All offseason, Broncos Country had their eyes set on one wide receiver more than any other: Max McCaffrey. It didn’t matter that he was a projected late-round or undrafted prospect; he was Colorado bred, and it seemed impossible to imagine him in anything but the orange and blue.
And when he slipped past the seventh round into undrafted free agency, it seemed like a sure thing that he’d sign with the home-town team, following in his father’s footsteps.
Well, we thought wrong.
https://twitter.com/MikeKlis/status/726546797779263489
That one definitely hurts … and adding insult to injury, Adam Schefter says he’s headed to the hated Raiders.
Former Duke WR Max McCaffrey – son of former Broncos WR Ed and brother of Stanford RB Christian – is signing with the Raiders, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 30, 2016
If the Broncos wanted him, it seems as if they should have used a pick on him. The team did attempt to bring in the Valor Christian product as an undrafted free agent, but his father, Ed, a two-time Super Bowl champion with Denver, told Elway the Raiders were the best choice for Max.
Elway: "Talked to Eddy (McCaffrey) and they felt like they made the best choice for them. It's unfortunate we were not able to get Max here"
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) April 30, 2016
Denver is already deep at wide receiver, with Pro Bowlers Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas atop the depth chart. Behind them are two players who came on strong in 2015, Bennie Fowler and Jordan Norwood.
Cody Latimer is a 2014 second-round draft pick who will continue to get a shot just because of his draft position and Jordan Taylor made plenty of fans on last year’s practice squad as the guy Peyton Manning practiced with during his rehab from plantar fasciitis. DeVier Posey signed a reserve-future contract in January for additional depth.
Denver added three undrafted free agent wide receivers on Sunday, meaning McCaffrey would have been one of 10 wideouts in the mix at training camp.