Denver Broncos Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Niners LB Dre Greenlaw missed practice Wednesday with a groin injury. We'll see how he fares the next two days, ahead of Sunday's meeting with the Rams.

Cecil Lammey and Andrew Mason of Denver Sports expect Broncos RB Jaleel McLaughlin to have a role on offense in Sunday's opener vs. the Raiders. Lammey threw out a prediction of a 40/40/20 split between Javonte Williams, Samaje Perine, and McLaughlin. "Jaleel is trusted on those passing downs ... situations where you need that big play," Lammey added. It's certainly worth remembering that HC Sean Payton often deployed 3-RB committees with the Saints. McLaughlin is certainly not a Week 1 fantasy option, but garnering even a few touches would put a dent in Williams and Perine's fantasy value.

The Broncos swung a trade for K Wil Lutz from New Orleans. Lutz reunites with former Saints HC and current Broncos HC Sean Payton. How strong a fantasy option Lutz will be this season depends entirely on whether Payton can help lead Denver's offense to a bounce-back season.

Bills WR Trent Sherfield has been working in with the first-team offense throughout training camp, along with WRs Khalil Shakir and Deonte Harty, according to The Athletic's Joe Buscaglia. Those three are battling for the No. 3 WR job, behind Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis. And "among the three, Sherfield has had the strongest training camp," Buscaglia writes. Preseason performance might ultimately decide who opens the season as Buffalo's No 3. We'll keep a close eye on the situation.

Jaguars beat writer John Shipley believes TE Evan Engram has performed better in training camp this year than he did in 2022. Engram, of course, broke out with 73-766-4 in his Jags debut. Calvin Ridley’s arrival takes some shine off Engram’s fantasy appeal. Still, the 29-year-old profiles as a top-12 option.

Broncos WR Courtland Sutton has "consistently been quarterback Russell Wilson’s top target in training camp," The Athletic's Nick Kosmider writes. "He is fully healthy and has demonstrated more explosiveness than in any training camp since 2020, when he was dominant in practices leading up to his ACL injury." Kosmider adds that HC Sean Payton believes that Sutton can "thrive as an outside receiver in his system." Jerry Jeudy was Denver's best WR by basically any metric last season. But it's worth noting that the target split between Jeudy and Sutton was relatively close -- 69 to 61 in favor of Jeudy in their nine healthy games together. Jeudy sits well ahead of Sutton in our 2023 fantasy football rankings. But Sutton could certainly prove to be a value at his WR40 ADP.

Broncos rookie WR Marvin Mims returned to practice on Monday. He had dealt with a hamstring issue. If Tim Patrick’s leg injury is serious, Mims will become a staple in Denver’s 3-WR sets.

Broncos WR Marvin Mims is out with a hamstring injury, HC Sean Payton said Wedesday. Mims dealt with an injury to his other hamstring earlier this offseason. Payton expects Mims to be back in action in "about four days, five days, maybe a week." We'll see when the rookie returns to the field. He can't afford to miss too much more time if he wants to push for an early-season role.

The Jaguars have agreed to a three-year deal with TE Evan Engram, ahead of Monday's deadline to extend franchise-tagged players. Engram will get $41.25 million total, with $24 million of that guaranteed, according to NFL.com. Jacksonville extended Engram after he finished among the top 6 TEs across fantasy formats in his first season there. Engram sits low in TE1 territory in our 2023 TE rankings.

Jaguars TE Evan Engram enjoyed a big rebound season in 2022, both in real football and fantasy. That included finishing fifth among TEs in PPR points, fifth in targets, fourth in receptions and yards, and tied for 11th in TDs. Engram's eight top-12 weekly finishes also tied him for sixth at the position. But his weekly lows dipped pretty low. Engram's median weekly PPR finish for the year was TE16. That tied Gerald Everett for just 13th. Jacksonville returns WRs Christian Kirk and Zay Jones, each of whom earned higher Pro Football Focus receiving grades than Engram for the season. WR Calvin Ridley adds a new challenge for targets, and he arrives as arguably the biggest receiving talent on the team. Engram deserves top-12 consideration among TEs in fantasy drafts this year. But his TE8-9 ADP so far puts him a little higher than his spot in our TE rankings. You can mix him in if you're drafting a lot of teams, especially in best ball lineups that include QB Trevor Lawrence. But Engram hasn't been a target player for us in early drafting. Read more specifics about Engram's outlook on his player page.

Broncos WR Courtland Sutton ranked just 40th among WRs in PPR points per game and 41st in half-PPR last year. HC Nathaniel Hackett and QB Russell Wilson were problems. But Sutton finished well behind teammate Jerry Jeudy in fantasy points per game, as well as yards per target (9.7 to 7.6), yards per route run (2.18 to 1.55), and Pro Football Focus receiving grade (77.9 to 69.7). HC Sean Payton should be a significant upgrade for Denver's offense in 2023. But Wilson remains a question mark. And Sutton faces additional target competition with the addition of rookie WR Marvin Mims and the return of WR Tim Patrick (ACL). It all makes Sutton a fairly uninspiring fantasy pick, even at his WR39 ADP. He sits considerably lower than that in our updated WR rankings.

The Broncos signed K Elliott Fry. He's currently the only kicker on the roster after Denver cut Brandon McManus last week. Fry has attempted just six NFL FGs, though, so expect the Broncos to add competition.

