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Before even playing a preseason game, the Denver Broncos suffered a major loss to their receiving corps.
Tim Patrick, who was expected to be a key piece of this passing game along with Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy, tore his ACL during practice, ending his season.
With Patrick out, what will the Broncos do at wide receiver?
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Is Tim Patrick Out For The Year?
It takes months to recover from a torn ACL. Because of the timing of Tim Patrick's injury, his recovery timeline is far beyond the end of this NFL season.
Last season, Patrick caught 53 passes for 734 yards and five touchdowns. It was his second season in a row with more than 700 receiving yards. With Russell Wilson taking over at quarterback, Patrick was poised for the best season of his NFL career. Now, Patrick will instead be out for all of 2022. When he returns in 2023, he'll be nearly 30, which complicates his long-term fantasy outlook.
Who Will Replace Tim Patrick?
Luckily for the Broncos, the team has Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy still. Patrick was going to be the No. 3 receiver on this team if everyone was healthy, so this doesn't shake up the fantasy situation too much.
Sutton and Jeudy are both being drafted as low-end WR2s. I think this might push them a little more towards the higher end of the WR2 group, as some additional targets can go their way. Overall, both players were going to combine to see the bulk of Russell Wilson's targets, a thing that hasn't changed.
Who will be that No. 3 receiver? UDFA Brandon Johnson has gotten some attention if the Broncos are looking to replace him in-house. Or there's KJ Hamler, who has been with the team longer. Hamler is recovering from his own torn ACL last season though, which complicates things.
Is There Fantasy Value In The Broncos Receiving Room?
This question isn't about Jeudy and Sutton, who have always been on everyone's fantasy radars. Instead, it's a question about who could be the next Tim Patrick, and if that guy has value. If K.J. Hamler is healthy, he's the most likely player to have fantasy value. He's currently being drafted very low, with an ADP of WR96 on FantasyPros.
Hamler's not nearly as safe as Patrick would have been, but there's definitely upside. He's being drafted after players like Demarcus Robinson and Sterling Shepard in some places, and there's clearly more upside with Hamler than those guys.
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