Denver Broncos Fantasy Football Player Projections, Rankings and Commentary

Is Denver Broncos WR Demaryius Thomas the #1 wide receiver in fantasy football, ahead of even Calvin Johnson? In his prime and with Peyton Manning at QB, you could make a strong argument. Photo: Icon Sportswire

Data as of July 25 | Current Cheatsheets | Current Projections

NR = Not ranked

QB Peyton Manning

As a 37 year old quarterback coming off multiple neck surgeries, Manning threw for 4,699 yards with 37 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. As an even healthier 38 year old quarterback, he reached career highs and set NFL records with 5,499 passing yards and 55 touchdowns passes while reducing his interception count to 10. Truly remarkable. Sure, Manning fizzled out in the Super Bowl but he was a fantasy dream in 2013 and without a doubt was a major component in many championship winning fantasy squads. However, it is important to remember the old fantasy adage of not chasing last year’s points. In 2014, the Broncos offense remains largely intact with Eric Decker having been replaced by Emmanuel Sanders and rookie Cody Latimer and with Montee Ball replacing Knowshon Moreno while left tackle Ryan Clady returns from a season ending injury. Unfortunately, expecting Manning to replicate last season’s performance, arguably the most dominant by a quarterback in the history of the NFL, while having to face four solid defenses coming out of the NFC West would be foolhardy. Nonetheless, he still rates as the top fantasy quarterback and it would be surprising if he doesn’t retain that crown in 2014.

RB Montee Ball

Shortly after the Broncos acquired Ball with a 2nd round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, they partially cleared the deck at running back by releasing incumbent starter Willis McGahee. Despite the ineffectiveness of presumed starter Ronnie Hillman, Ball was leapfrogged on the depth chart by Knowshon Moreno and failed to wrestle the starter’s position back from the veteran. Ball’s pass protection struggles and inability to hold onto the football sealed his fate as a backup during his rookie season as he finished the season with 560 rushing yards, 145 receiving yards and four touchdowns. While Ball may have struggled, the Broncos remain steadfast in their belief in him as a bell cow in their offense with Moreno now in Miami and only Hillman and C.J. Anderson as other players with NFL carries on the depth chart at running back. That makes Ball a very likely breakout candidate in 2014 with the potential to match or exceed Moreno’s 2013 production of 1,586 yards and 13 touchdowns. Ball rates as a mid to lower tier RB1 with tremendous upside and an outstanding dynasty league prospect.

RB Ronnie Hillman

It was a lost season for Hillman in 2013 as he opened training camp as the Broncos starter only to lose that role to Knowshon Moreno and fall to third on the depth chart. Despite his lofty depth chart standing in early summer, Hillman managed just 337 total yards and one touchdown while averaging 4.0 yards per carry. In 2014, with Moreno having signed with Miami, Hillman will compete with C.J. Anderson and a host of undrafted free agents to backup starter Montee Ball. While we envision Hillman winning that battle, it is hardly a rock solid certainty he will hold off the other challengers and, even if he does, we expect a Ball injury would result in a committee approach in Denver. Simply put, Hillman has done little to inspire much confidence since being taken in the 3rd round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He is clearly worth taking a flier on but not worth reaching for.

RB C.J. Anderson

With Knowshon Moreno having departed, Anderson will battle to be the Broncos top backup to Montee Ball. While Anderson has the size to handle the lead back role at 5’8” and 224 pounds, there simply isn’t enough evidence to suggest that he would be successful in that role if Ball were to go down. As a rookie, he managed just seven carries for 38 yards and failed to catch a single pass. If Anderson beats out Ronnie Hillman and his other challengers for the backup spot, he is definitely worthy of a spot on your roster as Ball’s handcuff.

WR Demaryius Thomas

After breaking out in 2012 during his 3rd year in the league with 1,434 yards and ten touchdowns, Thomas was even better last season, finishing as the second ranked fantasy wide receiver with 1,430 yards and a career high 14 touchdowns. With Peyton Manning and most of the Broncos league leading offense returning, Thomas should put together another stellar season with the potential to finish as the top ranked fantasy wide receiver. His size-speed combination and ability to adjust to balls in the air make him a nightmare when facing single coverage. And with Montee Ball and little else at running back, we aren’t buying into the notion the Broncos will run the ball more in 2014. Even though the Broncos have a solid supporting cast of wide receivers behind Thomas, we expect him to see even more targets than the career high 142 he had last season. The only wide receiver that should be considered before Thomas is Calvin Johnson and you could make a strong argument that Thomas should win that rankings battle.

WR Wes Welker

If you chose Welker for your fantasy team in 2013, you spent the first part of the year elated with his solid production as he hauled in 50 passes for 555 yards and nine touchdowns during his first eight games. However, he slowed down considerably from that point on, failing to find the end zone from Week 10 to 13 and missing Weeks 15-17 with a concussion. On the plus side, Welker caught a career high 10 touchdowns and averaged a very respectable 10.6 PPG. On the minus side, his history of concussions is becoming a concern and at age 33, time is not on his side. We should also mention that Eric Decker has been replaced by Emmanuel Sanders and that should result in Welker seeing more targets in 2014. While there are some red flags with Welker, it is hard to pass up a player of his talents given his solid fit in the league’s top offensive team. Consider him a high end WR2 in 2014.

WR Emmanuel Sanders

With Eric Decker leaving in free agency, the Broncos signed former Pittsburgh Steeler Emmanuel Sanders to take his over his spot in the starting line-up. After three largely lackluster seasons, Sanders moved into the Steelers starting line-up for the first time last season and reached career highs across the board with 67 receptions for 740 yards and six touchdowns. While that was an improvement from his prior seasons, there is a reason the Steelers chose to let him walk in free agency despite their barren depth chart at wide receiver. Sanders hauled in just 59.8% of his targets, a low rate given how he was used in the team’s offense. Sanders has the talent to put together a breakout season in Denver but with rookie Cody Latimer breathing down his neck, there is also a chance that Sanders ends up losing some reps to the youngster. We like him as a high end WR4 with upside.

WR Cody Latimer

Let’s go over the checklist to replace Eric Decker, who departed in free agency. Big. Fast. Good hands. Willing, solid blocker. Ability to learn the playbook. Basically, that’s the scouting report on the Broncos 3rd round draft pick Cody Latimer. The Indiana product checks in at 6’3,’ 215 pounds with 4.4-40 speed. He has reliable hands and topped 1,000 receiving yards with nine touchdowns as a senior last season. While a starting spot is unlikely in 2014 with Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker and Emmanuel Sanders on board, Latimer’s future looks bright. He should be consider a solid option in dynasty formats.

TE Julius Thomas

Touted as a potential breakout candidate in 2013, Thomas failed to disappoint as he hauled in 65 of his 89 targets (73.0% completion rate) for 788 yards and 12 touchdowns despite missing a pair of games with knee problems. That was impressive production considering the 2011 4th round pick had appeared in just four games during his first two years in the league, catching just one pass. At 6’5” and 255 pounds with solid speed, Thomas is an absolute nightmare for opposing defenses to deal with as they typically choose to double team wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, leaving Thomas in single coverage. With Eric Decker taking his 11 touchdowns to the Jets this offseason and being replaced by Emmanuel Sanders (a much smaller receiver), Thomas should see even more red zone looks. We like him as the second ranked player at tight end behind Jimmy Graham.