Fantasy Football Player Notes

As Bo Nix's WR1 last year, Courtland Sutton finished as the WR24 in fantasy points per game, commanding a 23.3% target share and 44.9% air yard share. Among 85 qualifying wide receivers, he ranked 26th in receiving yards per game (63.6), 28th in yards per route run (2.13), and 15th in first downs per route run (per Fantasy Points Data). Sutton should reprise his role as Nix's security blanket. He will face competition for the weekly lead in targets with Evan Engram, but it's comfortably Sutton and Engram at the top of the mountain while the rest of the receiving options fight for the remaining targets. Sutton is a strong WR2/3.

Marvin Mims flashed major upside in the second half of 2024, averaging 62 receiving yards per game and leading all WRs in yards per route run (3.63) from Week 11 onward. He also posted a strong 28% target rate per route run on the year, ranking 13th in the NFL. Still just 23 years old, Mims is a prime third-year breakout candidate in a Broncos offense looking to grow alongside Bo Nix.

Pat Bryant's rookie ADP has surged since being selected in the third round by the Denver Broncos, but fantasy managers should approach with caution. The Illinois product was ranked well outside the top tiers of the class pre-draft, and the history of "mid-round reaches" at wide receiver offers more misses than hits. Bryant profiles as a size/speed possession receiver at 6-foot-3, 204 pounds, but he lacks standout athleticism - he ran a 4.61 40-yard dash and didn't break out until age 20. He recorded just one career game with double-digit targets and was actually out-targeted this past season by teammate Zakhari Franklin - who went undrafted. While some may latch onto the idea that Sean Payton sees a "Michael Thomas" archetype in Bryant, the underlying data suggests this is a bet on projection, not production.