WR Emmanuel Sanders - Denver Broncos

5-11, 180

Born: 3-16-1987

College: Southern Methodist

Drafted: Round 3, pick 2010

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Photo: Isaiah J. Downing, US Presswire

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Weekly Performance vs WR 1, WR 12, WR 24, WR 36

Percentile ranks

Emmanuel Sanders's percentile rank in each category, among WR with more than 50 fantasy points.

Recent Game Summaries

2018 Week 13 vs CIN (6 / 4 / 19 / 0 rec)

Sanders had a disappointing fantasy day as the Broncos rode stud rookie RB Lindsay to victory in week 13. Case Keenum only threw 21 passes total. Sanders drew 6 targets, 1 fewer than Sutton, who had a banner day. Sanders motioned across the formation and converted 3rd and short with a shallow out route on the Broncos opening drive. Keenum found him in traffic on a comeback route in the 2nd quarter and Sanders shook a couple of defenders for a 14 yard gain, his longest of the day. Sanders took a scary hit in the 4th quarter while laying out for a pass down the right sideline. A defender made hard helmet to helmet contact while Sanders was fully extended for the ball. Sanders left the game briefly but did not appear to suffer any injury. Sanders ran an end-around option for a loss that was ruled a pass because it was a forward pitch.

2018 Week 12 vs PIT (12 / 7 / 86 / 1 rec)

Sanders dominated targets with 12, while no one else on the team drew more than 4 looks from Keenum. Sanders got his day started with an out route that converted 3rd and 10 in the 1st quarter. Keenum found him for another minimal gain on an out route later the same drive. Sanders danced up the sidelines for an 11 yard gain early in the 2nd quarter. Sanders had a step on his defender on a deep ball down the right sidelines, but couldn't quite secure the fingertip catch with a diving effort. Keenum and Sanders connected on another deep ball later in the 3rd quarter, picking up 38 yards and setting Denver up on the Pittsburgh 5 yard line. Sanders caught a touchdown pass on the very next play, working his way open in the back of the end zone on a crossing route for the score. Sanders caught another deep ball with a diving effort later in the 3rd, but was ruled out of bounds on the play. Sanders caught a skinny post in the 4th quarter and picked up 17 yards before being tackled at the 5 yard line. Keenum targeted him on the next play, but Sanders was pushed out of bounds at the 2 yard line.

2018 Week 11 vs LAC (6 / 4 / 56 / 0 rec, 1 / 6 / 0 rush)

Sanders had a slow day before padding his stats a bit with a 38 yard reception on the game-winning drive at the end of the 4th quarter. He and Sutton tied for team-high 6 targets apiece. Sanders lined up in the backfield for his first reception of the game, a swing route behind the line of scrimmage. Sanders made a great effort to break a tackle 3 yards behind the line and and avoid a loss on the play. He hauled in a deep crossing route in the 3rd quarter. Keenum found Sanders on a deep crossing post late in the 4th quarter for a 38 yard gain, his longest of the day. Sanders had just secured a pass in the 3rd quarter when a diving defender knocked the ball from his hands. San Diego recovered the ball, but an official review determined that it was an incomplete pass and not a fumble. Sanders had one carry for a 6 yard gain around left end in the 2nd quarter.

2018 Week 9 vs HOU (9 / 6 / 47 / 0 rec)

Sanders drew the second-most targets on the team(9), trailing only Jeff Heuerman in the Denver's first game without Demaryius Thomas in the receiving core. Sanders didn't get rolling until the 2nd quarter. He caught a quick screen and was tackled at the line of scrimmage on his first target of the day. Keenum found him on a quick curl route later in the 2nd quarter for another minimal gain. He took a bad shot to the helmet on the next play while securing a skinny post, but only missed one play before returning. Sanders had a step on his defender on a 3rd quarter deep ball down the right sideline, but Keenum overthrew him. Sanders managed to corral 6 of his targets, but only netted 47 yards total, one of his lowest totals of the season.

