By: Jordan Anders

The Denver Broncos are coming off their third straight win to open up the 2021 season, which hasn’t happened since 2016. Although the offense has played a big role in scoring, the defense has been quietly making its mark through shutting down opposing offenses and sealing victories.

This Broncos defense first showed their strength in pre-season allowing zero touchdowns from their opponents (the Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Vikings, and Seattle Seahawks). Last season, the Broncos only recorded 16 takeaways, as opposed to the past three weeks, the Broncos defense has recorded four interceptions and a fumble recovery.

Recapping the Broncos Defense the past 3 weeks

In week one against the New York Giants, the Broncos defense held quarterback Daniel Jones to 267 yards and 1 passing touchdown. The Giants’ offense was only able to put up 13 points on the board in comparison to the Broncos’ 27 points. Von Miller contributed by adding two quarterback sacks early in the game setting the tone.

Going into this season, the one main weakness in the Broncos’ defense was shutting down opposing teams’ run game. They certainly showed improvement in week one by holding Giants’ running back Shaquon Barkley to only 26 yards.

The most important stat however is in the first three games, the Broncos defense has allowed their opponent into the Red Zone just two times. These both came during the Giants game, one ending in a turnover on downs and one a touchdown. Since then, the Broncos’ defense has kept their opponent out of the Red Zone. This had led to the Broncos being ranked first in Red Zone defensive percentage through the first three weeks.

In week two, the Broncos were on the road again, this time traveling to Jacksonville to face rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Broncos safety Kareem Jackson and rookie cornerback Patrick Surtain recorded the first two interceptions of the season for the Denver defense during the game.

Jaguars’ offense only scored once as the Broncos’ defense held Trevor Lawrence to 118 yards and a 42% completion rate while holding Jacksonville’s rushing offense to just 75 yards. At this point, the Broncos’ defense were still not being underrated, that is until the defense led by star safety Justin Simmons would lead the way to a shutout the next week.

This past week, the Broncos were home to a packed crowd for the first time in two years and had the highest-attended NFL game on Sunday. Denver destroyed the New York Jets in a 26-0 shutout, their biggest shutout since 2005 where they beat the Jets 27-0. Broncos’ defense held quarterback Zach Wilson and the Jets to 162 total yards on 3.1 yards per play. On top of that, they kept the Jets out of the Red Zone the entire game, only allowing 11 first downs.

To add salt to injury, Broncos’ star safety Justin Simmons picked off Zach Wilson for his first interception of the season, shortly after rookie safety Caden Sterns would get his first NFL interception sealing the victory. The Broncos’ secondary weren’t the only ones who came to play on the Broncos’ defense, however. Von Miller, Shelby Harris, Malik Reed, and Alexander Johnson (2.0) all recorded sacks on Zach Wilson, four sacks coming from the first half alone.

Through the first three games, opposing quarterbacks are averaging 181.6 yards, a 53.4 completion %, .67 touchdowns, 1.3 interceptions, 2.67 sacks, and a 57.8 passer rating against the Broncos defense. Denver’s defense has given up 8.7 points per game which is the best in the NFL right now.

After three weeks, the Broncos have the number one ranked defense in the NFL. Von Miller became the AFC defensive player of the month for September with 8 tackles, 4 sacks, and 6 tackles for loss (most in the NFL) and currently sits at 23rd on the NFL’s all-time sack list. Patrick Surtain has a 10.7 passer rating allowed in man coverage, in other words, you’d have a higher passer rating if you threw the ball in the dirt every play (39.6), per PFF.

The Broncos defense have made a strong resumé so far this season, they rank fourth overall in defense and are first in coverage according to PFF rankings. The real test will come this week as they take on the offense-heavy Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson in their fourth game of the season.

The Broncos are sitting favorite for the game at a -1.5 spread and the Ravens are winless as 1.5-point underdogs or more on the road. Sunday’s game will be a battle between one of the league’s best offenses and arguably the best defense in the league.

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By: Jordan Anders

The Super Bowl 50 MVP and eight-time pro bowler Von Miller is back and is already making a case for himself for defensive player of the year. Miller saw no real NFL action in over 600 days as he suffered a season-ending foot injury days before last season’s opener. This year, however, he is back and not only ready to make it back to the playoffs but make himself a prime candidate for the Associated Press NFL DPOY award.

