Denver

Broncos

That role increase is, of course, Payton’s way of saying he is taking back play-calling duties from OC Davis Webb. Schefter tried to cushion the blow by saying Webb will still have a “significant game-planning and game-day role.” While Schefter didn’t outright say that Payton is now the play-caller, PFT’s Mike Florio reported this morning that Webb is no longer on the headset. It’s one of the most predictable outcomes of the season. Payton is a legendary coach known for his offensive genius. He was always going to take back the play-calling gig the moment things went south, though we doubt he expected it to happen this quickly. The Broncos are a dismal 27th in points per game. They rank slightly better in EPA per play at 21st, but that’s still a disappointing start for this offense.

Neither Surtain or Riley Moss (ribs) practiced on Wednesday. Head coach Sean Payton said the Broncos don’t anticipate placing Surtain on injured reserve. The injuries to both corners look to be shorter-term; Surtain is week-to-week while Moss’ return timeline is not disclosed yet. Both are on the wrong side of questionable for Week 5 against the Chargers.

With Pat Bryant (ankle) suffering a multi-week injury in Week 4, the Broncos are adding to their wide receiver depth by signing Ross to the practice squad. The 25-year-old Ross was an undrafted free agent out of Virginia who spent training camp with the Broncos before he was let go in final cuts. Ross now re-joins the practice squad. EDGE Jahfari Harvey was let go from the practice squad in a corresponding move.

It sounds like this is overall good news for the Broncos, but their defense will take a major short-term hit without one of the best corners in the league. The Broncos, who also lost Riley Moss to a rib injury against the 49ers, will probably have to change some things up next week against the Chargers.

Bryant was carted from the field in the second half of Sunday’s game after taking a big hit over the middle. The 23-year-old receiver currently ranks third among Broncos receivers with 91 routes run and has played 55 percent of his snaps out wide. Troy Franklin or Marvin Mims could be in line to see more snaps while Bryant is sidelined, but it’s hard to imagine either player becoming valuable fantasy assets at this time.

According to Rapoport, there are no longer any concerns that this is an Achilles injury for Surtain, who left Week 4’s game against the 49ers with a non-contact injury. Surtain could be looking at a multi-week absence and will undergo an MRI soon to confirm the severity of his injury, but it sounds like he avoided anything too serious. In addition to Surtain, the Broncos are also evaluating the status of CB Riley Moss, who is dealing with a rib injury.

Badie was again the team’s RB3 behind JK Dobbins and RJ Harvey. Harvey led the backfield with ten catches on ten targets while Dobbins had a team-leading 11 carries. Badie would be somewhat interesting in deeper leagues if Harvey were to miss more time this season.

Engram again had a good route rate but didn’t make the most of his short targets from Bo Nix. Engram, who now has five receptions through four games, is not a fantasy option in any format and should remain on waiver wires for now. He’s been targeted on just 11 percent of his routes this season.

Nix’s play — including missing easy intermediate throws in the first half — left Broncos offensive coordinator Davis Webb without answers, a common theme so far this season. His lone touchdown came on a garbage time score to Jaylen Waddle. Nix was in check-down mode throughout the game against the Niners, finishing with a 4.9 aDOT. He was 5 percent under his expected completion rate, targeting his running backs 12 times. Until Webb and Sean Payton figure out the offense, Nix will be a superflex-only fantasy option without much of a weekly ceiling. He gets the Chargers in Week 5.

Waddle was invisible for much of the game until a late red zone touchdown with the Broncos in up-tempo catch-up mode. It was his first touchdown reception as a Bronco. Waddle, who now has three down games in his first four contests as the Broncos’ nominal WR1, will probably struggle until Denver OC Davis Webb figures out how to maximize his personnel, including the struggling Bo Nix. Against the 49ers Waddle was targeted on a meager 16 percent of his routes. Hopefully that rate will rise in Week 5 against the Chargers.