2018 Week 8 vs KC (4 / 4 / 57 / 0 rec, 1 / -6 / 0 rush)

Sanders had his slowest performance of the season, drawing only 4 targets. He picked up the majority of his yards on a 49 yard catch early in the 1st quarter. He got loose down the right sideline while Keenum extended a play with a rollout and made an impressive grab to secure the bomb. He wasn't heard from much after that. Sanders had another big gain early in the 2nd quarter that was negated by offsetting penalties. He got popped hard after a 3rd quarter reception and left the game briefly, but appeared ok in the post game.

2018 Week 7 vs ARI (7 / 6 / 102 / 1 rec)

Sanders threw a touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton in the 1st quarter. Keenum tossed it to him on an end around while Sutton worked his way into the end zone. Sanders nearly overthrew Sutton as he rolled out to the right, but Sutton made an outstanding diving catch for the touchdown. Sanders caught his first target on the next drive, a short out route. Keenum found Sanders deep for a touchdown early in the 2nd quarter. Sanders lined up in the left slot close to the formation and got wide open behind the deep safety, where Keenum found him for a 64 yard score. Sanders caught a pitch on an end-around in the 3rd quarter that was ruled a pass and picked up a nice gain up the right sideline. With the Broncos jumping out to an early lead, Keenum wasn't asked to pass much, attempting 21 throws total. Sanders drew 7 of those targets, in addition to his own touchdown pass.

2018 Week 6 vs LAR (10 / 7 / 115 / 1 rec)

Sanders and Lindsay were the only receivers that Keenum could get anything going with for most of week 6. Sanders led the team with 10 targets. He started his day with a shallow crossing route in the 1st quarter that failed to convert 3rd down. He made a nice run after the catch on a WR screen later in the 1st. Sanders appeared to score on a beautiful deep ball down the left sideline at the end of the 1st quarter, but he was ruled down at the 1 yard line and drew a taunting penalty that backed the offense up 15 yards to the Rams' 16. Denver eventually settled for a field goal. Sanders kept the momentum going in the second quarter, hauling in another quick pass at the line of scrimmage and picking up good yardage with the run after the catch. Sanders scored in the 3rd quarter, lining up in the slot with two other receivers on the right side of the formation and beating his man with a nifty double move. Sanders made a great effort to extend the ball into the end zone for the score after being hit on the 3 yard line. Sanders drew a facemark penalty at the end of the 4th quarter, extending a late Broncos scoring drive. Sanders topped 100 yards and scored his first receiving touchdown(he had a 35 yard TD rush in week 3) since week 1. The 43 yard reception is tied for his longest of the year.

2018 Week 5 vs NYJ (14 / 9 / 72 / 0 rec)

Sanders drew a team high 14 targets, considerably more than Thomas, Sutton, and Booker, who all tied for the second most with 6. Sanders did most of his work in the 4th quarter. He caught his first target halfway through the 1st quarter on a WR bubble screen, bouncing off a couple of tackles for a nice gain. Keenum hit him for a big gain on a skinny post early in the 4th quarter. Sanders hauled in a quick screen two plays later. Keenum hit him again with a bubble screen from the Jets 10 yard line, but Sanders was dropped at the line of scrimmage. Sanders was the target of a desperate Keenum heave on 4th and 3 from the Jets 5 late in the 4th quarter, but he couldn't secure the bad pass with a diving effort. Sanders racked up several more targets on the final drive of the game, hauling in a short slant pass early in the drive, then a skinny post inside the Jets 10 yard line near the end of the drive. Keenum hit him again on an out route following the skinny post, and Sanders took the ball down inside the 5 yard line, nearly finding paydirt. The drive was unfortunately ended when Sutton let a Keenum pass bounce off his hands to a defender.

2018 Week 4 vs KC (7 / 5 / 45 / 0 rec, 1 / 18 / 0 rush)

Sanders, Thomas, and Heuerman all drew a team-high 7 targets. Sanders caught a WR screen for a short gain late in the 1st quarter on his first target. He was mostly quiet for the 1st half but heated up in the last 2 minutes, catching consecutive passes for first downs as Keenum led the two minute spread offense. Sanders faked the end around often on plays, helping with misdirection in the backfield. He did carry the ball in the 3rd quarter for an 18 yard gain, following a great lead block by Janovich downfield. Sanders made an amazing sideline catch at the end of the 4th quarter, keeping the final drive alive by converting 4th and 11.