Last week, the Denver Broncos opened up their season at MetLife Stadium to face the Giants where Von Miller would get his first start in nearly two years. Right off the bat, Miller looked like his old self with an early quarterback sack on Daniel Jones. With that sack, Von Miller entered the top 25 in NFL history in career sacks, he is currently sitting at #24 with 108.

Von Miller finished his first game back with three quarterback hits, three tackles for loss, and two sacks. These numbers, however, don’t go to show the impact Miller had on the game. With Miller putting pressure on quarterback Daniel Jones, Jones was only able to make one passing touchdown the entire game as well as a 59% completion rate.

Lots of minor details in Miller’s game are being overlooked since his injury last season, Pro Football Focus doesn’t even have Von Miller in their top 10 edge rushers for this season. Let’s not forget, Von Miller missed an entire season and is still the number one ranked active NFL sack leader. That’s not all, Von Miller is also the number one active player with the most seasons recording a 90+ PFF Grade.

Von Miller has been a one-of-a-kind player since he was drafted by the Denver Broncos in 2011 and continues to prove he is one of the best edge rushers in the game and one of the top defensive players. His comeback season this year is a solid campaign for him to win Defensive Player of the Year if he keeps doing what he’s doing, that is sacking quarterbacks and putting pressure on their offense.

The only downside is his competition. His competition: 3x DPOY award winner Aaron Donald, defensive tackle for the Los Angeles Rams. Aaron Donald is one of the best in the game and there’s no arguing that, odds have him as a top favorite for this year’s award and that likely won’t change. Von Miller has his work cut out for him as he is also going against Browns’ edge rusher Myles Garrett, Steelers’ linebacker T.J. Watt, and Washington’s defensive end Chase Young.

Von Miller in terms of the Defensive Player of the year award is very underrated and has been for years. This year he isn’t even in the top 20 for player’s odds of winning the award. Right now, he is being overlooked but as the season goes on it shouldn’t come as a shock when and if the media recognizes Miller as a legitimate DPOY candidate. Expect the fine wine edge player to keep pace with his competition until the end of the last game of the year.

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By: Jordan Anders

The Denver Broncos open up their regular season at MetLife Stadium to face Daniel Jones and the New York Giants. The last time these two teams faced off was in 2017. At that time, Trevor Siemian was the Broncos starting quarterback and Eli Manning was the face of the Giants franchise. A lot has changed since then, for instance, the Broncos have had nine different starting quarterbacks, not including Teddy Bridgewater who will start this Sunday. As for the Giants, Daniel Jones took over the quarterback job after Eli Manning retired two seasons ago.

One thing that is certain in this game is the Broncos’ secondary won’t come to mess around. Both team’s defenses improved over the off-season. However, with Von Miller back in the lineup for the Broncos, the Giants’ offense will have to put in serious work. The Broncos were the only team this pre-season to not allow a touchdown in any of their three games and that was with most of the starters sidelined.

Von Miller & Bradley Chubb vs Daniel Jones

With the dynamic duo back in action, it could very well be a stressful day for Giants quarterback Daniel Jones. Last season Bradley Chubb had 7.5 sacks and 42 tackles, while eight-time pro-bowler Von Miller is hungry to get back on the field after being injured last season.

With the combination of these two and the Giants O-line who was ranked 31st last year, the majority of them are back this season, it’s not looking good for Danny Dimes. Giants LT Andrew Thomas didn’t only struggle in the regular season last year, but he played poorly against average talent in the pre-season, as well. Expect Miller to show up on the stat sheet.

Saquon Barkley vs Broncos defense

Last year Broncos struggled to shut down ball carriers, as they were ranked 29th. The Broncos gave up a lousy 4.8 yards per carry. With no big changes made to the Broncos’ front seven, the Giants running back Saquon Barkley could have a big comeback game after missing nearly all of last season due to an ACL injury. Barkley in the 2019 season rushed for over 1000 yards, averaging 4.6 yards per attempt. Although, they will have Von Miller and Chubb back (mentioned above).

The Broncos will not only have two star edge players back, but they will be able to load the box more. The Broncos secondary is arguably the best unit in the league. Pro Football Focus ranked the Broncos secondary number one overall.

Teddy Bridgewater vs Giants defense

After being named Broncos starting quarterback roughly two weeks ago in a close competition with Drew Lock, there will be a lot of eyes on Teddy Bridgewater this game. Last year, the Giants pass defense was rated 17th in the league, their rush defense rated 8th only allowing 4.1 yards per carry. On the flip side, Bridgewater has many young offensive weapons on his side including wide receivers Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy who can very well get around defenders and make a play. Teddy can also be efficient in not turning it over against a stingy defense.

