The Denver Broncos wide receiver room is the deepest it’s been in over a decade as the unit aims to give Bo Nix everything he needs to lead the team to the Super Bowl in his third season.
Broncos Camp: Denver Broncos WR Room Is Loaded Going Into 2026
Courtland Sutton has been the Denver Broncos top wide receiver since taking over the room in 2019, and now he’s got a legitimate counterpart next to him that will help open up the offense.
Sutton saw a lot of bracket attention in key passing down situations last season, but he still made plays.
In 2025, Jaylen Waddle recorded 21 receptions on vertical routes (tied for 2nd-most in NFL) for 481 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Waddle and new teammate Courtland Sutton were two of just five players with at least 20 vertical receptions last season.@Broncos | #BroncosCountry pic.twitter.com/CjdekS5EYV
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 17, 2026
Sutton might see more one-on-one opportunities this upcoming season because of his new counterpart inside of Denver’s offense.
Jaylen Waddle was brought in this offseason to be that explosive game-changer that Denver’s offense has been missing, and his on-field presence will change how defenses look at playing them.
Waddle’s ability to stop on a dime after reaching top speed stands out. As a former cornerback, he’s the type of player you highlight on the scouting report each week as the most dangerous man.
One of the areas I think Waddle will have one of the biggest impacts on is the Broncos’ run game, which desperately needs to be good this upcoming season.
J.K. Dobbins, according to TruMedia, had 153 rushing attempts last season through 10 weeks, but faced seven-man boxes on 42 attempts, eight-man boxes on 38 attempts, and 9-man boxes on 33 attempts last season.
Adding Waddle into the mix will change how defenses will try to play the run game, and if they don’t, it will end up hurting them against the pass.
I’d expect the Broncos to incorporate a lot more motion this upcoming season than what we’ve been accustomed to seeing since Sean Payton came on board in 2023. Davis Webb won’t motion just to motion, but there will be a purpose behind it that makes it more than just window dressing.
With Sutton and Waddle leading the offense as the two top options, it opens things up for Troy Franklin, Marvin Mims, and Pat Bryant.
Franklin was the second-leading target in Denver’s passing attack last season, and he took a massive leap compared to his rookie season. His role should be even bigger this upcoming season, while he, Bryant, and Mims more than likely rotate or snaps get influenced based on different matchups on a weekly basis.
Bryant is the hard-hat, lunch-pale guy in the WR room, doing the dirty work from moving the chains on third down to blocking his tail off in the run game. He grew so much in his first season, and looked as if he was going to be the feature guy in Denver’s playoff game against the Buffalo Bills, where he had three catches on Denver’s first offensive series.
Mims is the ultimate wildcard. It’s a safe argument that he’s the most clutch player on Denver’s offense besides Bo Nix, but his overall snap % and utilization were nowhere near where they should have been, and that’s been the case since his rookie season. He’s now entering the final year of his deal and could find himself playing for a new team next season if Denver doesn’t extend him, which will be a move they’ll ultimately regret if they let him walk.
Payton has typically kept five receivers on the active roster, and I don’t think that will change. Sutton, Waddle, Franklin, Mims, and Bryant should be the five, and it’s a pretty strong duo on paper.
Going into training camp, Denver’s receiver room features 12 total players. The remaining seven names feature Lil’Jordan Humphrey, UFL Offensive Player of the Year Hakeem Butler, Michael Bandy, and undrafted rookies Dane Key, Kolbe Katsis, Cameron Ross, and Joseph Manjack.
It’s going to be extremely difficult for an undrafted rookie to make the active roster at WR this season, considering the overall depth and experience Denver has here, but ideal competition at this position would likely be for practice squad spots during the regular season.
Key, Butler, Bandy, and Humphrey are the prime names to keep an eye on for consideration at those spots, but if the Broncos were to keep six receivers on their active roster, it would likely be Humphrey who’s the prime candidate there.