DMac: Moving on from both DT, Sanders in the Broncos best interest

Go ahead. Put Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas in the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame, “The Drive” co-host DMac said on Friday.

Honor the once dynamic wide receiving duo by etching their names upon the façade at Mile High.

But, to claim Sanders and Thomas are both needed on the Broncos list of Kirk Cousins “recruiting tools,” DMac said, “please.”

DMac argued on Friday that perhaps the best way to both save money against the salary cap and upgrade the wide receiver position would be to “move on” from not just Sanders or Thomas, but both receivers.

“We have learned our lesson. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever again do we ever want two high-paid wide receivers. Never,” DMac said. “It was a big mistake, and now we have to sort of suffer from it. So, the best move is just to move on from both of them.”

Together, Thomas and Sanders combine to be the highest paid duo in the NFL on one team, ranking as the sixth- and 13th-highest paid pass catchers in the league, respectively.

The two, however, had statistical lows with the Broncos in 2017. Sanders had the worst season during his four years in Denver while Thomas had his lowest production since becoming a full-time starter in 2012.

Thomas averaged just 5.2 receptions and 59.3 yards per game, bringing in 83 receptions for 949 yards and five touchdowns, while Sanders caught just 47 passes in 12 games for 555 yards and two touchdowns. Pro Football Focus graded the duo as the 64th (Sanders) and 46th (Thomas) ranked wide receivers in the NFL in 2017.

And through a combination of free agency and the NFL Draft, DMac said the Broncos can go cheaper and upgrade at the wide receiver position.

“What if our three main wide receivers next year were Michael Gallup, Carlos Henderson, and Paul Richardson,” DMac said. “You can’t tell me that wouldn’t be just as good as Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. You can’t tell me that. It’d be better. And it’d be cheaper overall.”

Recently, former general manager and NFL Network analyst Charley Casserly told “Stokley and Zach” that it’d be actually “more desirable” for both Thomas and Sanders to stay in Denver to attract the soon-to-be former Washington Redskins quarterback Cousins.

“If you can figure out getting Thomas back to his best football, and I have confidence in Sanders, then all of a sudden,” Casserly said, “your offensive, with a quarterback, looks a lot different.”

Casserly laid the blame at the feet of Denver’s trio of quarterbacks in 2017 — Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, and Brock Osweiler.

Using a rotation of the three quarterbacks twice last season, Denver ranked 31st in the NFL in terms of quarterback rating (73.0), only besting the Cleveland Browns at 61.4.

“It had to do with the quarterback position,” Casserly said. “The quarterback position was below a playoff level the last two years, especially this year.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.