By Jordan Long
The Denver Broncos lost to the New York Giants 23-10 this past Sunday, dropping their record to 3-2. They are now preparing to take on the Los Angeles Chargers this Sunday. They will be without wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders. Sanders was hurt late in the third quarter after being hit on the leg by safety Landon Collins who was trying to make a play for the ball. It was not a dirty hit because Collins was going for the ball and didn’t see Sanders. Sanders did not return to the game. He suffered a sprained ankle and will be ruled out against the Chargers. Who takes his place in the lineup?
Emmanuel Sanders is the 2nd wide receiver on the depth chart and plays the opposite side of wide receiver Demaryius Thomas. Quarterback Trevor Siemian can also look his way because Sanders uses his speed to be open. He rarely drops the ball. Sanders was off to an excellent start with 266 yards and 2 touchdowns. Sanders’ average yards per catch is 10.6.
With him out Demaryius Thomas should see the football even more from Siemian. After that the Broncos are thin at wide receiver but have Bennie Fowler and Jordan Taylor. Bennie Fowler will start in Sanders’ place. Fowler isn’t the receiver Sanders is, but he can still make catches for yards. He has a total of 140 yards and 2 touchdowns so far this year.
Taylor is in his second year. He doesn’t have the experience in the NFL as Fowler does. Taylor has a total of 26 yards catching this season. He must take a big step forward this week if he wants the starting job.
The Broncos are also going to need to have the tight ends be more involved in the passing game. Virgil Green, Jeff Heuerman, and A.J. Derby must find ways to be open. When they are, their height and speed makes it difficult for defenses to tackle them, taking pressure off the wide receivers.
Emmanuel Sanders is a big loss to the offense. The Broncos are going to need to play better without him. Luckily, they have athletes on this team to replace him.
Who do you think must step up with Emmanuel Sanders not in the lineup this week?
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