2018 Week 3 vs BAL (9 / 5 / 38 / 0 rec, 1 / 35 / 1 rush)

Sanders led the receiving core in targets with 8, but couldn't get any big plays going in the passing game as Keenum struggled to push the ball deep. Sanders lined up wide right and scored on an end-around rush in the 1st quarter, following excellent downfield blocks by Sutton and fullback Janovich. Sanders caught his first target on a shallow crossing route in the 2nd quarter. Sanders hauled in another short gain on a similar play later in the 2nd quarter. Sanders had a bad drop on a wide-open slant route late in the 3rd quarter, but made up for it with nice diving effort the following play. He converted 3rd and 6 later in the same drive with another tough, diving catch on a curl route.

2018 Week 2 vs OAK (4 / 4 / 96 / 0 rec)

Sanders was quiet for the first half as QB Keenum struggled to get anything going in the passing game, but Sanders was a perfect 4 of 4 on his limited targets after half time. Courtland Sutton caught a curl route and successfully pitched the ball to Sanders on a hook and ladder play at the end of the first half, but Sanders was brought down without scoring as time expired. Keenum hit Sanders up the seam for a nice gain on the first play of the 3rd quarter. Later in the 3rd, Sanders lined up in the slot on the right side of the formation and got wide open up the seam again for another big gain. Sanders got close to the end zone in the 4th quarter, catching a slant route before going down inside the Raiders' 5 yard line. Sanders had another clutch catch for a 20 yard gain and a first down as the Broncos drove down the field for their game winning two-minute drill.

2018 Week 1 vs SEA (11 / 10 / 135 / 1 rec)

Sanders clearly has the best chemistry with Keenum of all the receivers at this point. He led the target share with 11 targets to Thomas's 10, and he was much more efficient with his looks, hauling in 10 total. Sanders got hot early, clearing 115 yards and 7 receptions in the first half alone. He snagged his first target of the day, a toe-tapping 15 yard gain that converted 3rd and long on Denver's opening offensive drive. Sanders got wide open and showed off his speed on a deep crossing route in the second quarter, hauling in the pass from Keenum then turning it up the sideline for a 43 yard touchdown. Sanders had a beautiful diving catch down the left sideline late in the second quarter for another big gain. Sanders tacked on a few more catches in the second half, with DT taking over more in the last half of the game.

Latest News

Broncos | Emmanuel Sanders refuses to restructure deal (Tue Feb 19, 10:43 PM) - Denver Broncos WR Emmanuel Sanders (Achillies') is sheduled to count $12.94 million against the salary cap in 2019, but he appears to have no interest in restructuring his contract entering the final year of his deal. Denver has until March 12 to exercise his 2019 option, which would trigger a $1.5 million guarantee of his salary. In the event they choose to release him, the Broncos will save $10.25 million against the cap.

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Broncos | Emmanuel Sanders progressing (Thu Feb 14, 10:23 PM) - Denver Broncos WR Emmanuel Sanders (Achilles') said he is no longer wearing a walking boot but still has a 'slight limp' when walking around.

Our View: Sanders is working diligently to return. He's a veteran leader in that locker room but his status with the team is up in the air. Sanders has a bonus that needs to be paid (around $7 million) before the start of the new league year. He could be the deep threat for new QB Joe Flacco if healthy.
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Broncos | Emmanuel Sanders' option on table (Fri Feb 8, 12:19 PM) - Denver Broncos WR Emmanuel Sanders (Achilles) has a $10.25 million option due on his 2019 contract, and the Broncos have until March 13 to exercise that option.

Our View: Sanders may not be ready for the start of training camp as he continues to recover from this injury. He showed leadership ability last year for a young Broncos WR corps behind him, guiding talents like Courtland Sutton and DaeSean Hamilton. The Broncos could keep Sanders around for one more year.
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