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Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: Grab this Denver Bronco

While Broncos WR Emmanuel Sanders posted a career year in 2013, Denver didn’t break the bank by signing him to a 3-year, $15 million deal in March.

Why did he come at a reasonable price? Sanders’ career-best 67 catches, 740 yards and 6 TDs don’t exactly jump off the page. He’s been a complementary piece over his 4 pro seasons – and not a featured offensive weapon. At 5’11 and 180 pounds, that role suits him best. Sanders will also play the rest of his career with 1 screw inserted in each foot. The injuries originally occurred in the 2010 playoffs.

He’s also joining a crowded Bronco offense. The presence of Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker and Julius Thomas means that the newcomer will likely sit no higher than 4^th in the pecking order for targets.

If that was the case in Pittsburgh, he’d be far off the fantasy radar. But moving out west to Denver, it’s not much of a roadblock.

Ben Roethlisberger isn’t a lousy NFL QB. But the jump from him to Peyton Manning is significant. And so is the change in offensive philosophy. In Sanders’ 4 years in Pittsburgh, the offense never ranked among the top 10 in pass attempts. Of course, Manning led the league in pass attempts in 2013 en route to setting numerous NFL records.

Sure, he’ll regress in 2014 as a 38-year-old. But we don’t expect a sharp decline. And we saw last year that he can spread the ball around. Manning produced 2 WRs with 1,200+ yards (Thomas and Decker). Julius Thomas and Wes Welker were on pace to eclipse 900 yards had they not missed 2 and 3 games, respectively.

Sanders’ foot injuries are worth monitoring, but they’re not overly concerning. He’s appeared in all 16 games for 2 straight seasons. Assuming another full season, Sanders will be armed with WR2 upside.

It’s unfair to compare him to the departed Eric Decker. Sanders stands roughly 4 inches shorter and 30 pounds lighter. Those numbers alone make him a poor bet to repeat Decker’s 11 TDs.

No worries, though, as Sanders’ versatility will help cement his playing time.

“He can play anywhere,” GM John Elway said this offseason. “He can play inside, he can be outside. He's explosive. Great separation skills – he can do it all.”

OC Adam Gase believes that Sanders is a perfect fit in the offense.

"He's more of the mold that I was kind of raised on in an offense," Gase said. "That quickness, defenders not being able to get their hands on him on the line of scrimmage and his ability at the top of routes to separate. His hands are outstanding and his run-after-catch, seeing that over the last few years of, if he's got one guy to make miss, he makes it happen. His addition is going to be big for us."

A report from beat writer Jeff Legwold confirmed that Sanders was able to grasp multiple positions in OTAs. That’s excellent news, especially when you consider the shaky health of Welker. The pint-sized WR suffered 2 concussions over a 1-month span last season. If Welker misses substantial time in 2014, Sanders’ fantasy potential obviously grows.

Rookie WR Cody Latimer looks like a name to circle on 2015 cheat sheets. But eased into the offense following January foot surgery, we’ll sell him as a year 1 contributor. That locks Sanders into a role that allows for roughly 100 targets.

Draft Sharks Bottom Line:

At 27, Sanders is entering his prime years. He’ll play alongside a future Hall of Famer who’s constantly drawn praise for his ball placement. That should help Sanders improve on his 2013 yards-per-catch mark of 11.0 (he tallied 14.2 YPC in 2012). This is an elusive athlete with the supporting cast to approach his first 1,000-yard season. Consider him a WR3 with top-25 upside.

Kevin English, Senior Analyst

Kevin brings 15 years of experience as a fantasy analyst and mid-stakes competitor across various formats (redraft, best ball, dynasty, DFS). His work has been featured on The Mercury News, Rotoworld, and FantasyPros.