ENGLEWOOD
Emmanuel Sanders Jersey , Colo. (AP) — After watching his 2017 rookie class crater in crunch time, the Broncos general manager placed high value on experience and maturity this spring. Those criteria produced a cast packed with players who had spent four years in college and who had been captains for their teams.“One thing we learned last year when you’re 5-11 and you’re in a losing streak, you need that maturity and that leadership to get things turned around,” Elway said following by far the best of his eight drafts.The Broncos (6-6) are in the playoff picture thanks to a terrific trio of rookies who led Denver’s turnaround from a 3-6 start.Playing leading roles in this resurgence are Bradley Chubb , who leads all rookies with 10 sacks, Courtland Sutton , who is Denver’s new No. 1 receiver, and undrafted gem Phillip Lindsay , who leads the league with a 6.1-yard rushing average and has scored five touchdowns during the surge.“This isn’t just a regular rookie class. This is a unique rookie class that is really mature,” Lindsay said. “You’re not going to get another rookie class like this in the NFL, I don’t care what anybody says.”The rookies certainly have a bravado built on their immediate impact.With Emmanuel Sanders going on injured reserve, Sutton isn’t flinching at the prospect of facing No. 1 cornerbacks now, beginning with Richard Sherman this weekend.“I love it,” Sutton said. “I look forward to it. It’s going to be good.”After surviving the league’s toughest schedule, the Broncos figured they’d catch a breather this month with the 49ers (2-10), Raiders (2-10) and Browns (4-7-1) coming up.Then they lost cornerback Chris Harris Jr. to a fractured fibula in their game at Cincinnati on Sunday and Sanders to a ruptured Achilles 72 hours later.“Nothing’s been handed to us,” quarterback Case Keenum said. “So, we’re going to have to earn everything we get.”The Broncos brought in two veteran replacements for Harris and Sanders in cornerback Jamar Taylor, who was released by the Cardinals last month, and wide receiver Andre Holmes, whom the Broncos claimed off waivers from Buffalo.“To sign two veteran players like those two guys in the last two days, we’re lucky,” coach Vance Joseph said, adding both will play Sunday at San Francisco.Joseph said he doubted Tramaine Brock (ribs) will play after missing his second straight practice Thursday, so that makes Taylor the fourth cornerback behind Bradley Roby, second-year pro Brendan Langley and rookie Isaac Yiadom.Eleven rookies have played for the Broncos this season, logging 3,289 snaps, seventh-most in the NFL. And receivers River Cracraft and Tim Patrick, along with injured tight end Jake Butt, all made their NFL debuts for Denver this year, too.Among the rookies the Broncos expect to play bigger roles down the stretch are receiver DaeSean Hamilton (knee), running back Royce Freeman (ankle) and linebacker Josey Jewell (ankle), all of whom are coming back from minor injuries.“We’re all ready to just step up and be the next guy up, be the next person to make plays for this team,” Hamilton said.Hamilton got a taste of that increased workload last week when he led Denver’s receivers with 47 snaps at Cincinnati even though he didn’t see a single pass thrown his way.“That was a tough game for a flanker,” offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave said. “He had to go in there and block their safety, Shawn Williams, time and time again. He came over to the sideline a couple of times like, ‘Do we have any other plays? Do we have any that I might see the ball in the air, besides me being our sixth O-lineman?’ Which is what he was in the game.“So, we need to pay his fee at some point and throw some balls to him for all that work he did.”Chubb has logged 641 snaps this year, Sutton 592 and Jewell 554. Lindsay has only played 409 snaps, but his workload figures to increase with the loss of Sanders because he can line up in the slot on third downs.“Yeah, we may need to tap those abilities he has even more because we’re going to miss Emmanuel’s quickness and dynamic playmaking ability,” Musgrave said.Lindsay has averaged just 15 touches a game
DeMarcus Ware Jersey , a byproduct not only of the coaches monitoring his snap count but of Denver’s 34.6 percent conversion rate on third downs, which ranks 27th in the NFL.