State of the Franchise - Denver Broncos

2017 Record: 5-11

Last Playoff Appearance: 2015/2016

Head Coach: Vance Joseph (5-11)

General Manager: John Elway

2017 Performance

2016 saw the Broncos go 9-7 and miss the playoffs following their 2015 Superbowl winning season. 2016 also saw the last year under head coach Gary Kubiak. In steps Vance Joseph for 2017 who came from the Dolphins where he had served as their Defensive Coordinator in 2016.

Joseph’s first game as a head coach went well, he won a close game against the Chargers. It looked, at this point, like the Broncos would be competitive in a tough division.

2017, for the Broncos, will be best remembered for their Quarterbacking woes. Trevor Siemian started the season and looked solid in the first few games. The Chargers game saw Siemian throw for two touchdowns and rush for another (his first career rushing TD). Siemian looked composed during the game, even behind an offensive line that was struggling to provide protection. Week 2, the Broncos face the Cowboys and, again, Siemian excelled throwing 22/32 passes for 231 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception whilst thumping the Cowboys 42-17. His performance against the Cowboys saw Siemian win the NFL’s Clutch Performer of the Week and the FedEx Air Player of the Week.

Sadly, from that point on, things went downhill for Siemian and the Broncos. November 1st saw Siemian throw three interceptions during their loss against the Chiefs which led to the inevitable benching of Siemian followed by the Broncos announcing that Brock Osweiler would start, week 9, against the Eagles. Siemian’s inconsistency was such that now the Broncos were willing to hand the reigns to another inconsistent performer in Osweiler.

After 3 games of lacklustre play from Osweiler, the inevitable came and he too was benched. The Broncos announced Paxton Lynch as their starting quarterback for week 12. Lynch threw 9/14 passes for 41 yards and an interception then left the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury which would see him miss the next 4 weeks.

As eluded to before, the Broncos offensive line really struggled in 2017. Rookie Garrett Bolles won the starting left tackle job in camp. Bolles has amazing potential, and should improve in 2018, but he finished tied for second in 2017 for the most penalties in the entire league. The Right Tackle spot was held by Menalik Watson until he was injured mid-season. Watson struggled massively as he has done through his career so far. The interior didn’t fair much better although Center, Matt Paradis, and Guard, Ronald Leary, are good players who will return in 2018 to provide strength and continuity.

The biggest strength of the Broncos is on defense. At times, they kept the team competitive and avoided any massive losses. This isn’t the dominant group from the Superbowl win two years ago but it is an above average unit with some outstanding players. Von Miller and Chris Harris played exceptionally well in 2017 and are the standout players in this group. Miller had 51 solo tackles and 10 sacks by the end of the season. Of the supporting cast, Shaquil Barrett finished the season with 41 solo tackles and 4 sacks, Brandon Marshall had 75 solo tackles and 3 sacks and Shelby Harris put up 22 solo tackles and 5.5 sacks on the year.

Two players stood out for me in 2017 on offense. CJ Anderson achieved a 1000-yard season with 3 touchdowns whilst bagging the team 47 1st downs. Anderson ran well for the Broncos in 2017, he took on the workhorse role and was always a threat (Anderson has since left the team – see below).

My next standout player was wide receiver, Demaryius Thomas. Thomas was targeted 141 times in 2017 and had 949 yards and 5 touchdowns. Thomas remains the clear, and sometimes only, threat in the passing game. By Thomas’ high standards, 2017 could be considered a poor year but I look to him to improve in 2018 and carry the offense on his sizeable shoulders.

Overall, a really disappointing season from a team that had the players to challenge. The lack of good QB play undoubtedly was the key factor and the emergence of the Chargers in a stacked division didn’t help. There were some poor losses which coach Joseph will have to look at in detail to eradicate lazy play.

2018 Roster Moves

The offseason has seen the Broncos lose a number of key players from their roster either through trades or in free agency.

Gone is 5x Pro Bowler Aqib Talib, traded to the LA Rams for a fifth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Quarterbacks, Trevor Siemian and Brock Osweiler, are no longer members of the Broncos, Siemian was traded to the Vikings for a 7th round pick in 2018 and for a 5th round pick in 2019. Osweiler signed with the Dolphins as a free agent to reunite with Adam Gase. One of the biggest names to go from the 2017 season is CJ Anderson at Running Back. Anderson was released by the Broncos after 5 seasons with them and has signed with the Carolina Panthers.

One of the Broncos biggest signings was that of Quarterback, Case Kennum, who had been with the Vikings for 2017 and led them to the playoffs in a spectacular way. Before 2017, Keenum had been inconsistent mainly as a member of a poor Rams team. If Keenum plays the way he played in 2017 with the Vikings, the Broncos will have instantly upgraded that position. However, if Keenum gets back to his inconsistent ways, this could still be a problematic position and a long, difficult year.

The Broncos have also signed: Cornerback Tremaine Brock, Punter Marquette King and Defensive Tackle Clinton McDonald. They have also added: Offensive Tackle Jared Veldheer and Safety Su’a Cravens from the Redskins.

