Pat Bryant is Breaking Out at Perfect Time for the Broncos
Denver Broncos receiver Pat Bryant is breaking out, and it's coming at the beginning of a tough stretch run for the team.
Lacking enough pass-catching weapons, the Denver Broncos are welcoming rookie Pat Bryant's breakout.
Which, is seems like we are at the beginning of him doing just that.
In Denver's last two games, he's caught a 40-plus yard pass in each one, adding another explosive threat just as the stretch run ramps up.
Pat Bryant is Breaking Out
Rookie wide receivers usually take time to get comfortable in the NFL, but Bryant is finding his footing halfway through his first year.
Over the last two Broncos games, he's put up 125 receiving yards, which is more than his first nine games combined.
In fact, he only had three targets in his first six games. Bryant was just getting his feet wet, but wasn't really a part of the offense. Lately, he's become a great intermediate and deep threat, adding to Denver's arsenal of Dudes™.
Two weeks ago, Bryant ran a deep crosser at the sticks, then moved with a scrambling Bo Nix to secure a first down before taking the ball up-field for a 43-yard gain. That explosive play set the Broncos up at the Raiders 5 yard line, where they would score their only touchdown of the day two plays later.
Rich Kurtzman
In the brilliant win over the Chiefs, Bryant was the best we've seen in the Mile High City. He had career-highs in receptions (5) and yards (82), including the beautiful 48-yard deep ball from Nix. He played so well against the Chiefs, he was nominated for Rookie of the Week.
Sean Payton dialed up the skinny post throw at the perfect time, when the Chiefs were in zone and Steve Spagnuolo sent a corner blitz. It was clear to everyone in attendance Payton and Vance Joseph out-coached Andy Reid and Spags.
“That’s how I am as a receiver," Bryant explained to reporters on the night he was drafted. "My main focus when the ball is in the air is [that] it’s mine and I’m better than the man that’s in front of me.”
Bryant's rise has been steady and, recently, sharp. Sean Payton's gone from trying to find more snaps for the receiver on Sept. 10, to "find roles for young players" like Bryant in mid-October, to unleashing him on defenses. Then, against the Cowboys he caught his first touchdown, and has been consistently a crucial part of the Broncos offense since.
[Highlight] Rookie Pat Bryant II makes impressive catch for first career TD
by u/nfl in nfl
After that touchdown, Payton was asked if Bryant was starting to break out.
“Well, it was interesting because with that play, he had not in practice...So it was just, there were two throws in that game that had not gone to the receiver that caught it all week...Bo saw it was press, and then the one to Pat, I mean, those were ones where it was like, where’s he throwing? And then you’re like, ‘Good job.’”
And it sounds like Nix went to Bryant when he wasn't supposed to. One of those classic "No, no, no! Oh, good job" kind of plays.
And while Payton avoided saying Bryant made a statement vs. Dallas, there's no doubting he finally is breaking out. He leads the team in yards per reception (15.4) and receiving success rate (60%) while being fifth in yards (231).
Even Payton had to finally admit it on Nov. 12, "...but you are watching Pat Bryant grow right in front of our eyes."
He's not just excelling though the air. Bryant has already proven himself to be a great blocker on the edge.
Blocking
Broncos fans know a few things about Sean Payton's offense.
One, he calls a lot of screens. Many screens. Sometimes too many screens. And two, the wide receivers need to block on those plays, as well as sweeps and other outside runs. But Denver's receivers and tight ends have lacked blocking ability; Adam Trautman in the Raiders game was one example.
Simply, if the Broncos want to do well, their receivers and tight ends must block. That's how you turn a short gain into an explosive play.
Luckily, Bryant is a great blocker.
We saw it in the win over the Bengals, as the rookie sealed the outside and helped Marvin Mims walk into the end zone.
“Yes, just an end-around," Mims said of the play. "Pat Bryant, huge, important block. Smoked a guy coming down. Without him, I probably would have been negative-two yards and on my back probably crying. So shoutout to him. It was a good play.”
Mims gave the rook' some more love on social media after the game, courtesy of the team accounts.
The vibes are, as the zoomers say, immaculate. Especially when one receiver is happy to watch another receiver, just ahead of him on the depth chart, score.
One of the most-impressive parts of Bryant's game is he enjoys the physicality of blocking.
“My motto was always, ‘You block, you get the rock,’" he said after the Broncos drafted him in the third round in April. "So my main focus was just using my physicality both in the pass game as well as the run game, just helping my running backs get to the end zone.”
In fact, that physicality was part of the reason the Broncos took him in the third round when there were smaller, faster, and higher-rated players available.
“We saw it on film. If they don’t bite when they’re puppies, they generally never do," Payton explained earlier this year. "So you saw it with Sutton, you see it with certain players. Now, can you develop a receiver? Yes. But you saw him block a lot, and so he provides a number of things, and if you’re wanting to be good rushing the football, you have to handle the force, and the safeties are generally the force. This week they’re in quarters. You have to find a way to handle the force to get the runs you want.”
Giving the Limited Broncos Receiver Room Another Dawg
Before the season started, ESPN's Mike Clay called the Broncos receiver room the worst group in the NFL. And, even Broncos Country has to admit they are pretty limited.
Sutton is No. 1. After that, it's a toss-up. Yes, Troy Franklin has worked, improved, and basically positioned himself as the No. 2 guy. He stole it away from Marvin Mims, who enjoyed a breakout down the stretch of last season similar to Bryant's breakout this year. So, in fourth is Bryant, ahead of Trent Sherfield. But he's really helped round out an otherwise somewhat disappointing receiving corps.
His breakout also covers for tight end Evan Engram's struggles since joining the Broncos this offseason.
"Pat Bryant is a young guy that gets a lot of stuff thrown at him, but he doesn’t flinch," Sutton said earlier this year. "He never goes in and complains about, ‘Oh you guys are putting too much on my plate.’ He’s just like, ‘How can I be a better version of myself for this room and for each other?’ I think our room is special, man. It's really encouraging to watch those guys go out and perform the way they perform week in and week out in practice but also week in and week out on Sundays. We have a special room. I love those guys, I’m proud of those guys. Everybody contributed today and I think that’s the part that makes me happiest [is] the fact that they all contributed today, and they all had a hand in the pot of us being able to get this victory.”
Sutton shining a light on the rookie's positive attitude and his willingness to do whatever it takes to win is huge.
"You have Pat Bryant blocking his butt off, you have Trent Sherfield blocking his butt off and you have Troy blocking his butt off," Sutton said of the group after the Bengals win. "You have guys who are out there and they may not be having all of the targets, but they are still executing what’s been asked of them in the game plan. At the end of the day, we understand our job."
On some teams, it's easy for the wideouts to get upset when they're not getting the ball. See: A.J. Brown and Rasheed Shaheed complaining about a lack of targets this year.
Instead, the receivers deep down the depth chart are doing anything it takes to succeed.
Over the last few weeks, we've finally seen bright flashes of what Bryant can bring to the Broncos. Here's hoping he will continue to bring that big-play ability and tough-nosed blocking down the stretch, when the team needs it the most.
Denver faces Washington this week and then Las Vegas before a gauntlet of Green Bay, Jacksonville, Kansas City, and the Chargers to finish the year.
