Where do Denver's young offensive skill players stand midway through the season?

DENVER — Just like that, the Denver Broncos are already halfway through the season of Drew Lock.

In the offseason, John Elway made it a top priority to give his second-year quarterback as many weapons as possible to succeed.

Elway used his first two picks in the draft on dangerous receivers and spent $8 million per year to add another Pro Bowl running back to go along with Phillip Lindsay.

So just how are the young talented pieces working out midway through the season?

Here’s an extensive breakdown of where each position player stands through eight games and the stats they’ll finish the season with at their current pace.

Note: The projected numbers take into account games players have already missed, but assume every player plays the remaining eight games

Drew Lock

Season stats: 1,240 passing yards; 6 touchdowns; 6 interceptions; 73.6 passer rating; 42.9 QBR; 5 full games played

Season-long projections: 3,172 yards; 56.6% completion; 16 touchdowns; 16 interceptions; 13 full games

Statistically, Drew Lock’s been magnificent in the past two fourth quarters. In just those two quarters, Lock’s thrown five touchdowns to only one interception for 305 yards with a 65.8 completion percentage.

However, in the other 18 quarters he’s played in full this year, the second-year quarterback only has one passing touchdown to five interceptions for 914 yards with a 55.8 completion percentage.

Overall, Lock has taken a step back from the promising start he had to his career in the last five games of 2019. He has still flashed his potential many times throughout the season but will need to be more consistent down the stretch to prove to Elway he can be the quarterback for many years to come.

Jerry Jeudy

Season stats: 30 catches; 61 targets; 484 receiving yards; 2 touchdowns

Season-long projections: 60 catches; 122 targets; 968 receiving yards; 4 touchdowns

If Jeudy continues down the path he’s on, the rookie receiver from Alabama will have a very successful first year in the NFL. But there’s a chance the 6-foot-1 receiver ends the year on an even better pace than the 968 yards he’s on track for.

Over the past two games, Denver’s first-round pick has 11 catches for 198 yards and a touchdown. If he finished the season on that pace, he would end with 74 catches for 1,276 yards and six touchdowns.

Jeudy has not only produced on the field but has received high praise from Vic Fangio and Drew Lock about his leadership qualities. Jeudy is having a very impressive start to his NFL career.

K.J. Hamler

Season stats: 17 catches; 28 targets; 190 receiving yards; 1 touchdown; 32 rushing yards; 6 games

Season-long projections: 40 catches; 65 targets; 443 receiving yards; 2 touchdowns; 75 rushing yards; 14 games

Two unrelated hamstring injuries already kept the Broncos’ second-round speedster out of two games this season. But this past Sunday Hamler showed a glimpse of what he can do when healthy as he had 90 yards from scrimmage.

The Penn State product is still waiting to pop the big play, but until then, he’s showed that he doesn’t have to be a home-run hitter to have an impact. If Hamler can stay healthy, with Courtland Sutton out for the year, he should eclipse 500 receiving yards his rookie season.

Tim Patrick

Season stats: 27 catches; 42 targets; 383 receiving yards; 3 touchdowns; 7 games

Season-long projections: 58 catches; 90 targets; 820 receiving yards; 6 touchdowns; 15 games

When Sutton went down for the year with a torn ACL and MCL, Tim Patrick rose to the occasion. By Week 7, Patrick had already tied his career-best mark in receptions (23) and had a career-high in yards (354) and touchdowns (2). The 6-foot-4 receiver also followed up his first 100-yard receiving game in Week 4 with another 100-yard game the next time Denver took the field.

Patrick has displayed he can be a starting receiver in the NFL. By seasons end, if he can stay healthy, he’ll have the stats to prove it.

Noah Fant

Season stats: 32 catches; 46 targets; 349 receiving yards; 2 touchdowns; 7 games played

Season-long projections: 69 catches; 99 targets; 748 receiving yards; 4 touchdowns; 15 games played

The former first-round pick has quietly put together a great second season in the NFL. While Fant hasn’t had an eye-popping game since Week 1 — where he had 81 receiving yards and a touchdown in one half — he’s been very consistent, averaging nearly 50 yards per game.

On Thursday, Fant gave himself a B- for his play in the first half of the season. However, he admitted he’s the toughest critic of himself, so a fair grade for the 6-foot-4, 250-pound tight end would be a B+.

Once the big plays start to hit for the athletic tight end, he’ll begin receiving the recognition he had at the end of his rookie season and get an A grade. Even if the explosive plays don’t surface this year, he’s still on pace to have a very promising sophomore campaign in the NFL.

Albert Okwuegbunam

Season stats: 11 catches; 15 targets; 121 receiving yards; 1 touchdown; 4 games played

Season-long projections: 11 catches; 15 targets; 121 receiving yards; 1 touchdown; 4 games played

Albert O. jumped on the NFL scene in his first season. The rookie’s emergence was very promising for the Broncos’ future and a nightmare to national commentators trying to pronounce Okwuegbunam.

In just a quarter of the season, he made his presence felt. In fact, in his first two career NFL games, the rookie tight end had the most targets (13) on the entire roster during that stretch. Having previous playing experience with Lock at Missouri certainly helped with that, but it also was a testament to how dangerous the speedy tight end can be in the NFL.

Unfortunately, Okwuegbunam’s season only lasted four games as he tore his ACL against the Falcons on Sunday. The “fortunate” part of his injury, according to Fangio, is there was no other damage in Albert O.’s knee, meaning he “should be back good as new next season.”

Phillip Lindsay

Season stats: 310 rushing yards; 53 carries; 5.8 yards per carry; 2 receptions; 7 targets; 14 receiving yards; 1 total touchdown; 0 fumbles; 5 games played

Season-long projections: 806 rushing yards; 138 carries; 5.8 yards per carry; 5 receptions; 18 targets; 42 receiving yards; 3 total touchdowns; 0 fumbles; 13 games played

Injuries have kept Phillip Lindsay off the field for over three games in the first half of the season. But when he’s been healthy enough to play, the Colorado Native has produced.

Lindsay’s 5.8 yards per carry is the fifth-best in the NFL among running backs. However, he’s only topped 10 carries in a single game once.

In the passing game, on the other hand, Lindsay has the same number of drops (2) as he does receptions (2) on the season.

Despite his limited workload, the undrafted running back is still on pace for an 800-yard rushing season.

Melvin Gordon

Season stats: 393 rushing yards; 96 carries; 4.1 yards per carry; 20 receptions; 27 targets; 87 receiving yards; 5 total touchdowns; 3 fumbles; 7 games played

Season-long projections: 842 rushing yards; 206 carries; 4.1 yards per carry; 42 receptions; 58 targets; 186 receiving yards; 11 total touchdowns; 6 fumbles; 15 games played

Despite the ups and downs, Melvin Gordon’s been very close to the back the Broncos hoped he would be when they signed him. Midway through the season, Gordon’s 4.1 yards per carry is the second-best mark of his career. The six fumbles he’s projected to have, on the other hand, would tie a career high.

While he’s been significantly more productive than Lindsay through the air, Gordon’s on pace to finish the season with the fewest receiving yards in his career. Even with that, though, he’s still on track to top 1,000 yards from scrimage his first year in Denver.