Emmanuel Sanders believes the Broncos found a “diamond in the rough” at receiver

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — It’s understandable that Broncos Country has quickly fallen in love with Courtland Sutton.

A second-round pick in 2018, Sutton stands at 6-foot-3 — 6-foot-4 on a good day — 218 pounds and draws comparisons to Demaryius Thomas frequently.

Heck, on Wednesday after the team’s ninth OTA practice, the talented rookie drew praise from two starters, with Emmanuel Sanders saying he “Looks like a linebacker or a safety.”

“He’s made a couple 50-50 balls look easy,” safety Justin Simmons said. “He’s definitely a special talent going up and high pointing the football, which is great.”

But while everyone is staring at the new and improved No. 14 in town — and understandably so — there’s another receiver catching the attention of his fellow teammates.

“He’s a playmaker. He’s one of those diamonds in the rough,” Sanders said about rookie receiver DaeSean Hamilton. “A lot of people don’t know about him, but he has deceptive speed, he can get open on routes, he has good hands. He’s been making plays the whole time, the whole entire time of OTAs.”

Making plays isn’t something new for Hamilton, either. At Penn State, historically a football powerhouse, Hamilton ended his four-year career as the second all-time leading receiver in the school’s history with 2,842 career yards.

Yet, due to his “smaller” 6-foot-1, 203-pound frame, and his lack of elite speed, Hamilton fell to the Broncos in the fourth round of the 2018 draft.

However, thanks to his impressive route-running abilities and awareness, Hamilton has a real chance to see the field early and often during his rookie season.

“He’s going to be one of those guys where I think Bronco Nation — obviously they know about Courtland — but when the season starts they are going to go, ‘Who is that guy out there making those plays,’” Sanders said.

If Hamilton does, in fact, do what Sanders predicts, that guy will be No. 17.

Early indications would point to Emmanuel being onto something, too. When both Sanders and Thomas were absent during Monday’s voluntary OTA practice, Sutton and Hamilton were called upon to join Case Keenum and the first-team offense.

Not only did they both hold their own against Denver’s first-team defense, the starting quarterback looked No. 17’s way early and often, becoming Keenum’s favorite target on the day.

“So far so good with those two guys. Fourteen and 17 are very mature football players,” head coach Vance Joseph said after Monday’s practice. “[Thomas and Sanders] missed [practice], they pushed up to the first team, and we didn’t miss a beat… Very pleased with those two guys.”

While “mature” has been a word used to describe this year’s draft class by many, Sutton and Hamilton have already received specific praise about how their maturity is translating to the football field, and thus potentially landing them significant playing time their rookie seasons.

“They both seemed really poised as rookies,” Sanders stated on Wednesday. “They’ve been out there a few times with the ones. They seem poised. They seem like they know the playbook really well.”

The high praise from Sanders might mean a little extra to the 23-year-old rookie out of Penn State since Hamilton clearly wants to mold his game after the nine-year vet.

“I think they’re going to contribute big time,” Simmons said. “Hopefully that continues, and they continue to grow throughout the rest of OTAs.”

If that happens, the Broncos’ third receiver problem they’ve had ever since Wes Welker left might evolve into a “problem” of finding ways to get both talented rookies enough playing time.