The Denver Broncos sent a clear message to their two star wide receivers last weekend by investing a second and a fourth round NFL Draft pick in the position. Denver drafted SMU’s Courtland Sutton in the second, and Penn State’s DaeSean Hamilton in the fourth round.

The 6-foot-3 Sutton projects as No. 1 receiver, in the same big-bodied, athletic mold as Demaryius Thomas, while the 6-foot-1 Hamilton could fit the role of a No. 2 like Emmanuel Sanders. With both Thomas and Sanders on the wrong side of the 30 and accounting for $23 million against Denver’s 2018 salary cap, the writing is on the wall.

“See, the problem is what’s going on right now is the moment that you get over 30 in the NFL, they automatically say, ‘He’s getting up in age’,” Sanders said on Wednesday. “But what they fail to realize is that when I first came into the NFL, we had two-a-days. We had all of these processes. Big hits were going down. Guys were going through two-a-days holding out yards. Now, 30 is like the new 27. I’m telling you.”

Despite Sanders’ optimism, Father Time remains undefeated. It might not happen tomorrow, but this dynamic wideout duo’s days are numbered in the Mile High City.

However, despite the unyielding realities of the business side of football, Sanders says he isn’t approaching the addition of two rookie Draft picks as a threat. The two-time Pro Bowler plans on helping these young receivers in any and every way possible.

“I’m going to teach those guys everything that I know,” Sanders said. “That’s my job. You see a lot of these cats, when they get up in age, they kind of shy away from the rookies... I’m going to teach you everything that I can possibly do.”

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Sanders and Sutton have common ground beyond their membership in the orange and blue. Both receivers went to Southern Methodist University, and that shared history could help ease the rookie’s pro transition. But Sanders' view on mentorship is actually more altruistic than just helping a guy from the same alma mater.

“Regardless of if he’s [Sutton] from SMU or not, I want to see everybody successful,” Sanders said. “I want to see him making plays and going to the Pro Bowls and winning Super Bowls. I’m going him as much as I can.”

The Broncos are looking to get younger on offense, hoping to infuse the unit with some badly needed explosive plays. If Denver can get similar production out of Sutton and Hamilton, while paying them a fraction of what Thomas and Sanders are making, that’s a win/win for the organization.

“That is going to happen anyway,” Sanders said candidly. “Once you get up in this league, you start making too much money and they say…Look, I understand the business of it. My deal is this, I still want to see everybody’s family making a ton of money. I can’t avoid that. All I can do is make plays every single day and show that if I become expendable here, just show some other team, hey, look, I still got it. I still got the juice.”

In the short-term, Sanders isn’t going anywhere. But when 2019 rolls around, there’s almost zero chance that both he and Thomas will be back in the orange and blue. And if Denver keeps one of their tenured wideouts beyond this season, it’s likely to be the guy who’s been a life-long Bronco and bound for the Ring of Fame — Demaryius Thomas.

Courtland Sutton and DaeSean Hamilton can help make that decision for the Broncos. But in the meantime, Sanders will get that opportunity he spoke of to put some impressive tape out there for the league to see.

If Case Keenum and the Broncos offense can benefit from that motivation in the short-term, that’s great. However, Sanders still has to completely heal from the ankle injury that plagued him last year. But the season doesn’t start until September.

If Emmanuel Sanders is being genuine in his attitude toward Denver’s rookies — and there’s no reason to believe otherwise — that can only help a fledgling Broncos offense looking to climb out of the league doldrums, and set these young wideouts on a path to sustained success in the NFL.