Both defenses are brute and both QBs should show modest play, so this game will be a match of who has the better defense, to say the least. Outside of the defense, It will be who has the better WR room. Kenny Golladay to the Giants was a huge bonus to them this off-season. Then Jerry Jeudy will be a healthy improved player for the Broncos. The battle of defenses and splash plays, likely by the two WRs mentioned, will be the ultimate deciding factor in the outcome of this game. Odds are in favor of the Broncos to take this one home as a -2.5 spread favorite.

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By: Jordan Anders

Rookie Patrick Surtain II has been putting the NFL on notice the last two weeks in his first two preseason games with the Denver Broncos. We all knew Surtain was going to be good, but how good and NFL-ready he already was came faster than anyone expected. From training camp to his first NFL debut Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings, Patrick Surtain had been turning heads from the very beginning.

During the Denver Broncos training camp, Surtain not only made an impression on his fellow teammates but head coach Vic Fangio as well. Fangio stated that Patrick was fitting right into the Broncos secondary, which is one of the best in the league. Patrick Surtain got his first pick on day five of practice which would then lead to a real interception during the Vikings game later that week.

The Broncos headed to their first preseason game against the Vikings where Surtain would play 11 coverage snaps. During those coverage snaps, Surtain allowed 0 catches and had a 30-yard pick followed by a touchdown. After the game, Surtain received a 94.5 PFF Grade, the highest of all cornerbacks in Week one. After week two, Patrick Surtain was the second-highest graded defensive rookie so far with a 91.3 Grade overall. Patrick Surtain is the top-graded rookie cornerback vs single coverage.

In the two weeks of preseason, Patrick Surtain was the “highest-graded defensive rookie in the NFL”. There’s already talk about Surtain being a favorite for the Defensive Rookie of the Year and the sports bets can back that up. With the odds changing nearly every day, Patrick Surtain has been a top-five favorite the last two weeks. Over the last week, Patrick Surtain has become one of the most-bet on players for the award this year.

Patrick Surtain will be competing against Cowboys’ rookie Micah Parsons, who is the number one favorite for the award. He will also be competing against other rookies including Kwity Paye, Jaelan Phillips, Jamin Davis, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, and Jaycee Horn. Based on his performances and ratings in the past two weeks, Surtain is already ahead of the pack. It may be late August, but there is no question he will be a stud for the Broncos secondary this season and be a serious candidate for the DROY award.

If Patrick Surtain wins the award, he will join Von Miller and Mike Croel as the only Broncos players to win the award in the 54 years the award has been around. He will also be the first Broncos cornerback to win the award and the third cornerback ever to win the award. Yet, the NFL passing game evolves and CBs truly have had more opportunities to stand out among other defensive positions in recent memory. Two CBs have won the award since 2015: Marcus Peters and Marshon Lattimore. Surtain will have countless chances to prove he’s a talented CB as he faces passing offenses like Kansas City, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles twice each in the season.

It’s clear that Surtain is gifted and up to prove he’s ready to take 2021 by storm. Even the great Broncos CB Champ Bailey has acknowledged an early positive impression of Surtain. When asked about Patrick Surtain, Bailey stated “People are like ”˜Oh, he reminds me of Champ!’ I’m like ”˜hell, he reminds me of me, too!’”

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By: Jordan Anders

The Denver Broncos had their first preseason game on Saturday against the Minnesota Vikings. The Broncos only started two regular-season starters: quarterback Drew Lock and wide receiver KJ Hamler. The Broncos offense started off hot in the first half scoring two touchdowns in the first quarter and defense holding the Vikings to only 6 points at the half. Big plays by the rookies in the second half held the Vikings at 6 points until the end of the game. Broncos won 33-6, all players played a role in them winning however three, in particular, shined this week.

Drew Lock

We have to give credit where it’s due, Drew Lock did not have an easy off-season with new rumors every week of the Broncos looking for a new quarterback. Not a lot of people had faith in the kid after a rough 2020 season, he didn’t let the noise stop him though. He put in the work and it certainly showed in this game. In the first 5 minutes, Drew Lock threw a deep pass up the middle to wide receiver KJ Hamler, 80 yards to be exact for a touchdown. Later that same quarter, Drew Lock had a short pass to Trinity Benson for a touchdown.

