Will the Broncos move off of any of their top-five wide receivers?

The Denver Broncos have a problem most teams would love to have. Their wide receiver room is so deep, so talented and so stacked with legitimate NFL contributors that there simply aren’t enough snaps to go around. It’s the kind of roster surplus that inevitably turns a team into a trade candidate, not because it wants to sell, but because the rest of the league knows what’s sitting on the shelf.

On a recent edition of “Dover and Cecil” on 104.3 The Fan, 9News Broncos insider Mike Klis joined the show to discuss the state of Denver’s receiving corps and whether the depth might lead to a transaction before the season gets underway.

Cecil Lammey set the table by walking through the full roster picture.

“I go through this 53, I even go to some guys on the practice squad like Lil’ Jordan Humphrey, probably a practice squad guy. And I go, ‘How are you gonna have room for everybody with the way a Marvin Mims is playing,'” Lammey said.

That’s the structural reality of the situation. The top of the depth chart is settled, Jaylen Waddle and Courtland Sutton are locked in as the top two, with Marvin Mims, Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant all competing for the third spot. Behind them, names like Michael Bandy, Hakeem Butler and Lil’ Jordan Humphrey are fighting for roster spots that may not exist. When the talent pool runs that deep, someone is going to be the odd man out.

Lammey then pointed to the inevitable phone calls that will come Denver’s way.

“It just seems like, if there’s an injury elsewhere, somebody needs a wide receiver. If I’m another team, I’m picking up the phone and talking to Denver,” Lammey said.

That’s where the conversation shifted from theoretical to practical. Other teams know what the Broncos have. When a receiver goes down in Detroit or Jacksonville or anywhere else across the league, the first call is going to a team with a surplus, and nobody’s cupboard is fuller than Denver’s right now.

Klis, however, drew a firm line around the names that matter most.

“Yes, you are. But the Broncos top five, they’re not gonna mess with that,” Klis said.

He then walked through each name individually to eliminate any ambiguity.

“They’re not gonna mess with Mims, they want him. They’re not gonna mess with Franklin, they want him. They’re not gonna mess with Pat Bryant, they want him. And then the big two, Sutton and Waddle,” Klis said.

That’s the insider confirmation that Broncos Country needed to hear. The top five is safe.

Mims, despite the trade speculation that has followed him all offseason, is valued by the organization. Not just as a kick returner, but as a weapon the coaching staff intends to use. Franklin, coming off a 709-yard sophomore campaign, is a piece the Broncos see as part of the long-term core. Bryant’s development has earned him the same protection. And Waddle and Sutton are obviously beyond discussion.

The players below that line, however, are a different story. Bandy, Butler and Humphrey are the kinds of depth pieces that become expendable when the top of the room is this strong. If a team calls looking for a capable receiver at a reasonable cost, those are the names Denver would be comfortable parting with, and potentially for draft capital that could be reinvested elsewhere on the roster.

The Broncos aren’t actively shopping their receivers. But they don’t have to be. The depth speaks for itself, and the league is paying attention. When the call comes, Denver can answer the phone knowing that its core five are staying exactly where they are. Everything else is negotiable.

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