Denver Broncos fans have been up in arms over veteran wide receiver Lil'Jordan Humphrey of late. Mostly due to dropped passes and fumbles, many within Broncos Country have questioned why Humphrey has managed to hold on to a key offensive role.
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Some have wondered if it's a nepotism thing, considering how Humphrey's connection to Sean Payton dates all the way back to New Orleans. However, it's clear that the Broncos think very differently than the fans do about Humphrey.
Payton's explanation of one skill Humphrey brings to the table — his run blocking — made it clear why he's still seeing the field a lot, despite his number of gaffes stacking up.
“One thing about ‘L.J.’ is he’s extremely smart. He’s really intelligent, and he understands angles and leverage points," Payton said of Humphrey.
The blocking on the perimeter has to hold up in order for the Broncos' ground game to come to life and achieve its goal. Standing at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, Humphrey has the size and the football IQ to thrive as blocker on the perimeter. Combined with Courtland Sutton's 6-foot-4, 216-pound frame, the Broncos have the requisite size on the outside.
"I think the first mistake sometimes receivers make in blocking on the perimeter is whether they’re trying to kick out or kick in instead of two-gap," Payton said. "If you can’t block the force… And it can’t just be ‘L.J.’ It has to be Sutton. If you can’t block the force, it becomes hard to run in this league or you get into the RPO game and then pretty soon it’s the PO game. There’s no ‘R’ to it."
Payton pointed to Las Vegas Raiders safety Tre'Von Moehrig as one player the Broncos will have to account for in the run game and when Bo Nix drops back to pass. Expect Humphrey and Sutton to be in Moehrig's face when the Broncos hand the ball off.
"This No. 7 [Moehrig] for them is a really good force player, physical," Payton said. "When you’re in run situations, he’s going to show up closer to the ball.”
Look back to Javonte Williams' touchdown last week vs. Atlanta, when a pile of Broncos literally lifted him off his feed and drove him into the end zone. Keep an eye on Humphrey during that play. He's not only hungry and committed to blocking and pushing Williams into the end zone, but when the Broncos prevailed and he broke the plane, nobody was as excited about it as Humphrey.
Coaches love that kind of stuff. That's a football player. Humphrey may not be the most refined and explosive receiver, but he's an excellent glue guy, very smart, and brings enough to the table as a pass-catcher to be helpful to the Broncos.
The Broncos have had a fully-participating Josh Reynolds back at practice for the past two weeks, and they're still dragging their feet on officially activating him off injured reserve. Reynolds was ruled out of Sunday's tilt at the Raiders. I have a sneaking suspicion that Humphrey's role and value to the coaches has a little something to do with that.
On the season, Humphrey has 27 receptions for 263 yards and a touchdown, which he caught last week on an underneath pass that he took to the house.
So, while Humphrey has left much to be desired at times as a receiver, try to remember that there's a lot more to what the Broncos are asking of him than catching passes. That's not to excuse drops or any form of ball insecurity, but he's a lot more valuable to this operation than first meets the eye.
Humphrey was very involved in Denver's scoring onslaught last week. Here's to hoping that continues in the new Black Hole.
