When in March 2014, he joined an elite, and lucrative, group of free-agent acquisitions by a Broncos team that led the league in total offense the season prior.
Getting to play alongside Peyton Manning in the league’s top passing offense “is like wide-receiver heaven,” he said at the time.
But Sanders also faced the unenviable task of filling the void left by Eric Decker, a guy whose receiving numbers the previous two seasons topped Sanders’ in his entire four-year career, with Pittsburgh.
Sanders didn’t need long to prove critics wrong — and to end the comparisons.
Last season, he became the second player in NFL history with 100 receptions, 1,400 receiving yards and nine or more touchdowns in his first year with a new team. His complete stats for 2014: 101 receptions, 1,404 yards (fifth among NFL receivers), nine touchdowns.
Sanders, who was also named to his first Pro Bowl, had the fifth-best wide receiver rating (121.4) and the lowest drop rate (1.04) of any receiver in 2014, according to Pro Football Focus.
On Wednesday, Sanders’ impressive résumé got even longer. The 28-year-old cracked the NFL Network’s list of the top 100 players for the first time, .