Teddy Bridgewater came in to take over after that. Lock finished with 151 yards and 2 touchdowns on just five completions and had 0 interceptions. Overall, it’s looking up for the Broncos’ offense and being able to put this whole “who’s going to be the quarterback?” situation to rest for now. Drew Lock on Saturday got an 84.3 PFF offensive grade and a 153.3 passer rating.

Patrick Surtain II

Patrick Surtain made his rookie debut during the Vikings game on Saturday and he did not disappoint. He played 11 coverage snaps and allowed 0 catches. But that’s not the only thing exciting thing that happened. In the second quarter, Vikings quarterback Jake Browning intended a short pass to Ihmir Smith-Marsette but it was picked off by Surtain at the 30-yard line. Patrick ran it in for a touchdown putting the Broncos up 26-3.

Patrick Surtain received a 94.5 PFF Grade, which was the highest amongst all cornerbacks. After the game, teammate Teddy Bridgewater talked about Surtain and said, “he doesn’t play no games.” Might be too soon to say, but Patrick Surtain is already making a great case for rookie defensive player of the year.

Caden Sterns

With rookie safety Caden Sterns, he was already a great player but he’s also in great hands working with one of the best safeties in the league, Justin Simmons. Sterns played 54 snaps on Saturday, which was the most by any Broncos rookie out there. Caden finished with 6 solo tackles including a big one late in the third quarter.

Vikings quarterback Kellen Mond stepped out of the pocket and passed the ball to an open Whop Philyor, who was looking for his first career NFL pass for a touchdown. Too bad Caden Sterns had other ideas, as he hit Philyor forcing him to drop the ball and Vikings were forced to kick a field goal. Which ended in a turnover on downs and the Vikings would not score again the rest of the game.

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By: Jordan Anders

After 10 days of the Denver Broncos training camp, there have been some clear standout players in practice. The Broncos will lean on star players to compete for glory in the AFC West, but they will need x-factors to eke out big-time victories and ultimately put themselves in a position to earn a fresh playoff birth.

As we know, this is a big year for many Broncos players including Von Miller and Courtland Sutton who were both injured at the start of last season. Others like Safety Justin Simmons, who is coming off his first pro-bowl season, and tackle Garett Bolles, who is also coming off his best season yet. Then you have wide receiver Jerry Jeudy going into his second year and ready to prove the haters wrong. We know who the household names are, but the question asks: who will rise out of the shadow and be a reliable force heading into the season? Well, let’s see who’s surging in the training camp, pre-season period.

3 surprise standouts from Broncos Camp

Patrick Surtain ll

Cornerback Patrick Surtain ll, who the Broncos drafted in the first round this offseason has been fitting in perfectly to the stacked Broncos secondary in camp. Surtain got his first interception in camp on day 5 picking off Drew Lock at the 7-second mark. That’s not all, players and even Coach Vic Fangio have talked very highly of Patrick and how fast he has fit into this Broncos defense.

Teammate Tim Patrick had some big praise for Patrick Surtain after practice, “He’s filled out, and he’s smart. You really don’t expect rookie DBs to know the whole defense already. He’s fitting right in with an already talented defense. It’s remarkable to see. He’s locked me up a couple of times.” Bradley Chubb added that Surtain is “picking up stuff like he’s a vet.”

Caden Sterns

Safety Caden Sterns, who the Broncos also drafted this offseason alongside Patrick Surtain has also been a standout at camp. Caden Sterns was surely going to be great especially learning from one of the best safety duos in the league: Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson.

After the 10th practice, Kareem Jackson spoke very highly of Caden to the media, “Man, Caden been doing some great stuff. He’s picking up the defense really well, he’s spitting out the terminology, he’s getting guys that he’s in with lined up and he’s making a ton of plays.” Even Coach Fangio expressed that Sterns is picking up the defense extremely well and advancing it quicker than your average rookie can at his position.

Jerry Jeudy

This one shouldn’t come as really a surprise if you watched Jeudy last season. All rookies have errors in games as Jeudy struggled with dropped passes last season and received a lot of hate for it. That didn’t stop him though, in camp he’s shown to be one of the best players right now. Jeudy has even stayed after practice to catch a trashcan full of footballs.

