What Sean Payton's promise of 'heavy competition' means for Broncos' skill players (2024)

Climbing the ladder as a contender in the NFL means making tough decisions. As the Detroit Lions began an offseason with the goal of taking another step after last year’s narrow loss in the NFC Championship Game, Josh Reynolds was one of the talented players on the roster who felt the squeeze.

The Lions needed to get big-money contracts done for quarterback Jared Goff and top receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. Reynolds, the 29-year-old who had 40 catches for 608 yards and five touchdowns for the Lions last season, didn’t fit the financial picture. So when it was time for the 2017 fourth-round pick to search for his third NFL home, familiarity played a big role. Lions coach Dan Campbell was an assistant under Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton for years. It left Reynolds consistently curious about the roots of the system he played in with Detroit.

“If you’re coming up under coach Payton, you’re taking a lot of stuff with you,” Reynolds said last week of Campbell, speaking to the media for the first time since signing a two-year, $9 million deal with the Broncos in March. “It’s cool to finally be with the OG (of the offense), you know?”

Left unsaid by Reynolds: Signing with Denver also meant a significant opportunity. Speaking after the Broncos’ first open-to-the-media OTA session last week, Payton made clear there is no concrete pecking order for the Broncos at the skill positions. Denver has not had a 1,000-yard receiver or rusher since 2019 when Courtland Sutton (1,112 yards receiving) and Phillip Lindsay (1,011 yards rushing) hit those milestones. The leaders in 2023: Sutton at 772 receiving yards and Javonte Williams at 774 rushing yards.

Payton wants more production. And he’s embracing the idea that it could come from anywhere. Why not Reynolds?

“He’s long; he has strong hands. Another veteran receiver,” Payton said. “I like that group and, if you study it closely, it’s big across the board and it has speed. There’s going to be heavy competition there (at wide receiver), heavy competition at running back. The same in the back end with the secondary. I think there’s that old saying, ‘Iron sharpens iron,’ and I feel like that’s going to happen.”

Creating competition at the skill positions was a clear offseason priority for Payton and general manager George Paton. After trading Jerry Jeudy — a move made instead of offering the 2020 first-round pick the lucrative contract extension he received from the Cleveland Browns — Denver added Reynolds in free agency before acquiring Troy Franklin (fourth round) and DeVaughn Vele (seventh) in the draft. The Broncos added two running backs, fifth-round pick Audric Estimé and priority undrafted rookie free agent Blake Watson.

The moves have created a crowd at receiver and running back. Denver has 11 wide receivers on its 90-man roster, eight of whom have two or more seasons of NFL experience. There are six running backs, including the two rookies. There are a few guarantees at those spots. Sutton, who has not participated in the team’s offseason program to this point, will be the elder statesman in the receivers group, assuming his absence doesn’t turn into a bona fide holdout. Reynolds, who is entering his eighth season, will be on the roster. So, too, will be second-year player Marvin Mims Jr. Teams don’t generally cut fourth-round picks, especially ones for whom they trade draft capital to acquire, so Franklin will have a spot on the team come Week 1.

Spots after that are up for grabs. Can Tim Patrick get to the season healthy after two straight training camp injuries? Will Vele turn his early offseason flashes into the kind of consistent camp that lands him on the roster as a seventh-round pick? Can Brandon Johnson, who caught three touchdowns for the Broncos last season, take another step and turn into a bona fide rotation receiver? Can speedster Jalen Virgil, trending upward before his preseason knee injury last year, make a play for a roster spot as a deep-ball threat?

Those are just a few of the questions the group has to answer. It’s not only about the roster spots. With a new quarterback set to start this season — or more than one depending on how things shake out with rookie Bo Nix and veterans Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson — these receivers will be competing for the affection of the new signal callers, measured in spirals thrown their way.

“Whatever coach Payton has me doing, I’m all for it,” said Reynolds, who politely declined a request to compare and contrast Denver’s quarterbacks at this early stage of the offseason. “I’m here to help this team win and get to that AFC (championship).”

Year ✌️ for @Speedkills2k_ 💨#BroncosOTAs pic.twitter.com/52ZmpIXe3v

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) May 23, 2024

The running back battle might be even more heated over the next three months. Williams, Samaje Perine and Jaleel McLaughlin, the three backs who ended last season on Denver’s 53-man roster, are still around. Williams and Perine are entering the final seasons of their contracts. McLaughlin, who made the team as an undrafted rookie out of training camp last season, might have to hold off this year’s undrafted rookie addition, Watson, to remain on the roster heading into 2024.

“We saw a player that was a natural at catching the ball,” Payton said of Watson, who caught 90 passes across his past two seasons at Old Dominion and Memphis. “That was a big draw. … You saw pretty good football IQ, too.”

If McLaughlin and Watson are battling for the third-down/”joker” role in Denver’s backfield — third-year player Tyler Badie shouldn’t be overlooked here — that could leave Williams, Perine and Estimé battling for early-down carries. The Broncos will also be eager to see how quickly Estimé can get up to speed in pass protection. Perine is probably the best pass-protecting back on the roster, and he’s shown a real knack for navigating as a receiver in Denver’s two-minute offense. But if Estimé shows he’s ready to handle those responsibilities, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if the Broncos moved on from Perine. Releasing or trading him would save the Broncos $3 million in cap space that could be added to a budget of in-season maneuvering.

These questions will all be answered in due time. But one thing is already clear: There will be no shortage of opportunities for skill-position players on Denver’s roster to show they are worthy of a more substantial role.

“Competition,” Wilson said, “brings out the best in everybody.”

(Top photo of Josh Reynolds: Isaiah J. Downing / USA Today)

Nick Kosmider is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Denver Broncos. He previously covered the Denver Nuggets for The Athletic after spending five years at the Denver Post, where he covered the city’s professional sports scene. His other stops include The Arizona Republic and MLB.com. Follow Nick on Twitter @NickKosmider