Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton doesn’t care too much about classifying his wide receivers as WR1 or WR6 and is more invested in carving out roles for players who will end up dressing on gamedays this upcoming season.

Sean Payton believes in Broncos’ WR roles, not pecking order

What’s largely dominated the fantasy football world has seemingly sprinkled its way into general discussion about positions and the players in them. WR1 and WR2 have been hot topics in a lot of emails or comments I’ve received from Broncos’ fans, and I’ve been consistent in saying that Sean Payton doesn’t buy into the idea of there being a WR2.

What Payton believes in is identifying and carving out roles for his players based on archetype, size, traits, and, more importantly, matchups.

“I think some teams are more predictable with where the ‘X’ is, and the slot and the ‘Z’,” Payton said. “Then the term, the No. 1, the No. 2, I get all that. They’re all going to play in different roles. We probably are a little bit different with our rotation substitution patterns that you guys can decide who two is, and three is and four is. There’s going to be a role if they’re dressing, and they’re getting on the field. They’re not going to line up in the same spot all the time. I think that would be the easiest way to describe it.”

While Courtland Sutton will likely receive the larger volume of overall targets this season and play the most snaps out of any wide receiver, the names and numbers behind him will likely vary.

Throughout training camp, Payton has mixed in everybody — Marvin Mims, Devaughn Vele, Troy Franklin, rookie Pat Bryant, and veteran Trent Sherfield Sr. with Bo Nix and the primary offense, and they’ve all lined up everywhere.

Positional versatility is something Payton values, and it eliminates specializing and maximizes opportunities to exploit defensive matchups on a game-to-game basis.

The emergence of Bryant and Franklin this offseason has been an exciting development to follow, specifically with the wide receiver room. As we saw in the film review from Saturday’s game vs. the Arizona Cardinals, both guys are invested in doing the dirty work in order to see time on the field.

That’s not even factoring in Marvin Mims, who can play three or four roles offensively, and his dynamic ability to create explosive plays or have an impact in the open field.

Whether it’s the commitment to blocking in the run game, or even getting involved after a receiver catches a pass, like Bryant and Franklin did on Evan Engram’s catch this past weekend, the Broncos wide receiver room has an entirely different vibe to it than it did last year and it all starts with the leadership from Sutton, who has been pivotal as a vocal leader for that position room, and as somebody who leads by example on a daily basis.

“There are two ways vocally I can turn to Courtland,” Payton said. “Last week, we had a few plays where if you’re the inside receiver in the slot, we say you control the flight deck on or off. We had some penalties, two guys on or we weren’t… And I just turned and yelled at Sutton. I said, ‘You get that fixed.’ Now [Wide Receivers Coach] Keary Colbert knows if I’m yelling at Sutton, I’m yelling at him as well. Courtland, it got handled this week. Then on top of that, he’s out here. There are all the elements, the work ethic, the production, and how he lives his life and then how he handles this game. One of the challenges always in free agency is you can’t pay everyone, but you want to make sure you’re paying make up in character because the contract, none of that will impact just how he practices and how he approaches the game. It’s really beneficial for us as an offense.”

Sutton’s day-to-day approach has trickled down into the entire receiver room, and it’s bringing the best out of every player, including a handful of younger undrafted guys who have put together impressive camp and preseason performances.

On paper, it feels like the Broncos’ receiver room is solidified, but it wouldn’t come as a surprise if there was a shock at this position depending on how the numbers game plays out when it comes to overall roster cuts next week.