The Denver Broncos didn’t start out as the favourite to win the AFC West, but a 10-7 season led them to first place in the division and the #3 seed in the AFC playoffs. 10-7 is a solid record for the team, but after starting off 4-0, there were higher expectations for the Broncos. 4-0 led to 5-3 quickly through 8 weeks of the season. The Broncos headed into their bye week at 7-4, feeling very confident but following the bye week, the team went 1-3 over their next 4 games and needed help to clinch a playoff berth. Denver won their last 2 games of the season and looked to host their first playoff game of the cycle, but a controversial OT game against the Colts led some media outlets to doubt the validity of the Broncos and what they had accomplished this season. Denver fell short in OT against the Cleveland Browns 38-31, a game that looked over early, but a strong second half performance tied the game up at 31, creating life in the team, but on 4th and short, Coach Tebow decided to call a pass play. Bo Nix missed a wide open tight end on the slant for an easy conversion and instead relied on Marvin Mims, who was blanketed. Despite the team’s shortcomings in the playoffs, the Broncos have a lot to be proud of and some pieces to build towards the future.
Dominant Offense –
Fans in Denver are BOlieving after the quarterback threw for 6,300 yards and 56 touchdowns. Bo Nix is a franchise quarterback and Denver has themselves a dual threat at the position, Nix rushed for 411 yards and pounded the ball in the endzone for two touchdowns. Denver wants to get Nix more involved on the ground, his legs are gamechangers when extending the play, especially with Denver’s shaky offensive line. Second round selection RJ Harvey started every game and came up slightly short to 1,000 yards rushing and receiving. He finished with 985 yards on the ground and 1,072 yards in the air, but scored a combined 25 touchdowns. Harvey is currently the only Broncos halfback on the roster, so expect to see the team bring in two more backs to help relieve Harvey next season. Denver had 5 receivers with over 900 yards receiving, the most by any time in the league. Denver’s balanced attack made it difficult for teams to take away NIx’s favoruite target, because he simply did not have one. However, Evan Engram looked like a reincarnated Shannon Sharpe this season, raking in a league high 117 catches for 1,657 yards and 13 touchdowns. Denver was afraid that regression may impact Engram’s ability to play out his full contract, but Madden rewarded Engram and he only regressed a few points, but kept his Superstar status and his mismatching 87 speed. Denver is expected to bring in another tight end to fill out their three tight end sets, but if one of their targeted tight ends fall to them in the draft, we could see Engram mentoring the rookie this season.
Stingy Defense –
Denver ranked 9th in points per game, 9th in yards per game, 5th in passing yards allowed per game, and 15th in rushing yards. Denver was tied for 3rd(34) in interceptions on defense, which showed their tenacity and versatility. Denver’s interception leader Hufanga (6) was tied with Patrick Surtain (6) for most interceptions, but overall Denver had 9 players that recorded at least 1 interception, and 8 players that recorded multiple interceptions.
Addressing Concerns in the Off-Season –
The Broncos were tied for 5th worst in the league with just 22 sacks on the quarterback, their lack of pressure was a major concern and is a point of emphasis this off-season. Opposing quarterbacks had decades to throw the ball, which resulted in Denver’s pass rushers to tire quickly and led to defensive tackle injuring himself late in the season. Allen missed the Broncos playoff run due to the injury. Denver has to find some depth at the pass rush position and rotate their defenders to avoid constant fatigue issues. Bo Nix was sacked 43 times, which ranked second most in the league. Denver has a very up and down offensive line, both tackles are rated 80+ overall, but their interior struggled, particularly at C and LG. Despite the struggles, the tackles let up 12 sacks between them, doubling dominant pass rushers will be a priority next season. Heading into his 3rd year as a pro, NIx will need to be able to identify coverages and adjust protection against the blitz regularly.
Key Departures –
HB J.K. Dobbins:
Dobbins rushed 44 times for 214 yards and punched the ball across the goalline twice. He was a change of pace back for R.J. Harvey. He added another 200 yards through the air and 2 touchdowns. Dobbins 400 yards of offense and 4 touchdowns as a change of pace back shouldn’t be difficult to replicate, but his departure leaves Denver in a conundrum because Harvey is the only back currently listed on the roster.
DT John Franklin-Myers: Franklin-Myers started every game as the DT#2, he recorded .5 sack, 9 solo tackles, and a fumble recovery. However, his presence was more known when he took over the last stretch of games when Zach Allen went down with his injury. Franklin-Myers had a ghostly appearance in the playoffs, which led to Denver choosing to let the veteran pass rusher test free agency.
Denver’s Needs (WR, S, HB, TE, and OL).
Denver’s lack of speed went unnoticed last season in terms of productivity, but Coach Tebow has been active in his desire to stretch the field. Expect Denver to fill their roster with speedy additions to combat the tight covering defenses in the AFC West. Denver has a solid roster, but overall, the aging players outweigh the younger ones, with Denver sporting an average age of 26.7. Denver’s youth movement begins in the off-season and this team is expected to compete this season and start where they left off within the division.
