Arguments for Drafting a Wide Receiver

It’s amazing… two weeks ago, drafting a wide receiver in the first round was a “hot topic” among Broncos fans. I intentionally scheduled this discussion for near last for that reason. Needless to say, recent developments have rendered the conversation a little less engaging. But carry on I shall!

There isn’t a flashier position on the football field than wide receiver, and heading into last season, it looked like the Broncos finally had something going in the right direction. While no one was predicting Brandon Marshall would explode like he did, we still had Javon Walker as a solid #1, and great depth with Brandon Stokley and Rod Smith potentially returning.

For years that wasn’t the case. We’ve been looking for a #2 to complement Smith for years, even using a first round draft choice on Ashley Lelie. When those didn’t pan out, we traded for Walker and selected a gem in Marshall in the 4th round. Things were finally looking up at the wide receiver position, and then Mayor McCheese attacks and Javon’s er, well, Javon hits the fan. Now there are questions again. Do the Broncos have a healthy and capable #1 receiver?

No one is certain that Marshall’s injury will heal in time – the Broncos have said that he should be ready by training camp, but this is the same organization that said Ben Hamilton should be ready to go by the season after suffering a concussion, and that Javon Walker didn’t need knee surgery a few weeks before he went under the knife. If Marshall’s not ready, where do the Broncos turn?

They’ve added three bodies this offseason, each with concerns, and each with upside. Darrell Jackson has several successful seasons under his belt, and he’s a perfect fit in the west coast offense. There are health concerns, and he did have a poor season last year. Keary Colbert was highly touted coming out of college, but disappointed at the Pro level, even being called “nothing short of a complete bust” by one ESPN analyst. Samie Parker had a few decent seasons in Kansas City, but digressed in the past two years.

Can the Broncos rely on these guys to fill the void? Are any of them more than just short term solutions? If the Broncos believe they can, then they can very well look past wide receiver in this year’s draft.