On top of that cornerback’s Kyle Fuller and Patrick, Surtain has not had an easy time guarding Jeudy, this comes as no surprise if you’ve seen Jerry Jeudy run routes. Quarterback Drew Lock spoke to the media about Jeudy and expressed, “He is something different. He is making big, big strides.”

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By: Jordan Anders

Vic Fangio will be going into his third year as the Denver Broncos head coach this upcoming season with a record of 12-20. After being a defensive coordinator for the 35 seasons he’s been in the NFL, he just became a first-time head coach in 2019.

After building up a hefty resume, the Denver Broncos brought him in hopes of rebuilding the winning culture. The Broncos have been in a five-year playoff drought and are looking to make the playoffs this season with a healthy roster and a quarterback who is more experienced and that is third-year QB, Drew Lock. The Broncos are more than able to make the playoffs this year with Fangio’s “top defense and ascending offense” but if they don’t, rest assure that Fangio still would have a job here.

Over the last decade, the Broncos have been known for their defense and Fangio has only made that side of the ball better. The Broncos secondary this season has already been top-ranked against the other teams in the league. Lots of time and energy has been put into making his Broncos defense one of the best, some might say it would be silly to let Fangio disown his specialty. However, there is another side of the ball he is responsible for, the offense. If Fangio is the future he has to put the same time and energy into the offense side of the ball because that is where he’s been lacking.

This season is truly going to be very telling on whether or not Fangio will continue being the head coach of the Broncos next season or not. Another season under his belt would build a stronger case on whether his position should be questioned, however, he will be the one in the hot seat this season. He is a very respected coach around the league and no doubt will have a job as a defensive coordinator or another coaching position if the Broncos choose to move on after three years.

Nonetheless, I personally don’t think this would be the logical thing to do, Fangio has worked extremely well to built up our defense, he was given a young and rebuilding offense to work with when he arrived here and it’s looking up. The defense will key in stopping Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes for a decade-plus to come. Broncos management clearly feels strongly about his ability to hold down the defense and help the team push for a Lombardi if they get him a veteran, talented QB with the likes of Aaron Rodgers.

If the Broncos get an improved performance from Drew Lock to allow themselves to compete in most pivotal games, while the defense is elite, the Broncos should keep Vangio and upgrade the QB position for him in 2022. They shouldn’t let Lock’s faith be directly correlated with Fangio’s outlook. If Aaron Rodgers comes to town, Fangio should have a lot less to worry about. But, if the Broncos acquire Rodgers and proceed to struggle, then the Broncos HC should get the Mike McCarthy treatment.

According to rankings from NBC Sports, Vic Fangio came in last for returning AFC coaches and 24th overall out of the 25 returning head coaches in the league. This means one thing: the Broncos will a lot to prove this season. The coaching position is so quick to blame especially when a team like the Broncos who are known to be a winning team has not made a playoff run since their Super Bowl win in 2016. It’s too early to immediately point fingers at the coach when a team is going through a rebuild with a struggling quarterback who has only played 18 games. Needless to say, this season is going to be big not only for Vic Fangio but for the team to fall short or prove the haters and doubters wrong.

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By: Jordan Anders

From his days in Minnesota, to his 5-0 run in New Orleans, to his fresh start in Denver, Teddy Bridgewater’s stats and character have been underlooked. It’s safe to say Teddy Bridgewater is a top backup quarterback who adapts to any environment he is given. Looking outside of last season where he was starting quarterback for the Carolina Panthers and went 4-11 with 15 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, which is arguably his worst season besides his rookie year. However, many are looking too closely at the stats and not his playing style.

It’s obvious over the last six years that Bridgewater is not a franchise quarterback, but a top backup quarterback. CBS Sports ranked him in the top 3 of backup quarterbacks in the league for the 2021-22 season. Teddy Bridgewater, according to reports, has been performing well in the Broncos camps and practices competing with Broncos quarterback Drew Lock. This is one of the reasons Bridgewater is being underlooked, the media is more focused on Drew Lock and how he is performing in practices. Although coaches have made it clear that the starting job is up for grabs, making the two quarterbacks on the same level to compete.

