Is Emmanuel Sanders becoming primary target in Denver?

Has Emmanuel Sanders emerged as Peyton Manning’s favorite receiver in Denver?

While some may have panicked when the Denver Broncos lost Eric Decker in free agency this past offseason, John Elway stayed cool, calm and collected, and signed the oh-so speedy Emmanuel Sanders.

Sanders was drafted in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Sanders was a dynamic receiver coming out of Southern Methodist University (SMU), where he returned kicks (freshman year) and punts (sophomore through senior year).

Sanders’ senior year at SMU was by far his best with 98 receptions for 1,339 yards and 7 touchdowns, along with 275 yards and 1 touchdown returning punts. Sanders also averaged 13.8 yards per return.

As a Steeler, Sanders wasn’t featured much in the offense. In four years, Sanders had his best season in 2013, where he had 67 receptions for 740 yards and 6 touchdowns. Sanders was clearly the team’s second option behind Antonio Brown, which made sense as Brown has arguably become one of the league’s best receivers.

After Eric Decker left Denver to sign with the New York Jets, Elway and the Broncos’ front office acted quickly and snagged Sanders off the free agency market just days after losing Decker. In only three games, Sanders is almost half way to his total receptions and receiving yards he recorded in Pittsburgh last season. After Denver’s Week 5 matchup with the Cardinals, Sanders should pass half way in both categories.

Ever since arriving to Denver, Peyton Manning has always had his sights set on Demaryius Thomas on virtually any type of route they could design. Starting last season, Manning started to turn to Julius Thomas, the tight end, a bit more. This season, it’s been mostly Sanders making the big plays for Manning and the Broncos.

In Denver’s first three games, Demaryius Thomas has only recorded 141 yards and 1 touchdown. Thomas has dropped a few balls here and there, and some predict his confidence has been shaken early on. While Sanders is picking up the slack, having both those guys performing well would be huge for the Broncos’ offense.

For Julius Thomas, his weekly workload has steadily decreased in three weeks. After a big 104-yard, 3-touchdown performance in Week 1, Thomas has only had a combined 56 yards and 2 touchdowns in his past two games. This Thomas, like the other, can create huge matchup problems and needs to be on top of his game for Manning and the Broncos to perform at a high level.

Sanders, thanks to the slacking of the other Thomas’s, has seen his workload increase in the past two weeks. After 77 receiving yards in Week 1, Sanders had 108 yards on 8 receptions in Week 2, followed by 149 yards on 11 receptions in Week 3. Sanders also had at least one 40-yard play in each of his first three games.

While Sanders has played very well early on, he has still yet to catch a touchdown. Those redzone TDs seem to be reserved for Julius Thomas, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Manning and Sanders’ first touchdown connection to be a long one, perhaps from about 40 yards out.

Even though Sanders has done a great job in the first three games, I’m not sure it’s the right time to call him Denver’s primary receiver just yet. It has only been three games, and we haven’t really given the Thomas’s a chance to get back on track.

Also, with Wes Welker returning in Week 3 against the Seahawks, Sanders may be losing some of his targets.

Coming up for the Broncos, the offense will face some pretty tough defenses. The Cardinals are 5th in total yards given up per game, and 4th in rushing yards per game. In passing yards given up per game, Arizona is only ranked 15th, which should fare well for Denver’s pass-heavy offense.

The Broncos then face the Jets, who give up the least amount of rushing yards per game in the entire NFL. New York is also ranked 3rd in total yards allowed per game, just behind the San Francisco 49ers. Denver will face San Francisco the following week.

The 49ers defense has been especially tough, and could be a challenge for Sanders and the Broncos’ offense. San Francisco ranks 7th in the league in passing yards allowed per game.

After that, the Broncos face a rather weak part of their schedule if you’re just looking at defenses. They will play New England (ranked 1st in passing yards allowed per game) Week 9, and two other highly-ranked defenses in the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals later on in the season.

It may be too earlier to say whether Sanders is Denver’s primary receiver, but after what he’s shown so far, he’s well on his way. If he keeps playing well while the other receivers struggle, Sanders just might be Peyton’s favorite target.

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