Denver Broncos: Player Most Likely To Break Out In 2014

It seemed like every player on the Denver Broncos’ offense broke out last year, but there’s another guy about to do the same this year.

If you’ve read my articles in the past, you’ll know I hate rookie wide receivers. Considering there have literally been hundreds of them in the past and only eight have ever gone over 1,000 yards, I’m typically not a fan. But the Broncos have a guy that should fit in nicely and become a valuable weapon for the team down the stretch.

I’m talking, of course, about Cody Latimer. The wide receiver out of Indiana was a basketball stud in high school and didn’t focus on football until he became a Hoosier (odd that he fell in love with football at a basketball school). He played as a receiver, a kick returner and even a defensive back in high school as a junior and senior, improving every year. But he will be playing solely as a receiver in the Broncos’ high-octane passing attack.

The kid is a physical specimen. He stands 6’2” and 215 pounds, which is more than big enough to play on the outside in the NFL. The closest physical comparison might be Alshon Jeffery of the Chicago Bears, who stands at 6’3” and 216 pounds. The difference is that Latimer is actually much faster than Jeffery, who ran a 4.48 40-yard dash at his combine.

Latimer’s true athleticism was a bit of a mystery for a while. After breaking his foot in January, some people were worried that he’d lost some of his burst that made his so good in college. He wasn’t able to participate in any drills at the 2014 NFL Combine other than the bench press (although he impressed in that aspect, leading all receivers with 23 reps). Instead, teams had to focus on his performance at Indiana’s pro day on March 26. And he blew everyone away.

Despite still recovering from his broken foot, Latimer ran a 4.39 40-yard dash. That’s almost a tenth of a second faster than Jeffery and just as fast as burner Julio Jones. Mike Klis of The Denver Post documented Latimer’s impressive pro day:

“Latimer had surgery to repair the break Jan. 19 and missed all but the bench press at the NFL scouting combine in late February. But at Indiana\'s pro-day session March 26, he was timed at 4.39 and 4.43 seconds in the 40-yard dash. He also had an impressive 39-inch vertical jump during his workout.”

Between his incredible size, strength and speed, Latimer has the potential to be a star receiver. But he’s still a raw talent, which is why he was projected to go in the fourth round by NFL.com. However, the Broncos saw his potential and took him in the second round at No. 56 overall.

Latimer’s biggest weaknesses as a prospect were his unpolished game (which is to be expected, since he’s only played a few years) and questions about his burst, route running and ability to run with the ball in his hands. But his game might be more polished than people realize.

One of the questions about Latimer is his burst. Critics claim he isn’t explosive off the line and fails to separate from defenders. That’s pretty hard to believe considering he was a basketball standout. We’ve seen plenty of basketball stars use the quickness they used on the basketball court to get off the line and make sharp cuts. Those are simply natural parts of basketball and can be used well on the field. His leaping ability translated and people are raving about it, so what makes people think his route running and explosiveness should suffer despite having the skills from his basketball days?

Another question about his game is when he has the ball in his hands. NFL.com called him “straightlinish after the catch,” but that’s another qualm that doesn’t make sense. He showed that he has a few moves with the ball in his hands as a kick returner in high school, when he took four of his 13 kick returns back for a touchdown as well as a punt return.

While Latimer undoubtedly has some flaws, he will be learning from a great coaching staff, three veteran receivers and one of the best quarterbacks to play the game. He should fix his minor flaws quickly, and he should be ready to make an impact after a few weeks.

Despite playing on a team with Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker and Emmanuel Sanders in front of him on the depth chart and Julius Thomas at tight end, Latimer will still have an opportunity to get on the field.

Welker and Sanders are both slot receivers. While the season may start with Sanders on the outside, he’s naturally-suited for the slot. Combine that with Welker’s injury history (one hit to the head could knock him out for six weeks), and there’s a pretty decent chance the Broncos need another big wide receiver to play opposite Thomas.

That’s exactly what Eric Decker did last year. At 6’3” and 215 pounds, Decker had the size to play wideout. That’s very similar to Latimer’s size, and with Latimer’s huge catch radius and incredible leaping ability, you can bet he can make up for the inch he’s missing on Decker. Latimer is also much faster, as his 4.39 40-yard dash time is significantly faster than Decker’s 4.54, making him more of a deep threat as well.

Physically, Latimer should be the guy on the outside for the Broncos in four-wide sets. And if Welker or Sanders go down at any point this season, that leaves Latimer to play in the team’s many three-wide sets. Just getting on the field and playing on the outside will give Latimer the chance to prove that he deserves a big role.

Sure, that opportunity might be limited until he refines his game a bit and gets on the field more, but that should happen around the halfway point in the season. That will give the Broncos another valuable weapon in the league’s best passing game. Having a big, fast guy like Latimer creates matchup problems for defenses and opens up the field more for Manning.

Latimer can take the top off a defense. And if both he and Demaryius Thomas go deep, that leaves the safeties in a position where they have to provide help downfield. That, in turn, leaves Welker, Sanders and Julius Thomas in man coverage in the middle of the field where they can create separation and make life even easier for Peyton Manning.

While Latimer’s stats at the end of the season might not be pretty, you can bet that adding him into Denver’s stable of pass-catchers will make this passing attack just as dangerous as it was last year with Decker on the outside.