I wonder where Tim Patrick will fit in with the Broncos. They drafted wide receivers with their first two picks last year, but Patrick was more reliable than those guys last season.
Courtland Sutton, I imagine, will be Denver’s leading receiver. He missed almost all of last season with a torn ACL. If not Sutton, then probably Jerry Jeudy, who had his struggles last year but was a top-15 overall pick. I think they’ll give him every opportunity to turn things around, and I don’t think anybody will be surprised if it’s instead Jeudy who’s Denver’s lead dog.
Jeudy, remarkably, had a game late last year against the Chargers where he dropped 6 passes. I’m not sure that anybody’s ever done that before. Jeudy dropped 10 balls overall last year.
Denver also drafted KJ Hamler in the second round last year, hoping he’d be a DeSean Jackson type guy. He finished the season with 7 drops and 30 catches – even a worse rate than Jeudy.
Patrick, meanwhile, isn’t as heralded. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent. But he’s about as big as Sutton and held up well last year. He finished the season as the only wide receiver with over 50 catches who didn’t drop a pass all year.
Patrick was good inside the 10-yard line last year, catching 7 of the 9 passes thrown hs way. He led the team with 6 TDs, and they all came in that part of the field.
There were 87 wide receivers last year who had the opportunity to catch at least 35 passes. Patrick shows up at No. 1 on that list, while Jeudy and Hamler are both in the bottom 4.
(But if I’m drafting today, I’m definitely selecting Sutton and Jeudy long before Patrick.)
| WIDE RECEIVER DROPS, 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Rec | Drop | Pct |
| Tim Patrick, DEN | 51 | 51 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Antonio Brown, TAM | 45 | 45 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Randall Cobb, HOU | 38 | 38 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Rashard Higgins, CLE | 37 | 37 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Davante Adams, GNB | 116 | 115 | 1 | 0.9% |
| Sterling Shepard, NYG | 67 | 66 | 1 | 1.5% |
| Darnell Mooney, CHI | 62 | 61 | 1 | 1.6% |
| DeAndre Hopkins, ARI | 117 | 115 | 2 | 1.7% |
| Larry Fitzgerald, ARI | 55 | 54 | 1 | 1.8% |
| Demarcus Robinson, KAN | 46 | 45 | 1 | 2.2% |
| Justin Jefferson, MIN | 90 | 88 | 2 | 2.2% |
| Cole Beasley, BUF | 84 | 82 | 2 | 2.4% |
| Brandin Cooks, HOU | 83 | 81 | 2 | 2.4% |
| Michael Pittman, IND | 41 | 40 | 1 | 2.4% |
| Michael Thomas, NOR | 41 | 40 | 1 | 2.4% |
| Tyler Boyd, CIN | 81 | 79 | 2 | 2.5% |
| Golden Tate, NYG | 36 | 35 | 1 | 2.8% |
| Allen Robinson, CHI | 105 | 102 | 3 | 2.9% |
| Keenan Allen, LAC | 103 | 100 | 3 | 2.9% |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster, PIT | 100 | 97 | 3 | 3.0% |
| Amari Cooper, DAL | 95 | 92 | 3 | 3.2% |
| Terry McLaurin, WAS | 90 | 87 | 3 | 3.3% |
