Denver Broncos General Manager George Paton met with the media on Monday and touched on multiple topics, including the team’s wide receiver depth after the blockbuster Jaylen Waddle trade.
After the team acquired Waddle, there was speculation that the Broncos could trade from their depth, specifically wide receivers Troy Franklin or Marvin Mims Jr., and recoup some draft pick compensation they lost in the trade. However, Paton shot down those talks and told reporters, “No” when asked if he would consider
moving any pieces after the Waddle trade.
Paton told reporters the wide receiver room goes 7-8 deep and that all of them, including Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Michael Bandy, have helped them up to this point. He would add that they really like their room and then posed the question: “So why would we build up this room and then trade someone right now?”
“No, we really like those pieces, and they’ll all going to help us. They’ve all helped us up to now. I’m going to [WR] Lil’Jordan [Humphrey] and [WR Michael] Bandy. We really like—we’re 7-8 deep. We really like it, so why would we build up this room and then trade someone right now?”
The addition of Jaylen Waddle does make the Broncos’ wide receiver room significantly deeper. It takes a lot of pressure and attention off veteran wide receiver Courtland Sutton and then knocks everyone else down a notch. After Waddle and Sutton, you have Marvin Mims, Troy Franklin, and Pat Bryant all pushing for the WR3 role, and that is where the trade speculation began.
The reality is, someone is going to lose snaps and targets because of this deal. Troy Franklin probably isn’t seeing 100+ targets again, and now you have three young wide receivers, who all do something different, fighting for playing time. You have two options here. You can let it play out and let the competition decide who wins out, or you could shop one of these wide receivers and try to pull off another Devaughn Vele type heist.
For now, at least, it seems like the Broncos are going to let it play out.
Troy Franklin was all the hype coming out of camp, and he turned that into 65 catches for 709 yards and 6 touchdowns. He was the Broncos WR2 and, while having some up-and-down moments, put together a solid season for them. Meanwhile, Marvin Mims continued to be a standout, All-Pro caliber returner while also coming up with the big play in the biggest moments. His overall production at wide receiver doesn’t wow you, but when you need a big play, Mims has consistently come through for the Broncos. Finally, we have Pat Bryant, who was a rookie this past year, but flashed a ton of potential. You could argue he looked like the Broncos’ second-best wide receiver at times last season, but injuries slowed him down at the end of the season, and he will be looking to bounce back in a big way in year two.
Those three wide receivers all have potential to be talented WR3’s next to Waddle and Sutton, and letting them compete for the job will only bring out the best in them. They also all bring something different to the table, so you could easily use all three on game days, but their snap counts and overall stats might take a hit.
Depth is a good thing, and all it takes is one injury or two for these guys to become key starters once again. The Broncos are in a Super Bowl window, so the more talented depth, the better moving forward.
With ALL that said, we have to remember. It is lying season. We are less than a month away from the draft, and it makes zero sense for Paton to say they are open to trading from their depth. That lowers the asking price. If a team offers a deal the Broncos cannot pass up for Franklin or Mims, I would not be shocked to see a trade happen. If Paton can get an early 4th round pick for Devaughn Vele, he might be able to get a day 2 pick out of Franklin or Mims.
For now, it seems like the Broncos are moving forward with their depth, but we’ll have to see how it all plays out moving forward.
