We’re not even to the Super Bowl yet and Denver Broncos fans everywhere are already talking about what the orange and blue should do with their first-round draft pick.
And many of those fans are begging for a wide receiver with the No. 15 overall pick.
Sure, it makes sense. The Broncos die-hards are pumped about new quarterback Drew Lock and they want to surround him with as many weapons as possible. Courtland Sutton is legitimate No. 1 receiver and Noah Fant showed flashes indicating he could be a star, too. But, Denver needs a No. 2 and possibly a speedier, slot receiver as well.
On top of that glaring need, this year’s NFL Draft is set to be jam-packed with receiving talent. That means the Broncos could land a star mid-way through the first round. Jerry Jeudy, CeeDee Lamb, Henry Ruggs III, Jalen Reagor and even CU prospect Laviska Shenault are all projected to go in the first round; that’s certainly a wealth of talent to choose from.
But, what if Denver — who used a first-round pick on Fant, the tight end last year — didn’t use their No. 15 overall pick on a receiver and instead filled that void through free agency?
Pro Football Focus recently put together their list of free agents, focusing on one player each team should sign. The Denver Broncos’ player was veteran wideout Randall Cobb, currently of the Dallas Cowboys.
“Outside of Courtland Sutton, there’s not much for Drew Lock to throw to in the Denver offense,” PFF writes. “Randall Cobb isn’t back to his 2014 Green Bay form, but outside of the nine drops, he showed he was effective in the slot this past year. His 22 plays of 15-plus yards at that alignment led all wide receivers, proving that he’s still a serious weapon against zone who can find holes and create explosive plays.”
Cobb is a nine-year veteran who just played his first season with the Cowboys after eight years with the Green Bay Packers. He’s played with multiple different offensive coordinators, meaning he should be able to pick up Pat Shurmur’s offense rather quickly. And, he understands the ins and outs of the NFL so he could possibly be that needed veteran presence at receiver if and when the Broncos draft a wideout later than the first round.
Without a doubt, Cobb’s best season came in 2014 and he regressed after that year, but 2019 brought a nice bounce back campaign for him. He finished with 55 receptions for 828 yards and three touchdowns. Those would be wonderfully complimentary numbers to pair alongside Sutton, who just hit 1,000 yards in a season for the first time in his young career.
Spotrac says Cobb’s “market value” will be $7.1 million per year, which is a little high, but if Denver could sign him for around $5 million, he’d be worth the cap hit.
Then, the Broncos could focus on picking up that aforementioned speedy, slot receiver. As our Zach Segars wrote yesterday, the Broncos could move up to take Ruggs, who’s smallish at 6′ but is an absolute burner. Or, Denver could wait past the first round and find one of the many successful receivers later in the draft.
To wit, as many wideouts in the top 20 in terms of receiving yards last year were found outside of the first round as they were in those first 32 picks.
