The Denver Broncos were dealt a tough hit with the Wes Welker suspension for four games for amphetamines and now fantasy football owners should look at Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, Cody Latimer, Andre Caldwell, Isaiah Burse and Julius Thomas as better draft options than Welker, as he will be missing a large chunk of the season and reports say the suspension stemmed from Welker taking Molly at the Kentucky Derby.
Losing Welker is a big hit and now he opens up the slot receiver position and that is an area where he excelled last season. The Broncos had all their top receivers finish with at least 10 touchdowns and Welker was one of them and now the team will have to make up that production. Latimer is likely the beneficiary of that absence and the slot position is the spot to watch for the Broncos. Last season Welker had seven of his 10 touchdowns from the slot and he had 73 catches for 778 yards for Peyton Manning and the Broncos offense.
Welker did not put up numbers like he did in New England and he is also dealing with a concussion, so there was a chance that he would miss time anyway, but this hurts for fantasy owners. Latimer and Sanders are the two players to watch in fantasy leagues after the Welker suspension, as those two players have the best chance to make up for Welker and Latimer should be available in most leagues since he is coming in as a rookie.
Latimer comes out of Indiana after catching 72 balls last season as a junior and he had a careers high 1096 yards and nine touchdowns. During his college career he scored 17 touchdowns and had 135 receptions over the last two seasons. Latimer was in the top three in his conference in receiving yards last season and he has good size and speed to adapt to the NFL and now he should get more chances over the first four games of the season. Latime may play himself into the rotation and he is the pick up since he is available in the majority of leagues for now.
Emmanuel Sanders was looked at as a sleeper in most leagues and now he is a major sleeper with Welker out and he could be a star this season. Sanders had a strong preseason and he comes in after setting career highs in receptions, yards and TDs last season with the Steelers. Peyton Manning should look at him often and he had two TDs in the preseason game against the Texans and now he has the chance to truly step up. Sanders had 67 catches last season for 740 yards and he could be a breakaway player for the Broncos in this offense.
Latimer and Sanders are the two top players to go after, but things trickle down after that with Andre Caldwell and Isaiah Burse in deeper leagues. According to ESPN.com, Burse played 80 percent of snaps from the slot in the preseason and that could make him the ideal option to step up and take over for Welker in the slot.