The Saints traded TE Adam Trautman plus a seventh-round NFL Draft pick to the Broncos for a sixth-rounder, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. It's noteworthy that HC Sean Payton's new team is acquiring a TE he drafted in New Orleans in 2020. Trautman's arrival crowds a TE room that already included Greg Dulcich, Albert Okwuegbunam, and journeyman Chris Manhertz. There's some potential for targets to get dispersed to the point that no Denver TE presents worthwhile fantasy value. But let's keep in mind that Trautman averaged just 20 receptions per season through three years after arriving in Round 3. That included just 18 catches for 207 yards last year. And then the team that drafted him sent him away for just a move up from Round 7 to Round 6 in the draft. Don't adjust your outlook for Broncos TEs just yet. You can check our numbers on the group now in our 2023 fantasy football TE rankings.

The Broncos grabbed LB Drew Sanders in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Sanders bounced around a little before starring as a full-time player for Arkansas in 2022. He earned unanimous All-America recognition after racking up 103 total tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, 6 passes defensed and 3 forced fumbles. According to Pro Football Focus, Sanders spent 12.8% of his defensive snaps in an edge role last season. He’s not likely to repeat that in the pros. Going to Denver lands him in a defense that already played LB Josey Jewell full time in 2022 and then re-signed LB Alex Singleton in free agency. We'll see whether Sanders can carve out an early role, but don't bet on a significant IDP impact in 2023. Don't be surprised when he falls down our IDP rookie rankings either.

The Broncos selected Oklahoma WR Marvin Mims Jr. in Round 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft. Mims produced from the moment he hit the field at Oklahoma. He led the Sooners with 610 receiving yards and 9 TDs as a true freshman, again led the team with 705 yards as a sophomore, and then tallied a career-best 54-1,083-6 line this past year. Mims left school with a huge 19.5 yards-per-catch average and confirmed his top-end speed with a 4.38-second 40-yard dash at the Combine. The 5’11, 183-pounder is a bit wiry and could stand to add some play strength. But he’s a ready-made deep threat with the potential to develop into a 3-level weapon. Denver’s current depth chart looks crowded. But trade rumors have surrounded Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton. Plus, Tim Patrick is coming off an ACL tear.

The Broncos have agreed to a three-year deal with DL Zach Allen. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that it's for $45.75 million total, including $32.5 million guaranteed. That comes on the same day that Denver watched DL Dre'Mont Jones get a bit more from Seattle. Allen progressed across four seasons with the Cardinals. He was enjoying his best campaign yet before a hand injury knocked him out for the final four games. Allen's career-high 20 QB hits over just 13 games suggest upside beyond his career-high 5.5 sacks. Allen also tallied a career-high 10 tackles for loss. The move to Denver reunites him with former Cardinals DC Vance Joseph. Allen could emerge as a value pick in 2023 IDP drafts. We like him as a top-30 D-lineman in our dynasty rankings.

The Broncos are re-signing LB Alex Singleton to a three-year, $18 million deal that includes $9 million guaranteed, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. It's a surprising move. Singleton went undrafted in the 2015 draft class and didn't play in an NFL game until 2019. He bounced into and out of the Eagles lineup through 2020 and 2021 before they let him walk. Even last season, his playing time fluctuated throughout the season. Singleton is coming off his best pro season, though, and has been a tackle monster whenever on the field. Fortunately, we fantasy players don't have to worry about whether this is a good move for the Broncos. We can just take advantage of the tackle collection when he's on the field. So Singleton now looks better than expected for dynasty rosters. And he's a candidate for the top 24 when our 2023 IDP rankings roll out.

Free agent QB Jarrett Stidham and the Broncos have agreed to terms on a two-year contract worth $10 million. This deal includes $5 million in guaranteed money and locks Stidham into serving as QB Russell Wilson's backup. Stidham started two games with the Raiders at the conclusion of the 2022 NFL season, tallying 584 passing yards with 4 TDs and 3 INTs. He should carry some appeal as a depth option in superflex leagues should any injury occur to Wilson in what should be a much-improved offense under new HC Sean Payton. Not all backup QBs are worth spending too much time thinking about for fantasy purposes, but Stidham is fairly intriguing here if nothing else.

Oklahoma WR Marvin Mims Jr. had a good day Saturday at the NFL Scouting Combine. His 4.38-second 40-yard dash ranked fifth among all wideouts. Mims also tied for fifth among 40 receivers in the vertical and checked in fourth at the position in the three-cone drill. Mims averaged a strong 19.5 yards per catch across three seasons with the Sooners. Look for much more on him and the rest of the WR class in our Dynasty Fantasy Football Value series.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the Jaguars are expected to put the franchise tag on TE Evan Engram. The accompanying one-year deal would pay Engram $11.345 million. That wouldn't be a crazy boost from the $9 million he got on a one-year deal with Jacksonville last offseason. Engram finished 2022 ranked fifth among TEs in PPR points; eighth in points per game. He's currently going 7th among TEs in Underdog ADP and ninth in early FFPC drafting. Engram's an OK target in that range, though he'll face extra competition this season if the NFL reinstates WR Calvin Ridley. We expected Jacksonville to keep Engram and won't be surprised if they reach a longer-term deal.