Could the Broncos have dual 1,000-yard receivers in 2026?

The Broncos enter Monday's season opener with the deepest receiving corps of the Sean Payton era, two of whom could hit the millennium mark

BY JOEY FREEBURG

Sep 9, 2026, 9:29 AM

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The Denver Broncos open the 2026 season on Monday night at Arrowhead against the Kansas City Chiefs. And the offensive firepower heading into the game looks unlike anything this franchise has deployed since Bo Nix arrived.

The wide receiver room is stacked from top to bottom. Jaylen Waddle’s speed, Courtland Sutton’s reliability, Pat Bryant’s breakout trajectory, Troy Franklin’s continued development. It’s a collection of weapons that should give Davis Webb more options on his play sheet than any coordinator in Denver has had in years.

But on a recent edition of “Dover and Cecil” on 104.3 The Fan, Cecil Lammey identified the specific milestone that would separate this offense from the rest of the league.

Two 1,000-yard receivers. In the same season. From the same quarterback.

“There’s two near thousand-yard receivers on this team. And if Bo Nix throws for 4,000 plus, give 2,000 yards to two guys. Courtland Sutton gets like 900 to 1,100, and Jaylen Waddle gets 900 to 1,100,” Lammey said.

That projection isn’t built on hope. It is built on the structural reality of an offense that now has two legitimate No. 1-caliber receivers operating on the same field. Sutton has been Denver’s most-dependable pass catcher for years, producing at a high level despite being the sole focus of every opposing defensive game plan.

Waddle’s arrival changes the math entirely, his speed demands safety help, which frees Sutton from the bracketed coverage that has limited his ceiling in previous seasons. Both players benefit from the other’s presence.
Lammey then drew the distinction that makes the duo so difficult to defend.

“Honestly, both those guys have about the same range, they’re just gonna look differently. Because with Waddle it could be three for 120 and two touchdowns. And for Court it’s like seven for 70 and a touchdown,” Lammey said.

That contrast captures everything. Waddle’s production will come in explosive, low-volume bursts, the kind of stat lines that light up a box score with efficiency. Sutton’s will come through possession-style volume, the steady accumulation of catches and chains moved that keeps an offense on the field. One beats you over the top. The other grinds you underneath. And trying to take away both simultaneously is a coverage puzzle most defensive coordinators simply will not solve.

The Broncos haven’t had two 1,000-yard receivers since Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders did it back in 2016. A decade later, the opportunity has arrived again. With a quarterback entering his prime who has the arm talent, the weapons, and the play caller to make it happen.

If Nix distributes 2,000 yards across Sutton and Waddle while still feeding Bryant, Franklin, and the rest of the supporting cast, the conversation about where he ranks among the league’s best quarterbacks changes permanently. Two 1,000-yard receivers isn’t just a stat. It’s a statement, one that announces the Broncos’ passing attack has arrived at a level that demands the rest of the NFL’s full attention.

Monday night is when it all begins. And Cecil Lammey believes the ceiling for this passing game is higher than most people are willing to admit.