidates for the practice squad, but that's still a ways away.

Sean Payton has authority over the roster, and I think we'll see that spill into most of the positions.