Broncos Country, we got our guys, what I mean is they have both their HC Sean Payton, and their
QB of the future, Bo Nix. If you happen to be a Denver
Broncos fan, you have not been thrilled since 2015. That was the last time the
Broncos won the Super Bowl, their division (AFC West), or even made the playoffs. It has certainly been painful, at times to
watch how this Broncos team unraveled over the last 9 seasons. Having to employ fourteen different guys at the quarterback position in that span is just excruciating to watch as a fan. After Peyton Manning
retired, they decided to go with Brock Osweiler but unfortunately for both
parties, it didn’t work out. Brock ended
up on the Houston Texans after signing a major 4-year $72 million contract in the
2016 offseason. The Broncos had
other subpar starters, Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, and Case Keenum. After seemingly no viable replacement, they looked to the free agency pool for a possible veteran and found themselves Mr. Joe Cool
himself, Joe Flacco. When that didn’t
work out in came the kid out of Missouri, Drew Lock. Drew showed a lot of promise at times but
ultimately the Broncos soon gave up on him and others like Brandon Allen, Jeff
Driskel, and Brett Rypien. In fact, they had so
much bad luck that during the 2020 season in week 12 against the New Orleans
Saints, the Bronco’s backup QB Jeff Driskel tested positive for COVID-19, and
then all of Denver’s QBs were ruled ineligible due to being in close contact to
him. This left Denver with no quarterback for the matchup. They had no choice but to start the once quarterback at the collegiate level, their wideout Kendall Hinton, alongside their running back Phillip Lindsay, who had also taken some snaps as their passer. Needless to say, it was an all-around horrendous performance. The following season the Broncos signed veteran QB Teddy Bridgewater,
though that was yet again an ill-fated attempt to fix their offensive woes and get back to a
playoff-caliber team.
Then came the 2022 offseason when the Broncos made a huge splash in free agency making the biggest move since the Broncos signed Peyton Manning back in March of 2012. They had signed another all-pro, Super Bowl-winning, franchise quarterback Russell Wilson. It was a massive trade that had them acquire Wilson as the Broncos traded with the Seattle Seahawks, giving the Seahawks five draft picks, including two first-rounders, and 3 players, QB Drew Lock, TE Noah Fant, & DE Shelby Harris. Denver ended up going 11-19 in Russell’s tenure with the Broncos, which was ended after only two seasons. Actually two games short of two full seasons. Sean Payton didn’t exactly love what he saw out of Russ and, therefore ended up benching Wilson with two games remaining. Upon the end of the season, I’m sure the team and its fan base had sensed that this would probably be the end of the Russell Wilson era. What would they do now to bolster this pesky QB situation, that had been a nagging thorn in their side for almost a decade? Well, it took no time at all for the release of Wilson when the Broncos informed him of his departure from the team on March 6, 2024, giving Russ plenty of time to go find another team. That way Denver could focus on their future and not have to worry about any possible distractions from a guy that’s still more than capable of a starting role in the NFL after passing for 3,070 yards, 26 TDs, 8 INTs, and 3 rush TDs.
Oregon
Duck fans certainly know the name Bo Nix from his work as the heart and soul of
their team the last two years after transferring from Auburn in 2022. Bo was the SEC FOTY in 2019, selected to
First-team All-Pac-12 in 2023, and was also the Pac-12 OPOY. During his senior year at Oregon Bo posted
incredible stats with a record of 12-2 Nix completed 77.4% of his passes, 4508 yds,
45 TDs 3 INTs, & 6 rushing TDs. When watching
Bo Nix’s style of play, he at times resembles future hall of famer Drew Brees. I believe that is exactly what Sean Payton
saw in Bo from his time in Oregon plus at his pro day, which is why Sean
Payton and George Paton drafted Nix 12th overall in this year's NFL
draft. Coincidently a little birdy
recently told me that Bo was working out with Brees, getting a few pointers
from him on playing in Sean Payton’s offense.
Brees had an incredibly successful career in Sean Payton’s scheme and
won a Super Bowl in 2010 defeating Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts
31-17.
Bo
has an immensely talented core of skilled positional players around him now in
Denver from wideouts Courtland Sutton, second-year sensation, and possible breakout player Marvin Mims Jr., plus they also signed newcomer ex-Ram Josh
Reynolds. Denver even drafted Bo's Oregon
teammate, and favorite target Troy Franklin. He hasn’t exactly shown his
greatest stuff so far in the pre-season, but I project him to be the last receiver to
make the cut. The Broncos also have some decent tight ends in Adam Trautman, listed at 6’5”, 253 lbs., is certainly a
weapon around the red zone. Trautman possesses reliable
hands with a big enough frame to help with blocking in the run game. Along with him they also have a gem now
third-year TE Greg Dulcich who played all four years of college ball with UCLA. In his last season there Dulcich posted 42 recs,
725 yds, and 5 TDs, he also has good size at 6’4” and 245 lbs. He's good at finding
the soft spots in the defense when he’s not the first option. He makes for a perfect safety blanket when
the QB is rushed and must sling it out at the last second. His route-running skills combined with size
and speed can be an absolute mismatch nightmare and headache for linebackers.
Now
for Denver’s running back room. First, Javonte Williams was drafted by the Broncos in the 2021 draft 35th overall
out of NC where he ran for a total of 2,297 yards, for 29 TDs. Javonte most definitely impressed Mile High
as a rookie amassing 1,200 scrimmage yards scoring 7 TDs total and rushing for
4.4 average yards per carry. Williams looked to become one of
the best up-and-coming backs in the league during his rookie season. He often broke three to four tackles on every couple of
carries. Javonte had his own highlight
reel from the beginning of the season, I remember watching him break three tacklers and dragging the
fourth man about 15-20 yards down the field. Anyhow, after his first season, Williams sadly tore his ACL. This, unfortunately, brought his second season to an end after only playing in four
games. Currently, the Broncos also have
Samaje Perine, who I personally believe may end up cut, not that he is not a
good player, but I just think they will choose the upside from other players
such as Jaleel McLaughlin. He has been killing it all throughout the
off-season thus far and his peers and coaching staff are raving about him.
Assuming most people don’t know this stat, McLaughlin is the All-Time NCAA
leading rusher at 8,166 total yards!
That is insane right, Jaleel amassed at least 1,500 yds in 4 of his 5
seasons reaching 2,300 + yds in his first two seasons. He also accounted for 79 TDs on the ground in
only 56 games. His average yards per game in 56
games is 145.82 while his average yards per season is just over 1,600 yds. McLaughlin showed he is a burst of energy
last season and is a perfectly added weapon in Sean Payton’s offense. His scheme is very running-back friendly to multiple types of backs, like when the Saints had Mark Ingram
& Darren Sproles or Alvin Kamara & Ingram under Payton. The last running back Audric Estime, Denver
just drafted this year from Notre Dame, ran for 2,321 yards for 29 TDs. Estime has some critics drawing comparisons to Hall of Famer Jerome “The Bus” Bettis, I mean don’t get me wrong here
he’s in the pros now and will need to do a ton before anyone can take that
seriously. I believe that
the Denver Broncos are undoubtedly on the right path right now under the
direction of both Sean Payton & GM George Paton. My credence is that many people will be wildly
surprised at the Broncos' outcome of the season.
I wouldn’t count them out for a possible playoff appearance as soon as
this season with rookie QB Box Nix under center because he is that good.
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