This guy barely knows the Broncos playbook after studying it since April.
He wouldn't help us for months. We need help now.
Like it or not, we have to bring in someone now who knows our playbook.
You can't have guys running wrong routes.
It's not just the playbook. QB/receiver chemistry is frequently commented on in passing as a factor, but generally given short shrift.
First, receivers in the NFL run a lot of option routes. The days of "run 10 yards and cut out" are a thing of the past. They have to read the defense as the QB does...they have to be on the same page.
Second, the QB needs to know his receivers strengths, weaknesses and peculiarities. For example, Nelson's speed is early and late, with a glide in the middle. Jones is mediocre off the line, has unremarkable long speed, but he gets separation deep on the strength of a powerful 2nd. and 3rd. gear. Cobb is deadly in space, not so reliable in tight coverage. This stuff matters...a lot...with timing in a game where the margin for error is quite small.
Third, the best receivers know their opponents. If a guy sees the DB set up for the inside and he's seen the guy has not-so-quick hips on tape, the outside option route will look promising...to him and his QB...if they are both well prepared and just plain football-smart. This is what preparation and game planning is about; finding weaknesses to prey on. About once every couple of years a rookie receiver comes along who is so physically gifted he can go out thinking, "I'll do what I do, he can do what he does, and I'll win" without having polished his game (Moss, Green). That's rare indeed.
Add it all up and it should be no secret why WRs typically don't hit their stride until the 3rd. year, even the first round picks.
A guy like King might get a few snaps without being the primary on any of them if Jones can't go, but realistically a signing like this is just filling an emergency backup role in case somebody else gets hurt. Without Jones, look for a heavy dose of Nelson/Boykin/Finley in the 3-wide. 2-wide might be somebody's offense, but it's not ours.