The Broncos quarterback situation is a hot and touchy subject with the media and especially the fans. It seems to be either Drew Lock or in a perfect world, Aaron Rodgers. Many rumors have connected Rodgers to the Broncos if the Packers decide to trade him of course and that has yet to happen. The meter of acquiring Rodgers is slowly fading as the season approaches, as well. Despite the Broncos monitoring the situation, the Packers stated they would not be trading the QB a week ago and the rumors surrounding Rodgers went from wanting the GM out to a “we will see” type of dilemma. There’s still a chance of acquiring Rodgers, but the light is slowly dimming away. This also means Teddy B’s value is more significant as he could see more reps as preseason approaches.

All in all, the two headed QB monster of Lock and Rodgers in the media spotlight has led to Bridgewater being underlooked. It seems many still focus on Bridgewater’s play last season where his team wasn’t necessarily stacked, plus star running back Christian McCaffrey got injured three games into the season.

His previous season in New Orleans was undoubtedly his best season, after quarterback Drew Brees went down, Bridgewater took the Saints on a 5-0 run on a 67.9% completion rate. Compared to last season, his completion rate was nearly 70% but people are so stuck on the team’s record, which is not a quarterback stat. Bridgewater threw for 3733 yards with 15 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. The interceptions are a problem, but it can be worked on and that goes Drew Lock as well who had 15 interceptions last season.

Teddy Bridgewater is the veteran quarterback the Broncos need to add competition to the quarterback room in Denver. With his back-up and starting experience, he can either push Lock to be a better starting quarterback or he may take over the job. The season is still a ways away before coaches can make the call but from what the media has provided us of what is going on in practice, the two are completing and making each other better.

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The Denver Broncos organized team practice activities kicked off on May 24th and concluded June 10th in which they spent ten days of no contact 7-on-7, 9-on-9, and 11-on-11 drills. After OTAs, the team will go to a mandatory minicamp next week then head into summer break. The team will then report back to the Broncos facility to start training camp on July 27th to get ready for preseason. Although OTAs don’t show us everything about a player especially when it’s just drills, lots of news has come out surrounding the Broncos defense and quarterback competition after the last two and a half weeks.

Jerry Jeudy and Teddy Bridgewater connection

During OTAs 7-on-7, second-year wide receiver Jerry Jeudy and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater seemed to be creating chemistry. They made many great connections during the day and a sideline touchdown against the number 2 defense. After the practice, Jeudy talked very highly of Bridgewater to the media stating, “I feel like he’s a great quarterback, he knows how to anticipate. I feel like he’s good at anticipating where players are going to be. I feel like that’s a good thing he does.”

As a veteran quarterback, it has been said Bridgewater is working better with the young offensive weapons and asking them where they want the ball. Drew Lock is still highly considered starting quarterback this season but Bridgewater is working hard to compete for that job. As we know Drew Lock last season had a 57.3 completion percentage, ranked 35th or dead last amongst other starting quarterbacks. On top of that Jeudy had 14 dropped passes last season, second-most in the NFL, the connection between the two was far from pretty. Seeing Bridgewater and Jeudy make a connection during the 10 days of practice does bring some light into what this offense could look like this year.

Kyle Fuller arrives fashionably late

The Broncos picked up cornerback Kyle Fuller in free agency this off-season to add to their already explosive defense. However, Fuller was a no-call no-show during the two weeks of OTAs and head coach Vic Fangio didn’t have an answer to why he was absent when asked by the media. Although OTAs aren’t mandatory, nearly the entire team was there minus a few due to injury or family emergencies. Kyle Fuller did however show up on Monday to practice in which the defense that day did not disappoint.

Fuller joined alongside Justin Simmons, Kareem Jackson, Bryce Callahan, Patrick Surtain, and Caden Sterns just to name a few, and the defense got two turnovers to start practice. Many are comparing this year’s defense to the 2015 “No Fly Zone” defense Denver built that lead to winning Super Bowl 50. With the addition of two-time pro-bowler Kyle Fuller who previously worked with Vic Fangio in Chicago, Denver already has a top-ranked secondary going into this next season. Vic Fangio talked to the media about Kyle Fuller after his first practice as a Denver Bronco, “He should have a very, very fast learning curve,” Fangio said. “There are some things that we’re doing here that we didn’t do [with the Bears] and some things he hasn’t heard in a couple of years. Overall, it should be about as easy as it can be for a new player.”

Comeback Season for Von Miller and Courtland Sutton in full swing

Pro bowlers Von Miller and Courtland Sutton both made a return to practice after both suffering season-ending injuries at the beginning of last season. Having them back and working with the team is big especially since they are key players on and off the field. Both have stated they aren’t satisfied with their standard return and are aiming higher for their big return to the NFL after a year out. Both Miller and Sutton were coming off of pro bowl seasons before being injured but are looking to be better than their best year.

