Denver Broncos training camp is off to a tough start, and we’re not even talking about new head coach Sean Payton inexplicably crushing Nathaniel Hackett. On Monday, star wide receiver Tim Patrick suffered an Achilles injury that will knock him out for the season, one year after missing 2022 with a torn ACL. With Patrick out, here are the four Broncos wide receivers to watch at training camp.

Marvin Mims Jr.

It was a little surprising that with the depth of the Broncos wide receivers group, they still used their first pick of the 2023 NFL Draft (No. 63 in the second round) on Oklahoma wideout Marvin Mims Jr.

Well, this is why you do that.

Mims is a different WR than Patrick. The former Sooner is 5-foot-11, 183 pounds, and is a speed-burner who ran a 4.38 40-yard dash at the combine. He is primarily a slot receiver but can play on the outside at times to exploit matchups.

Plus, Mims plays bigger than his size suggests. He has long arms and good leaping ability, so he can go up for contested catches. The Texas native is also smart. He committed to Stanford before deciding on Oklahoma.

While the rookie isn’t a one-for-one replacement for Patrick, it is nice that Russell Wilson and Sean Payton have a talented player with upside to move into the Broncos’ No. 3 WR slot now that Patrick is out.

Marquez Callaway

This is one of two players who Sean Payton brought over from his days with the New Orleans Saints. After the Tim Patrick injury, you have to believe that Marquez Callaway and Lil’Jordan Humphrey are now locks to make the team if they weren’t already.

Callaway was an up-and-coming youngster in 2020 and 2021 under Payton in New Orleans. In his second season, he had a breakout year, catching 46 balls for 698 yards and six touchdowns. And that was with Trevor Siemian, Jameis Winston, and Ian Book as his quarterbacks.

Last season was a disaster all around for the Saints offense, and the entire unit stunk. However, it’s worth watching in Broncos training camp if Callaway being back with Payton and having a talented QB (assuming Wilson rebounds himself) helps put Callaway back on track.

If you’re looking for a breakout candidate from the Broncos wide receiver group, Callaway could be it. The third-year WR jump is a thing in the NFL, and if you throw out last year, this could technically be Callaway’s Year 3, if you throw out last season.

Lil’Jordan Humphrey

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Here’s a secret you should know. Lil’Jordan Humphrey ain’t that “Lil.” In fact, at 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, he’s basically the exact same size as Tim Patrick.

Humphrey’s story is similar to Marquez Callaway’s, except he’s never had the production that his now-longtime teammate has. Still, Humphrey is obviously a player that Payton really likes. Picking him up after the New England Patriots released him from their practice squad was the first roster move the new head coach made with Denver.

Humphrey’s career year was 2021, with just 13 catches, 249 yards, and two touchdowns. The former Texas Longhorns wideout is still just 25, though, so there is some upside that Payton may be able to tap into now that the coach has the ability to give his WR more reps after the Tim Patrick injury.

Jerry Jeudy

Jerry Jeudy was going to be Denver’s No. 1 WR this season with or without the Tim Patrick injury. However, he is the most important of the Broncos wide receivers to watch in training camp now because, with a talented player now out, there is even more pressure for Jeudy to step up and become a top pass-catcher in the NFL.

Jeudy was the No. 15 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft out of Alabama, and that is reason enough for expectations to be high. What makes them sky-high, though, is that the wideouts drafted after him include CeeDee Lamb, Justin Jefferson, Brandon Aiyuk, Tee Higgins, and Darnell Mooney.

And while Jeudy has a 52-catch, 856-yard season and a 67-catch, 972-yard campaign, that doesn’t measure up to the players mentioned above, who all have at least one, if not multiple 1,000-plus-yard seasons.

This fact was likely true before the Patrick injury, but now it is even more so. Jeudy is no longer a young WR who is just part of a deep and diverse wideout group. He needs to step up and become the go-to, 80-plus-catch, 1,000-plus-yard WR for Denver. That is what they drafted him for, and that’s what the team (and Russell Wilson) desperately need.

It’s not just for the team either. Jeudy has one more season and then the fifth-year option left on his rookie deal. If he doesn’t make a leap soon, a big extension won’t be on the table for 2026.