It’s not much of a secret that the Denver Broncos’ receivers are more talented than the Seattle Seahawks’.
All season, pundits have been criticizing the Seattle receiving corps for their lack of explosiveness, and overall lack of talent.
But you can’t knock the receivers for getting the Seahawks to the Super Bowl, because they’ve at least performed well enough to get them this far.
Come game day, it’s all about the matchups, as these two teams are just trying to win one more game. So which group of receivers will give their team the advantage?
Denver’s receivers
There’s not much to say here that anyone else hasn’t already said.
The Broncos’ receivers are some of the best in the league. Seattle will have to pick their poison.
If Demaryius Thomas isn’t picking up big yards, it’ll be Wes Welker across the middle of the field, or Eric Decker, who has quietly picked up 11 touchdowns this season.
Julius Thomas could also be considered a receiver at tight end, but we’ll just stick to the wide-outs for now.
Demaryius Thomas and Decker were both in the top 12 in receiving this season in the whole league, with Thomas coming in at fourth overall with 1,430 yards.
Thomas also finished second in the league in receiving touchdowns, only behind Jimmy Graham.
The hotly debated Aqib Talib play in the AFC Championship game aside, the Broncos often run pick plays effectively to get their receivers open.
It might not work as effectively against Seattle’s strong secondary, but it could at least take Richard Sherman or Kam Chancellor out of one or two plays.
Thomas is a deep route runner, but Welker and Decker are strong players in the middle of the field, and shorter dink-and-dunk plays will be more effective against Seattle than attempting to air the ball out down field, especially if the game is being played in strong wind conditions.
No matter how far the ball is traveling, though, the receivers for Denver are incredibly talented, and they have Peyton Manning throwing to them, who can make any receiver look like they belong in the top 10 in receiving.
Seattle’s receivers
The Seahawks’ short list of wide receivers isn’t very impressive. But it does possibly hold the x-factor to the Super Bowl: Percy Harvin.
Harvin’s healthy has always been a concern, but if he can be on the field for just 15 plays or so, it will cause the Broncos to focus on him for those 15 plays, taking resources away from covering Golden Tate or Doug Baldwin.
It’s impossible to just ignore Harvin if he’s on the field because of his big play ability, but he’s really all the Seahawks have going for them in the receiving game except Tate, who failed to break the top 30 in the NFL in receiving with 898 yards, behind such names as Nate Washington, Kendall Wright and Michael Floyd.
Jermaine Kearse has just two catches this postseason, and Zach Miller has become Russell Wilson’s favorite target in the end zone. But besides Miller, the Seahawks don’t have a receiver who can perform well inside the 20.
Tate is more of a deep-ball receiver, and Baldwin hasn’t had a touchdown since Week 15 against the New York Giants.
But there’s no denying that when necessary, the Seattle receivers have played well, keeping them in games at times just enough for the defense to win them in the end.
Conclusion
Any football knows just from looking at the names that Denver’s receivers are far more talented than Seattle’s.
Even if this game is played in 20 degree weather, you simply can’t say that Welker, Thomas and Decker aren’t all great receivers.
Harvin could prove to be a factor in this game, but Denver gets the advantage here.