The Denver Broncos may be gifted with one superstar receiver in Courtland Sutton, but they desperately need to surround him with playmakers.
Sutton bursted onto the scene last year, as a sophomore, eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career with 1,112 yards and six touchdowns. His highlight reel worthy catches, like the one-handed diving touchdown from Drew Lock, showed he will be a problem for defenses for many years to come.
But, what started happening later in the year was defenses keying in on Sutton. They knew the Broncos didn’t have many other threats, especially through the air after Emmanuel Sanders was traded away.
DaeSean Hamilton got more playing time after Sanders left, but he also dropped an open touchdown and a few other passes along the way. Tim Patrick is a solid No. 4 option, but he can’t just slide into the No. 2 spot next to Sutton.
That’s left Broncos fans desiring that Denver uses their No. 15 overall draft pick to take one of the bevy of big-time receivers this year. But, what if the Broncos instead found another superstar through a trade?
Stefon Diggs of the Minnesota Vikings has eluded to his leaving the team lately and deals being worked on behind the scenes:
Everything that was done in the dark is about to come to light…
— DIGGS (@stefondiggs) February 12, 2020
Things getting interesting …
— DIGGS (@stefondiggs) February 15, 2020
Diggs entered the league in 2015, playing the last five years with the Vikings and passing that 1,000-yard mark both of the last two years. He also enjoyed nine and six touchdowns, respectively, over the last two seasons. Simply, he’s a playmaking stud who would make a dynamic No. 2 receiver for the Broncos next to Sutton.
Sutton is the 6’4″ 215-pound beast of a receiver, able to out-muscle opponents or jump over the top of them for a catch. Meanwhile, Diggs’ 6’1″ 191-pound frame is prototypical for a No. 2 wideout, lining up opposite of Sutton.
Then, the Broncos’ options are nearly limitless.
They could give Hamilton another try in the slot. Or, Denver could still use their first-round pick to take a receiver like Henry Ruggs III if he’s still available at the spot. Or, they could take Tristan Wirfs there, and go after a different receiver in the second round or with one of their three third-round picks.
Together, Diggs, Sutton and rookie Noah Fant would give Drew Lock enough weapons to keep opposing defenses honest and help Denver’s offense improve from their 28th scoring rank last year.
Denver actually trading for Diggs seems like a long shot, but remember they will have nearly $80 million in cap space as soon as they move on from Joe Flacco and Ronald Leary. It’s worth noting that the Vikings signed Diggs to a 5-year, $72 million deal last year and he’s on schedule to make $11 million per season the next four years.