“If we can convert some third downs that we’re not making, then we got more opportunities for everybody,” Musgrave said. “I think that would definitely be a great step in the right direction for this final four-game stretch.”As they tap Elway’s 2018 class even more.Tales from the Tape: Emmanuel Sanders thrives in the slot this preseason As the team releases their first official 53-man roster and depth chart, we are taking a look at guys who have been locked in from the start and are poised to make a big impact this season.Since the 3rd preseason game is typically the closest to the regular season schematically and from a snaps perspective, we are using that tape for this series.Last week we examined Justin Simmons and where he has been lining up, this week Keenum’s favorite target, Emmanuel Sanders is up.This preseason has seen a huge uptick in slot snaps for Emmanuel Sanders. With the emergence of Courtland Sutton on the outside, Denver has slid Sanders into the slot with Sutton on the outside in the majority of their 3+ wide receiver sets.I charted the 3rd preseason game against Washington and here was the breakdown of Sanders’ snaps:Total - 30Slot - 20Outside 2WR sets - 6Outside 3+WR sets - 4It is significant that Denver has been playing Sanders in the slot more, and plan to play him primarily there in the regular season for two reasons:Sanders is measurably more effective in the slotEvery year, Football Outsiders puts out an index of wide receiver efficiency from the slot against their efficiency when lined up outside. In 2017, Sanders ranked 4th in the league with some of the best improvement in the slot versus being lined up outside. His DVOA rose 44.8% when he was in the slot, yet he was only in the slot for 37% of his targets last year. Credit the coaching staff for seeing where he was most effective and making sure he was utilized there as much as possible this upcoming season.As an aside, Demaryius Thomas’ numbers were nearly the opposite. His DVOA went down nearly 25% when shifted into the slot.Keenum is more effective when targeting the slotIn a similar breakdown, Football Outsiders also charts quarterback efficiency on outside and slot routes. They found that Keenum, while outshining most of his peers on efficiency on outside routes, he was still slightly more efficient when targeting the slot, seeing a 2.2% increase in DVOA on slot targets versus outside.Combine that with the fact that Keenum and Sanders have established a great connection so far this off-season, and you can see how Sanders is poised for a massive year in his new role.So let’s dive into how that played out on the field in week 3 of the preseason.Play #1This one is a great example of Sanders getting to pick on players who have no business covering him. As the far inside receiver on this all verticals concept, he draws the linebacker and strong safety in zone coverage, and perfectly splits them for a big 3rd down conversion.Play #2This one is my favorite and is a great application of the slant/flat combo that I covered in a previous breakdown. Sanders is aligned in the slot in a trips left formation, and both Sutton and Demaryius Thomas will run slant routes, with Sanders breaking to the flat.As I describe in the breakdown, the point of this concept is a quick read and throw to wherever the defense isn’t. In this instance the outside corner plays way off, and Sutton’s slant creates a natural pick, so Sanders has some room to work.That’s why this concept works. Here you have one defender trying to cover two routes, so one will be open. If Keenum had a bit more time, he could have waited for the slant to come open, but this was designed to get out quickly as the tackles are cutting their defenders.This may seem like a simple 7 yard gain, but I love this because it not only picks up nice yardage on first down but also puts the ball in the hands of one of your best play-makers to make something happen. These kinds of plays can easily be broken for big gains with just one missed tackle.Additionally, it utilizes each receiver’s strengths. Let the big bodies of Sutton and Thomas go over the middle on a slant route, while the shiftier Sanders works in space.Play #3What the short routes to Sanders in the slot also do is setup big plays. Here Sanders will run what looks like an out route combo’d with Sutton on a slant. However, Sanders turns it upfield on an out n’ up and Sutton breaks back outside.Keenum places a perfect ball and Sanders hauls in an impressive catch, but this was setup by the defense expecting the shorter routes, and Sanders/Musgrave catching them.Play #4Lastly, although 3 of his 4 catches during this game came from the slot, Sanders is still plenty effective on the outside, and this play was another fun reminder of what he can do with the ball in his hands in space, something I talked about as a strength of Denver’s earlier this year.It’s great to see our coaches on both the defensive and offensive side utilizing players in a manner that best fits their skillset. If you’re into playing fantasy football, I would suggest drafting Emmanuel Sanders. If real football is more your style, kick back and enjoy what I believe will be the best year of Sanders’ career.Note: thanks for the suggestions for future topics. I really want to dig into the offensive line, but the preseason footage is pretty limited with only the broadcast angle. Once we get some All-22 footage, I will be digging into Veldheer and McGovern specifically, and keeping a close eye on our offensive line as a whole.