The Broncos had a haul of draft picks this year, 10 to be precise. Here are the guys they picked: Round 1 Bradley Chubb DE, Round 2 Courtland Sutton WR, Round 3 Royce Freeman RB, Round 3 Isaac Yiadom CB, Round 4 Josey Jewell LB, Round 4 DaeSean Hamilton WR, Round 5 Troy Fumagalli TE, Round 6 Sam Jones G/C, Round 6 Keishawn Bierria LB and Round 7 David Williams RB.

Chubb is a difference maker on the edge and, paired with Von Miller, could be something special. He may be a bit oversized to rush standing up but we’ll see. Sutton, Freeman, Jewell and Hamilton should contribute early on and Yiadom, Fumagalli and Jones provide good depth and potential for positions of need.

2018 Starters

Offense

QB – Case Keenum

RB1 – Devontae Booker

RB2 – Royce Freeman

WR1 – Demaryius Thomas

WR2 – Emmanuel Sanders

WR3 – Carlos Henderson

WR4 – Courtland Sutton

TE1 – Jeff Heuerman

TE2 – Troy Fumagalli

LT – Garrett Bolles

LG – Ron Leary

C – Matt Paradis

RG – Connor McGovern

RT – Jared Veldheer

Defense

DE1 – Shelby Harris

DE2 – Adam Gotsis

DE3 – Zach Kerr

NT1 – Domata Peko

NT2 – Clinton McDonald

NT3 – Kyle Peko

ILB – Brandon Marshall

ILB – Todd Davis

OLB 1 – Von Miller

OLB 2 – Bradley Chubb

CB – Chris Harris Jr

CB – Bradley Roby

FS – Darian Stewart

SS – Su’a Cravens

Special Teams

K – Brandon McManus

P – Marquette King

LS – Casey Kreiter

2018 Outlook

The 2018 season sees the Broncos head into week 1 with Case Keenum as their starting quarterback. 2017, with the Vikings, was a standout season for Keenum as he stepped in for the injured Sam Bradford in week 2. Normally, Keenum has proved inconsistent when he has had the chance of starting in the past. However, his season with the Vikings has, generally, changed that perception (but not completely). With Keenum under center, the Vikings finished 13-3 and clinched the NFC North Division. Keenum finished the season having thrown for 3,547 yards, 22 touchdowns and 7 interceptions with a passer rating of 98.3.

A lot of attention will be paid to Keenum but he may only be as good as the Offensive Line allows him to be. It feels like they haven’t done quite enough to address the O-line issues in the offseason. The only position they really addressed, with long term effect, is Right Tackle where Jared Veldheer should supplant Menelik Watson. Veldheer, once, was seen as an exceptional Left Tackle but, since leaving the Raiders, he has struggled with injury and poor form with the Cardinals. It will be interesting to see whether this is an upgrade at all.

The Broncos are hoping that Royce Freeman, their 3rd round pick, is able to address their running back depth (or lack of it) after losing CJ Anderson in free agency. Freeman is a talented player who should see lots of early carries. Freeman and Devontae Booker will have all eyes on them as the Broncos try to establish a run game in 2018. I believe we may see Freeman with some of the highest rushing stats amongst rookie backs this year.

The receiving room is solid with Thomas still there in 2018. By adding Courtland Sutton, in round 2, and DaeSean Hamilton, in round 4, the Broncos have addressed depth at the position and have two talented receivers who could push for snaps early on. Sutton is a big bodied guy who could/should have an impact as a red zone threat. Emanuel Sanders remains with the team and the Broncos would like to see the return of the dynamic player we have seen in the past. The Tight End position was barely addressed and will another week point on offense.

There isn’t a great deal to say about the Broncos defense as we expect to see more of the same in 2018. The Broncos have added talent in all areas of the defense with Bradley Chubb as the, potentially, exceptional addition. The Broncos had to focus on picking a good cornerback in the draft, after losing Aqib Talib, and I truly believe they did that with Yiadom. Yiadom will take time to adjust to the NFL but his upside is immense.

All in all, the Broncos have done what they needed to do this off-season. They have addressed areas of need, they have brought back guys they believe in and they have drafted well at positions both with and without much depth. The Broncos have talented starters, as well as talented back-ups. With Keenum under center for an entire year, we see more stability this year than we have done previously.

Bottom Line

The Broncos will hope for more than a simple improvement in the number of wins they achieve in 2018. It’s hard to know what the goal would actually be as a playoff berth in a division with the Chiefs and the Chargers seems unlikely at this point. The Broncos would like nothing more than to play spoiler in their division and they will target the games against their rivals as much as they have ever done before.

Vance Joseph could have lost his job after his first year but he gets another chance. If he jumps off to a good start, in 2018, then confidence could grow but, equally, a poor start could lead to a freefall and Joseph’s inevitable departure. Offensively, it’s hard to see how the Broncos can put up 20-30 points per game but defensively they could easily stop teams scoring more than 10.

Written by James Howell, NFL Analyst, Denver Broncos