The Broncos spared no expensive to surround Russell Wilson with as much talent at skill positions as they could, specifically the wide receiver position.
After last season’s offensive nightmare, Denver brass brought in an offensive specialist in new head coach Sean Payton to run the team and upgraded Wilson’s weaponry. At least, they spent like they were seriously upgrading.
Denver Has Most Expensive Group Of Wide Receivers In NFL
But after dishing an absurd amount of cash on their wide receiver room, Denver doesn’t have much to show for it after getting bitten by the injury bug this preseason.
According to Warren Sharp of SportsGrid, the Denver Broncos spent $44.6 million on wide receivers, making them the most expensive wide receiver core in the NFL right now.
With guys such as Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, KJ Hamler, and Marquez Callaway, the Broncos looked to place nothing but capable playmakers around Wilson, providing the aging QB with dynamic weapons that can help the offense expand downfield more.
Can Russell Wilson Bounce Back? Is He Washed?
While the quarterbacking ability of Wilson is still in question after an abysmal 2022 season that saw him play the worst football of his career, the Broncos front office believes that giving him more weapons will help him return to the elite level that he consistently performed at in Seattle.
Russell Wilson’s High-Priced Receivers Injured In Pre Season
But so far that plan hasn’t panned out like they expected, and some of their top receivers have gone down before the season even started.
For starters, Wilson’s top receiver Jeudy went down in practice with a hamstring injury, and he is expected to miss multiple weeks, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport.
Second up, Tim Patrick’s 2023 season has already ended with a left Achilles injury, according to multiple sources. On top of those two blows to Denver, they have cut receivers Nick Williams and Kendall Hinton as well in order to get closer to the 53-man roster limit.
When Denver was opening their wallets to pay all these receivers they didn’t expect last year’s rotten luck to continue into this preseason.
Instead of these quality receivers helping Russell Wilson out, it seems that for the beginning of the season the Broncos will be relying heavily on Wilson to be able to move this offense down the field, making do with standout receiver Courtland Sutton, among others.
The Broncos should be in shambles, considering half of their starting receivers have been cut down for Week 1, and they’re already starting out handicapped in a division with the Chiefs, Chargers, and Raiders. Denver is arguably the worst team in their division.
Reports from training camp have indicated that Wilson is in great form and looks to bounce back from last season’s woes, so perhaps he will be able to right the ship for Denver. He just needs a healthy offensive cast, or this season won’t be much better than the last.
