Demaryius Thomas says he's healthy, the hip that troubled him last season no longer an issue. Emmanuel Sanders also says he's feeling great, having eliminated fast food from his diet. He says it's key because the Broncos will be throwing the ball around a ton this season.
If Sanders is correct, it will be a change from recent years. Denver hasn't ranked higher than 14th in percentage of pass plays to run plays in any of the last three seasons. Last year they had youngsters playing quarterback and the year before that a cooked Peyton Manning, but it includes the 2014 season, too, when Manning was still playing at a higher level and threw for more than 4,700 yards.
% PASS/RUN PLAYS, 2014-2016 (RANK) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | '14 | '15 | '16 | %Pass(Tot) |
Detroit | 8 | 1 | 3 | 64.0 |
Jacksonville | 4 | 2 | 7 | 63.8 |
New Orleans | 5 | 6 | 5 | 63.4 |
Oakland | 1 | 9 | 19 | 62.6 |
Baltimore | 24 | 4 | 1 | 62.4 |
San Diego | 12 | 5 | 12 | 61.9 |
Indianapolis | 6 | 10 | 14 | 61.8 |
Atlanta | 3 | 15 | 22 | 60.9 |
Miami | 9 | 3 | 27 | 60.8 |
Pittsburgh | 13 | 13 | 16 | 60.7 |
NY Giants | 18 | 12 | 11 | 60.4 |
Cleveland | 27 | 7 | 2 | 60.2 |
Washington | 14 | 22 | 8 | 60.0 |
Arizona | 15 | 23 | 6 | 60.0 |
Chicago | 2 | 26 | 13 | 59.9 |
Denver | 19 | 14 | 17 | 59.8 |
Green Bay | 22 | 18 | 4 | 59.7 |
Philadelphia | 20 | 16 | 18 | 59.1 |
New England | 16 | 8 | 28 | 59.0 |
Tennessee | 10 | 11 | 30 | 58.6 |
Tampa Bay | 7 | 24 | 24 | 58.2 |
Los Angeles | 17 | 28 | 10 | 57.7 |
Minnesota | 21 | 30 | 9 | 57.2 |
Kansas City | 23 | 25 | 20 | 56.4 |
NY Jets | 28 | 19 | 21 | 56.1 |
San Francisco | 26 | 17 | 29 | 55.7 |
Houston | 32 | 20 | 25 | 54.6 |
Cincinnati | 29 | 27 | 23 | 54.3 |
Carolina | 25 | 31 | 26 | 54.2 |
Buffalo | 11 | 32 | 31 | 54.0 |
Seattle | 31 | 29 | 15 | 53.5 |
Dallas | 30 | 21 | 32 | 52.7 |
That being said, for Denver to truly implement a pass-happy approach, it will need either Trevor Siemian or Paxton Lynch to step up in the preseason. Neither did a year ago. Siemian is a seventh-round pick, while Lynch is a first-rounder yet to prove anything. Actually becoming the kind of offense Sanders envisions is easier said than done.
On behalf of both wideouts, Denver doesn't necessarily have a viable No. 3 receiver. The passing game should funnel through those two even if the pass-run mix doesn't change as much as Sanders expects. Wide receiver duos to catch more passes than Denver's last year? There were only three.
WIDE RECEIVER DUOS, 2016 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | No. 1 | No. 2 | No | Yds | TD |
Oak. | Amari Cooper | Michael Crabtree | 172 | 2156 | 13 |
G.B. | Jordy Nelson | Davante Adams | 172 | 2254 | 26 |
N.O. | Brandin Cooks | Michael Thomas | 170 | 2310 | 17 |
Den. | Demaryius Thomas | Emmanuel Sanders | 169 | 2115 | 10 |
NYG | Odell Beckham Jr. | Sterling Shepard | 166 | 2050 | 18 |
Pitt. | Antonio Brown | Eli Rogers | 154 | 1878 | 15 |
Minn. | Adam Thielen | Stefon Diggs | 153 | 1870 | 8 |
T.B. | Mike Evans | Adam Humphries | 151 | 1943 | 14 |
Mia. | Jarvis Landry | DeVante Parker | 150 | 1880 | 8 |
Det. | Golden Tate | Marvin Jones | 146 | 2007 | 8 |
Balt. | Mike Wallace | Steve Smith | 142 | 1816 | 9 |
Atl. | Julio Jones | Mohamed Sanu | 142 | 2062 | 10 |
Ariz. | Larry Fitzgerald | J.J. Nelson | 141 | 1591 | 12 |
Jac. | Allen Robinson | Marqise Lee | 136 | 1734 | 9 |
N.E. | Julian Edelman | Chris Hogan | 136 | 1786 | 7 |
Sea. | Doug Baldwin | Tyler Lockett | 135 | 1725 | 8 |
Wash. | Pierre Garcon | DeSean Jackson | 135 | 2046 | 7 |
Cin. | A.J. Green | Brandon LaFell | 130 | 1826 | 10 |
S.D. | Tyrell Williams | Dontrelle Inman | 127 | 1869 | 11 |
Hou. | DeAndre Hopkins | Will Fuller | 125 | 1589 | 6 |
Dall. | Cole Beasley | Dez Bryant | 125 | 1629 | 13 |
Ind. | T.Y. Hilton | Phillip Dorsett | 124 | 1976 | 8 |
Chi. | Cameron Meredith | Alshon Jeffery | 118 | 1709 | 6 |
NYJ | Quincy Enunwa | Brandon Marshall | 117 | 1645 | 7 |
Car. | Kelvin Benjamin | Ted Ginn | 117 | 1693 | 11 |
Clev. | Terrelle Pryor | Corey Coleman | 110 | 1420 | 7 |
Phil. | Jordan Matthews | Dorial Green-Beckham | 109 | 1196 | 5 |
L.A. | Kenny Britt | Brian Quick | 109 | 1566 | 8 |
Tenn. | Rishard Matthews | Tajae Sharpe | 106 | 1467 | 11 |
K.C. | Tyreek Hill | Jeremy Maclin | 105 | 1129 | 8 |
S.F. | Jeremy Kerley | Quinton Patton | 101 | 1075 | 3 |
Buff. | Robert Woods | Marquise Goodwin | 80 | 1044 | 4 |
--Andy Richardson