During OTAs, general manager George Paton sat down with the media and stated, “Von looks like he’s in his prime, you watch him at practice ”” they run wind sprints ”” he wins them. He wins them all. He’s 32 years old. He’s a freak, he still looks like it. He can still play, he’s in shape, he’s working hard. I’m excited to see what he can do.” Paton added on about Sutton as well, “Courtland Sutton, I mean, I’ve never seen someone work so hard in rehab,” Paton said. “He’s out there running routes now, he’s almost 100 percent. I felt this team lost a lot when they lost him. On offense, he brings the juice. He’s a competitor. He’s a tough cover. So I think just those two guys and what they bring to the table, that’s a really good start, to get those two guys back.”

The quarterback position still up in the air

Quite frankly the biggest question mark surrounding the Denver Broncos is the quarterback position even though the Broncos have stated multiple time Drew Lock is the guy. They said that and made attempts at Matthew Stafford and almost took Justin Fields in the draft. But with OTAs showing Drew Lock getting the majority of the reps, it’s clear he is the guy. That is until Aaron Rodgers is completely off the table, right?

Although when the media went to sit at OTAs last week they only made sure to report every time Drew Lock threw an interception and not when he connected to his receivers. It wasn’t all ugly or pretty, there is still much work to be put in for Drew to keep the starting quarterback job but he isn’t looking as bad as the media is making it. Bridgewater had a few dropped passes and yet everyone was stuck on Lock. The moral of the story, OTAs were practice without contact, how could you come up with a decision based on those 10 days of practice, you can’t. But you can after minicamp and real mandatory practices start before the first preseason game which is on August 14th against the Minnesota Vikings.

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The Denver Broncos have not had a winning record since they won Super Bowl 50 back in the 2015-2016 season. Since then, they have only tied for second in the AFC West standings with a 7-9 record in 2019. In the last five seasons, the Broncos have gone through nine starting quarterbacks, ten if you include last season where running back Phillip Lindsay started at quarterback against the Saints. Needless to say, the Broncos have struggled to find that missing piece to get the team back into a winning record.

With the Broncos putting faith in quarterback Drew Lock this season, in only his third year, it’s hard to say where Drew can take this team. The hope is he can lead the Broncos to the post-season for the first time in 5 years. This year would be the year to do that, the Broncos this next season have one of the easiest schedules, with only four teams ahead of them. Although the Broncos have one of the easiest schedules, they’ll be playing 20 games in total this regular season, three in pre-season, and 17 in regular-season games.

On top of that, their division rivals, the Kansas City Chiefs have won the division the last five seasons and will likely win it again, and the Chargers and quarterback Justin Herbert aren’t looking too bad after last season and will only continue to get better. We went 1-1 with the Raiders and Chargers last season and the Broncos are definitely looking for a season sweep on both. If the Broncos want to accomplish this, a winning record, and have a chance to make it to the playoffs, they’ll have to put in the work.

Broncos’ ceiling

With a load of weapons in the Broncos offense and a defense similar to the 2015 “No Fly Zone” defense, the Broncos could most definitely go 12-5. The Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, and Kansas City Chiefs will be the Broncos’ biggest threats going into this next season.

The Broncos’ first three games are against the New York Giants, Jacksonville Jaguars, and New York Jets, these first three games will set the tone for the remainder of the season. The Broncos could easily go 3-0, but with Drew Lock throwing only 16 touchdowns last season with 15 interceptions, it’s hard to pinpoint where the Broncos will fall.

Drew Lock has been putting in lots of work this offseason so far, there’s the question that we can make the jump to lead the team, it’s when.

Broncos’ floor

The Broncos have a well-rounded team and without a doubt one of the best secondaries in the league. If the offensive side of the ball falls short, the defense will have to carry. Yet the defense side of the ball can only take you so far.

The floor for the Broncos this season would be 4-13. The Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, Jets, and Jaguars, are the easiest wins on the schedule this season, and if the Broncos can’t make it past these teams it’s gonna be a rough season. The Chargers took massive strides

This is a worst-case scenario besides losing every game but the team is too talented and skilled to lose 17 games. As stated earlier the pre-season games and the first three games into the regular season will set show us how the rest of the season will likely go.

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