Denver

Broncos

The Broncos’ safety now has a chance to play in Week 9 against the Panthers, though it is possible he still needs another week. Getting Hufanga back in the lineup will help improve a Broncos defense that has somewhat underperformed this year.

Waddle played through a questionable tag with this injury last week, catching 3-of-6 targets for 39 yards and one touchdown against the Chiefs. He apparently made it through the contest without re-injuring himself and can be started as a WR3 this week against the Panthers.

Bryant’s 21-day practice window has been opened, and it begins with a full session, putting him on track to play in Week 9 against the Panthers. The Broncos’ passing game has severely underperformed expectations. Bryant does not necessarily need to be added in 12-team formats, though he could ultimately compete for No. 2 wide receiver duties.

Bryant has missed the Broncos’ last four games after being placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury. The 23-year-old receiver is eligible to return whenever the Broncos deem him ready to do so, and his practicing this week would mean the team has opened his 21-day return window. Bryant has caught nine passes for 133 yards and one touchdown and was third among Broncos receivers in routes run (91) through the first four weeks of the season. He could make for an interesting stash in deeper leagues, but fantasy managers shouldn’t rush to put him in their lineups whenever he does return.

Fittingly, Nix’s longest completion of the day was a dump-off to Jonah Coleman that the rookie turned into a 51-yard gain. Nix has two completions of 50+ yards this year. Both have gone to running backs on throws near or behind the line of scrimmage. On the other hand, when Nix did push the ball downfield versus Kansas City, he was largely effective. He completed 4-of-6 throws farther than nine yards downfield. It was a small step in the right direction after weeks of middling production on intermediate and downfield shots. Nix will look to build on this performance versus a beatable Carolina defense in Week 9. He will sit somewhere near the top of the QB2 ranks.

Engram was not a meaningful part of the Broncos’ offense, per usual. He has three catches for 15 yards over his past three appearances. It goes without saying, but Engram isn’t even on the TE2 radar for Week 9.

Sutton’s 53 yards today are now a season-high, as are his four receptions. That, however, largely speaks to how unproductive he has been this year. Sutton has more games under 20 yards than over 40. He also has just one touchdown through eight games. His signs of life versus the Chiefs will keep him in the WR5 ranks for Week 9, but the ceiling remains nonexistent.

Stevens said that this trade “could happen at any moment,” telling Broncos Country that they “might not want to go to sleep.” While this could be hyperbole, it sounds like Stevens is saying the trade could go down tonight. Stevens said he’s had conversations with multiple people on the matter, and the Broncos “know that this is not the time to wait and develop” young running backs. Stevens closed by reminding viewers that the Broncos were very interested in Breece Hall at one point, and added that there are likely other backup plans that the Broncos could be considering.

Sean Payton talked earlier this week about getting the ball in Mims’ hands more. Mims had two catches in each of his previous three games. He had two catches today. Maybe you can point to Mims’ two catches as a reason to believe Payton was telling the truth, but the role itself was almost completely unchanged. There’s nothing for fantasy managers to see here.

Starting with the positive, Waddle found the end zone for the second time this year and got going over the middle of the field with a 35-yard missile from Nix early in the second quarter. It’s his longest catch since Week 2, when he erupted for 138 yards on eight receptions, including a 49-yarder. On the downside, Waddle managed a pedestrian 19 percent target share and finished third on the team in receiving. He found the end zone and still scored a grand total of 12.9 PPR points. The Broncos’ offense is still a work in progress, even if today was a step in the right direction. Waddle will get another week in the WR3 mix when the Broncos take on the Panthers.