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DENVER — Every year, NFL teams spend millions of dollars trying to uncover which collegiate prospects will boom or bust at the next level. There are countless hours of film study, medical evaluations, interviews, combines, pro days, and more, all with the idea of uncovering who will make it and who won’t.
One guy who has already made it, though, says it’s far simpler than that.
“A lot of guys, you can see when they come into the NFL—will they be one of those guys that last a long time or will they be a guy that’s on the bubble,” Broncos receiver Emmanuel Sanders said during his Pro Camp on Monday. “I’ve been in this league—I would say—a long time, it’s about to be my 10th year, and I think that it’s all personality-based.”
It’s all personality based.
Of course, you have to have the talent to cut it at the highest level, but once you get there, the separation comes from desire, according to Sanders. Desire to be great. And that desire is why he’s confident that Broncos’ receivers Courtland Sutton and DaeSean Hamilton are going to make a big leap in year two.
“I’ve been around a lot of great receivers,” the two-time Pro-Bowler said, “and those two, they have the personality traits to be great players in this league because they want to be great and they understand it. Sometimes, guys aren’t even aware of what they’re doing, they’re just doing it. Those guys, their awareness is up there to the point of they are listening and aware of what it takes to be a great player, and if they aren’t aware of it, then they’re watching or studying other people to try to be great.”
For the Broncos, who are counting on Sutton and Hamilton to be two of their top-three receivers this season, that personality trait turning into production on the field could be the difference between the offense sinking or swimming in 2019.
If Sutton can become a borderline No. 1 guy and Hamilton can become a legit slot option, the sky is the limit. If the two remain stagnant, Denver could be in trouble.
As for Sanders, he’s envisioning that greatness that they’re all striving for.
“I’ve been around that personality trait, I feel like that’s my personality as well, so I’m looking forward to playing with them guys because they want to be great and I want to be great. If we have that as a common goal, we can be a great wide-receiving unit.”
Maybe it’s just that easy.
