ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The real NFL draft sweet spot is when team needs meet the talent on the board.

And one of the Denver Broncos' biggest needs -- a take-the-lid-off-the-defense wide receiver who can stress an opponent with speed, route running and reliable hands -- intersects quite nicely with the deepest group of pass-catchers most anyone can remember in the draft. In fact, many personnel executives believe there are more potential starters at the position than usual to be found deep into the draft's second and third day.

In short, a wideout might be the best player available with many of the 10 picks the Broncos make, beginning with No. 15 overall.

"I think we all have desires and wishes about hopefully that the best player available matches our need at 15," said Broncos coach Vic Fangio. "We still have enough needs on both sides of the ball that I think the best player will still be the philosophy used for the most part. ... When you are picking, you just hope that you have a player there that is at the top of the board or near the top that matches it."

How badly do the Broncos need wide receivers? Courtland Sutton is the only Broncos wideout currently on the roster who finished last season with more than 28 catches. Emmanuel Sanders finished second in receptions last season even though he was traded on Oct. 22 to the San Francisco 49ers.

"I think it's always good to have some young, dynamic wide receivers," said Broncos president of football operations/general manager John Elway. "We're always looking for all those. Obviously, Courtland is in that class. [Tight end Noah] Fant's going to be better at the tight end position. ... There's a deep class at wide receiver this year, so we'll continue to hopefully get better there too."

At No. 15, at least two of the draft's top three wide receivers -- Alabama's Jerry Jeudy and Oklahoma's CeeDee Lamb -- are expected to be off the board. That could leave the Broncos looking at Alabama's Henry Ruggs III and LSU's Justin Jefferson with that pick.

Ruggs, who might be the fastest player in the draft (he ran a 4.27 40-yard dash at the NFL combine), would be a deep threat with the potential to contribute immediately as a receiver and also could see time as a returner. Jefferson, who worked mostly out of slot this past season, should be able to line up all over the formation, and he ran a faster-than-expected 4.43 at the combine.

But with the depth at the position, there is really no need for the Broncos to reach or select a player they don't have graded for the pick they're making.

Among their Day 2 picks -- currently one second-rounder at No. 46 overall to go with their third-rounders at Nos. 77, 83 and 95 overall -- there should be an abnormally large group of wideouts open for consideration. Depending on how the board falls in front of them, Colorado's Laviska Shenault Jr., Clemson's Tee Higgins, USC's Michael Pittman Jr., Arizona State's Brandon Aiyuk, Baylor's Denzel Mims, Notre Dame's Chase Claypool, Penn State's KJ Hamler, Florida's Van Jefferson and TCU's Jalen Reagor could all be in the mix. Shenault (core injury), Aiyuk (core injury) and Van Jefferson (foot), all had surgeries in recent months that could impact where they are selected.

And that doesn't even include players who in previous years would have been higher on the draft boards at the position but could be forced to wait until Day 3 this year. Wideouts such as Liberty's Antonio Gandy-Golden, Texas' Devin Duvernay, South Carolina's Bryan Edwards (he had foot surgery earlier this year) and Kentucky's Lynn Bowden.

That remarkable depth of players with 1,000-yard seasons, high-end speed and versatility -- Bowden, for example, started eight games at quarterback for the Wildcats this past season and still led the team in catches, as well -- will make the draft look far different than last season's. Two wide receivers were taken in the first round last April -- both at No. 25 or later -- and by the end of Day 2, 13 wideouts had been selected overall.