| Hunter Renfrow, LVR | 58 | 56 | 2 | 3.4% |
| DJ Chark, JAX | 55 | 53 | 2 | 3.6% |
| Greg Ward, PHI | 55 | 53 | 2 | 3.6% |
| Christian Kirk, ARI | 50 | 48 | 2 | 4.0% |
| Danny Amendola, DET | 48 | 46 | 2 | 4.2% |
| Robert Woods, LAR | 94 | 90 | 4 | 4.3% |
| Chris Godwin, TAM | 68 | 65 | 3 | 4.4% |
| Corey Davis, TEN | 68 | 65 | 3 | 4.4% |
| Emmanuel Sanders, NOR | 64 | 61 | 3 | 4.7% |
| Jamison Crowder, NYJ | 62 | 59 | 3 | 4.8% |
| Laviska Shenault, JAX | 61 | 58 | 3 | 4.9% |
| Travis Fulgham, PHI | 40 | 38 | 2 | 5.0% |
| T.Y. Hilton, IND | 59 | 56 | 3 | 5.1% |
| Will Fuller, HOU | 56 | 53 | 3 | 5.4% |
| Mike Evans, TAM | 74 | 70 | 4 | 5.4% |
| Tyreek Hill, KAN | 92 | 87 | 5 | 5.4% |
| Josh Reynolds, LAR | 55 | 52 | 3 | 5.5% |
| Julio Jones, ATL | 54 | 51 | 3 | 5.6% |
| John Brown, BUF | 35 | 33 | 2 | 5.7% |
| Scott Miller, TAM | 35 | 33 | 2 | 5.7% |
| Mike Williams, LAC | 51 | 48 | 3 | 5.9% |
| Stefon Diggs, BUF | 135 | 127 | 8 | 5.9% |
| Robby Anderson, CAR | 101 | 95 | 6 | 5.9% |
| A.J. Green, CIN | 50 | 47 | 3 | 6.0% |
| Curtis Samuel, CAR | 82 | 77 | 5 | 6.1% |
| Cooper Kupp, LAR | 98 | 92 | 6 | 6.1% |
| Calvin Ridley, ATL | 96 | 90 | 6 | 6.3% |
| Jakobi Meyers, NWE | 63 | 59 | 4 | 6.3% |
| Zach Pascal, IND | 47 | 44 | 3 | 6.4% |
| A.J. Brown, TEN | 75 | 70 | 5 | 6.7% |
| Marvin Jones, DET | 82 | 76 | 6 | 7.3% |
| Tyler Lockett, SEA | 108 | 100 | 8 | 7.4% |
| Sammy Watkins, KAN | 40 | 37 | 3 | 7.5% |
| Braxton Berrios, NYJ | 40 | 37 | 3 | 7.5% |
| Anthony Miller, CHI | 53 | 49 | 4 | 7.5% |
| Jarvis Landry, CLE | 78 | 72 | 6 | 7.7% |
| Brandon Aiyuk, SFO | 65 | 60 | 5 | 7.7% |
| Jakeem Grant, MIA | 39 | 36 | 3 | 7.7% |
| Damiere Byrd, NWE | 51 | 47 | 4 | 7.8% |
| Gabriel Davis, BUF | 38 | 35 | 3 | 7.9% |
| David Moore, SEA | 38 | 35 | 3 | 7.9% |
| Willie Snead, BAL | 36 | 33 | 3 | 8.3% |
| Deebo Samuel, SFO | 36 | 33 | 3 | 8.3% |
| Adam Thielen, MIN | 81 | 74 | 7 | 8.6% |
| DeVante Parker, MIA | 69 | 63 | 6 | 8.7% |
| DK Metcalf, SEA | 91 | 83 | 8 | 8.8% |
| Chase Claypool, PIT | 68 | 62 | 6 | 8.8% |
| Russell Gage, ATL | 79 | 72 | 7 | 8.9% |
| Chris Conley, JAX | 44 | 40 | 4 | 9.1% |
| Michael Gallup, DAL | 65 | 59 | 6 | 9.2% |
| Marquise Brown, BAL | 64 | 58 | 6 | 9.4% |
| Nelson Agholor, LVR | 53 | 48 | 5 | 9.4% |
| DJ Moore, CAR | 73 | 66 | 7 | 9.6% |
| CeeDee Lamb, DAL | 82 | 74 | 8 | 9.8% |
| Keelan Cole, JAX | 61 | 55 | 6 | 9.8% |
| Tre'Quan Smith, NOR | 38 | 34 | 4 | 10.5% |
| Tee Higgins, CIN | 75 | 67 | 8 | 10.7% |
| Darius Slayton, NYG | 56 | 50 | 6 | 10.7% |
| Kendrick Bourne, SFO | 55 | 49 | 6 | 10.9% |
| Diontae Johnson, PIT | 101 | 88 | 13 | 12.9% |
| Allen Lazard, GNB | 38 | 33 | 5 | 13.2% |
| Jerry Jeudy, DEN | 62 | 52 | 10 | 16.1% |
| Mecole Hardman, KAN | 49 | 41 | 8 | 16.3% |
| Marquez Valdes-Scantling, GNB | 40 | 33 | 7 | 17.5% |
| KJ Hamler, DEN | 37 | 30 | 7 | 18.9% |
The drops on the chart above come from the counts at Pro-Football-Reference.com
—Ian Allan