Russell Wilson to Broncos: How trade unlocks the ceilings of Jeudy, Sutton and more

The Denver Broncos have been telegraphing their desire to trade for a star veteran quarterback for the better part of the last year.

On the day the fanbase’s Aaron Rodgers dream officially died with the news he was returning to Green Bay, a new hope was born.

The Seahawks and Broncos agreed to terms on a trade that would send Russell Wilson to Denver in exchange for multiple players and a bounty of draft picks.

Tight end Noah Fant, quarterback Drew Lock and defensive lineman Shelby Harris are the players going back to Seattle. The draft picks include two first-rounders, two second-rounders and a fifth coming from Denver. Seattle also sent a fourth-rounder along with Wilson.

How nice.

There’s no other way to put this: We’ve just witnessed one of the biggest blockbuster deals in NFL history. And the Broncos' offense desperately needed this to happen to be a worthwhile unit for fantasy football.

Fantasy fallout of Russell Wilson joining the Broncos

For all the skill-position talent in Denver, this was one of the worst offenses to invest in for fantasy purposes last year.

I said heading into last year that it was simply impossible for everyone to hit their 2021 ADPs (two top-35 WRs, a top-10 TE and a top-24 RB) with Teddy Bridgewater or Lock captaining the offense, a legitimately strong defense in tow and great role depth like Tim Patrick, Albert Okwuegbunam and Melvin Gordon demanding reps.

That’s exactly what happened. When everyone was healthy, it was impossible to start any pass-catcher from this offense with any degree of optimism. Now that high-end outcome scenario can be a reality.

No offense needed a rising tide that lifts all boats more than the Denver Broncos. A quarterback of Russell Wilson’s caliber can be exactly that for this team.

Wilson chose the Broncos over multiple teams, including the Washington Commanders. Even if the AFC West is about to be a gauntlet of a division to win over the next several years, it’s easy to see why he made the decision. Wilson has played with two excellent receivers over the last few years in Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf but when he takes the field for the Broncos in 2022, he’ll be looking across the field at a legitimately stacked lineup.

Let’s start with the wide receivers. It’s clear that a trio of Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy and Tim Patrick is the strength of this team. For Denver to acquire Wilson and not have to surrender any of those three was a huge coup. These guys are all strong starters and, even better, they offer a variety of complementary skill-sets.

Sutton is the consummate ball-winning X-receiver. He has the best season on his resume among this trio when he posted 1,112 yards in 2019 with a combination of Joe Flacco and Drew Lock behind center. Sutton looked like he was all the way back from his 2020 torn ACL last year, as he led the NFL in air yards while Jeudy was hurt but the volume predictably evaporated upon the latter's return because things were too crowded. That doesn’t matter now.

As for Jeudy himself, there’s been plenty of shade thrown his way after a 467-yard, zero-touchdown second season.

For the love of God, please consider the context.

High-ankle sprains can be notorious season-ruiners for wideouts, not just because of the games missed (seven for Jeudy) but for the time it takes to get back up to speed even when you are back on the field. In Week 1, prior to suffering the injury, Jeudy looked like he was the one guy who could have thrived on a weekly basis with Bridgewater. He is indeed a stellar route-runner who obliterates man coverage, especially on in-breaking patterns. That was a great fit with Bridgewater but the ankle quickly thwarted the fun. By the time Jeudy returned, even if he was fully healthy, we were looking at a crowded, conservative and nightmarish offense.

We no longer have to worry about the latter two words in that mix.

With Sutton and Patrick being strictly perimeter options, we can expect Jeudy to primarily line up in the slot. We know just how much music Wilson made with Tyler Lockett as a vertical interior option and that could be the way Jeudy is best deployed, as well. I am already extremely excited.

You’re going to have to fight folks to draft these guys after the hype of this trade but I’d endorse either receiver as fringe top-20 options at the position.

Don’t forget about Tim Patrick (even if people seem to do so on an annual basis). For Sutton or Jeudy to both hit their ADPs last year, Patrick would have needed to be a near-zero last season and there was no scenario where that was going to happen. He is too good and always finds his way into the rotation. Denver rewarded his efforts with a contract extension last year and he’ll slide in as an excellent No. 3 option for this team going forward. Patrick could end up being one of the best bargains in fantasy and an awesome best-ball pick if he goes off the board post-Round 7.

With Noah Fant going to Seattle in the trade — I mean, what a bad break for him — that leaves the door open for an Albert Okwuegbunam breakout season. The Albert O hype train is going to gain steam quickly. He’s an athletic player who has shown in spurts he has what it takes to be a starting tight end. Expect him to slot into the back half of top-10 tight end rankings heading into drafts, and for good reason. He might come with some variance given that he’ll be third in line for targets, at best, but he has all the makings of what we look for in breakout candidates at the position.

Lastly, all the excitement we had for Javonte Williams heading into 2022 just got a hefty dose of lighter fluid tossed on the embers. He showed he has the juice last year, finishing in the same range as stars like Jonathan Taylor and Nick Chubb when it came to yards after contact per rush and breakaway run percentage, and now should get a real shot to be the 1A back. There is a chance Melvin Gordon returns after testing the open market but for now, Williams is a candidate to be “this year’s Jonathan Taylor.”

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Back in 2013, the Broncos rolled out Peyton Manning as the signal-caller for an offense that featured Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker, Wes Welker, Julius Thomas and a 13-touchdown back in Knowshon Moreno. There wasn’t a bad fantasy option in the mix that season. Manning was the rising tide for that talented cast of characters who were (almost) all good before but reached new heights with a star veteran passer.

Denver hasn’t come close to getting the quarterback position right since but they’ll try to replicate almost that exact same formula with ironically the very quarterback to beat Manning in that year’s Super Bowl, Russell Wilson.

What about the remaining Seattle stars?

Lastly, almost all the digital ink spilled about this trade will be about the flurry of good vibes surrounding Sutton, Jeudy and the Broncos crew but we have to pour one (or maybe three) out for Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf.

As Broncos receivers exit the quarterback wilderness, Seattle’s all-star duo speeds toward the onramp.

The Seahawks got Drew Lock back in the Wilson trade and he could legitimately be the Week 1 starter. Yikes. Seattle could also easily take the plunge on Malik Willis in the top-10 now that they have Denver’s first-round pick but Willis — and every other quarterback in this class — does not appear ready to start Week 1. Even if Willis/another rookie does get starts in 2022, remember that almost every rookie quarterback struggled last year when they played, and that class was highly touted.

Lockett and Metcalf are two of my favorite receivers in the league but barring a massive draft day discount, if they’re both back in Seattle they’re going to be really tough to click on. Going from playing with a top-10 quarterback to … whatever this is about to be is a dramatic shift.

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