Getty Denver Broncos WR Emmanuel Sanders
The Denver Broncos were dealt a brutal blow on Wednesday to top wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders. While Sanders has emerged as the team’s go-to wideout, they’ll now be down a key target in the push for a potential postseason berth. As NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport revealed, the belief is that Sanders suffered a torn Achilles during practice.
Source: The #Broncos believe that WR Emmanuel Sanders tore his Achilles during practice. They’ll do tests to confirm. But that’s the fear.
It’s tough to hear for Sanders, who was on his way to a superb finish to the season. Through 12 games, the 31-year-old wideout had totaled 71 receptions for 868 yards and four touchdowns. He’s proven to be a reliable and favorite target for quarterback Case Keenum.
With fantasy football playoffs beginning this week for many, it means players will be sorting through the waiver wire in an attempt to find replacements. We’re going to look at the players on the Broncos roster most likely to pick up the additional workload after Sanders’ injury.
Top Broncos Wideouts Who’ll Replace Sanders
There’s no question that Courtland Sutton sees the biggest boost, as he’ll become the go-to target in the offense. With that said, he’ll also be asked to deal with more attention from opposing defenses in the process. Following the Broncos’ decision to trade Demaryius Sanders, it thrust Sutton into the spotlight and he’s been a bit hit-or-miss since.
Sutton hasn’t seen his production go wild following the Thomas deal, as some expected it would. He’s posted stat lines of 3/57/0, 3/78/0, 1/14/0, and 4/85/1 over the four-game span. The rookie out of SMU has stuck between 4-7 targets over that stretch, but with Sanders expected to be out, that number should jump to double-digits.
Looking Beyond Courtland Sutton
Another key name to monitor is DaeSean Hamilton, the rookie out of Penn State. It’s expected to be an all-rookie pairing at receiver for the home stretch in Denver, but both of these players are primed for a big opportunity. Hamilton played 51 percent of the team’s offensive snaps in Week 12 and 80 percent last week (per Football Outsiders), but hasn’t done much from a production standpoint.
Following a three-catch, 44 yard game back in early October, Hamilton has just two catches for 17 yards since that point. His workload is primed to increase drastically moving forward, though, so he should have an opportunity to turn the corner.
Tim Patrick is one other name to mention, and while he has just four catches for 73 yards and one touchdown all season, his workload will increase. Last game Patrick played 14 percent of the offensive snaps but didn’t receive a target. There’s a good chance he takes over the slot receiver duties, but it would be wise to wait and see how his role looks in Week 14.
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