By: Andy Davies

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

When the Denver Broncos fired head coach Vic Fangio, it was deemed that they were just a quarterback away from being contenders.

And then the Broncos made moves. Nathaniel Hackett was hired, after a spell as the Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator. Not long after that appointment, the team went big in their search for a new quarterback. They traded a 2022 and 2023 first-round and second-round pick as well as a fifth round from this year and gave away Drew Lock, Noah Fant and Shelby Harris in exchange for Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and a fourth-round pick.

This was supposed to be the answer. However, so far it has been far from that.

The Broncos have lost their last two games and currently sit at 2-3 after their first five games with their new head coach and quarterback duo. Neither has set the world alight.

In five starts, Wilson has thrown for 1,254 yards, just four touchdowns and three interceptions. This would have projected to finish the season with 4,264 yards, 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Whilst those projected yards would actually be a career best, it would be an all-time career low in touchdown passes, six less than his current worst in 2014. He would only have four seasons with more interceptions than nine. 

Russell Wilson is said to have requested the trade, and many felt Pete Carroll’s run-first offense was holding him back. However, all Wilson has shown us in 2022 is that perhaps Carroll was doing this for a reason.

Against the Colts, Wilson threw an awful interception and despite having 274 passing yards, he threw for zero touchdowns and two interceptions. With the exception of one great run and one great pass, Russ had no moments of excellence. He was incapable of getting it done in the red zone, seemed to force his passes to his target men, and often missed several open receivers.

Hackett came in as an offensive guy, one that worked with the current back-to-back MVP. Russ was meant to be allowed to cook, presumably one of the reasons if not the main one for Wilson agreeing to join the Broncos. With Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, and Tim Patrick, he was not short of receiving options. Patrick may have suffered a season-ending injury prior to Week One, but the team still has K.J. Hamler and Albert Okwuegbunam.

His ability to just throw it without properly looking through his reads may have been disguised in recent years due to D.K. Metcalf being the closest thing to Calvin Johnson we have seen since the Hall of Famer retired. Neither Jeudy, Sutton and Hamler have the strength and hands of Metcalf. 

Hackett deserves some portion of the blame, with his questionable play calling and poor time management. He could well be one and done as a head coach for the Broncos. His time so far reminiscent of Adam Gase, a star quarterback glossing over coaching deficiencies. However, he is not the one out there missing open players, making bad throws, and seeming scared to get hit. So far, Wilson looks to have made no difference. With the number of draft picks given up and the long term multi-million-dollar extension given to him, this trade so far looks to be one the team may regret.

Let’s not forget that Wilson still has to play the Chargers and Chiefs each twice.

Granted, a new head coach who actually knows what they are doing may be the difference they need and not every quarterback can do what Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford did on new teams.

Despite this, should Wilson play like this for the rest of 2022 and beyond this trade could be one that potentially affects the team long-term.

The post You Let Russ Cook, Everyone Gets Food Poisoning appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jake Rajala

The fantasy football landscape is heating up as Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season approaches. With that said, I’m going to discuss the underrated wide receiver position and untwine seven fantasy WR sleepers heading into the 2022 season.

KJ Hamler

As widely enunciated, the Denver Broncos WR Tim Patrick is out for the season with an ACL injury. I certainly foresee KJ Hamler stepping up to the plate at the Broncos WR3 spot. PFF predicts that Hamler will be an “elite deep threat” with Russell Wilson in the upcoming season. Hamler ousted 381 receiving yards and 3 TDs in his rookie campaign, but he suffered a season-ending ACL injury after a Week 3 victory in 2021. He is being drafted as the WR99, but he should absolutely keep climbing the ladder.

Isaiah McKenzie

The Bills WR Isaiah McKenzie is looking to shine in the Cole Beasley-less WR room. Per Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic, McKenzie is the strong favorite to be the Bills top slot WR to start the 2022 season. Matt Warren of Buffalo Rumblings noted that McKenzie is the biggest standout of the first half of the Bills training camp. McKenzie notched a career-high five receiving TDs in 2020.

Tyler Boyd

The Cincinnati Bengals WR3 Tyler Boyd may be in the shadow of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but he still has a seat with the loaded Cincinnati Bengals offense. Boyd has recorded 800+ yds in each of the past four seasons. Furthermore, he has ousted 90+ targets in each of the prior four seasons. He is being drafted as WR51, but his experience and role with an improved Joe Burrow via improved pass protection should allow him to shine in 2022.

Sammy Watkins

Christian Watson may have sky-high potential, but let’s not forget about the explosive Sammy Watkins. He has certainly shined in training camp, to say the least. Per Packers.com, Watkins stated, “I feel like I have stacked good days on top of good days, but at the same time, I’m not there. I can’t get complacent. I’ve still got to be humble, I’ve still got to understand that I’m not there mentally.” Watkins might be a bit of a deep sleeper, but I expect him to really defy expectations with Aaron Rodgers.

Quez Watkins

The Philadelphia Eagles may have brought in the shiny, gifted WR A.J. Brown to pair with the stud wideout DeVonta Smith. However, let’s not forget that the Eagles have an up-and-coming WR in Quez Watkins. He recorded 647 yards in 2021 (including a miraculous 91-yard TD reception). He has repeatedly flashed as a superb deep-threat WR this summer.

The post 5 Fantasy WR sleepers in 2022 appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jake Rajala

It’s almost time for football fans to listen to a Mile High in Denver & then watch the Broncos compete in-between the white lines. The Russell Wilson-led Denver Broncos recently released their first depth chart. With that stated, I’m going to simply untwine five takeaways from Broncos first depth chart.

Malik Reed

The Broncos will anticipate a bounce-back season from Bradley Chubb, but they will still need more pass rush hunters to shine in 2022. The Broncos drafted Nik Bonitto in the second round of the 2022 draft and they also inked Randy Gregory in free agency (9.5 sacks in the past two seasons combined). It’s still important to not forget about Malik Reed, who has ousted 13 sacks in the past two seasons combined. Reed is slotted ahead of the rook Nik Bonnito and an injured Randy Gregory at the moment. Reed has the golden opportunity to prove that he requires a role (assumably behind Gregory) in 2022.

KJ Hamler

The Broncos WR KJ Hamler has demanded quite a few eyes after the Tim Patrick injury. He is being leaned on as a starter across from Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton. He registered 381 yds in 2020 and then 74 yds in 2021, but he will certainly look to have a career season in 2022. PFF recently predicted that Hamler will be an elite deep threat in 2022.

Josh Johnson

The QB2 on the Broncos depth chart is none other than Josh Johnson. The hardcore video gamer threw 2 TDs to 1 int in 2021. He returned to Denver on a one-year deal worth $1.2 million dollars this off-season.

D.J. Jones

The Broncos will expect superb efforts from starting DT D.J. Jones moving forward. Jones was brought over from San Francisco – as he garnered two sacks, 10 TFLs, 3 QB hits, and 56 combined tackles last season. He is undoubtedly one of the biggest x-factors on the Broncos defense in my opinion.

Montrell Washington

The explosive rookie Montrell Washington (who has flashed in training camp) is expected to shine in unique ways moving forward. He is pegged in as the starting KR/PR at the moment. The Broncos ranked 32nd in KR last season, so they will clearly expect Montrell to jolt their special teams unit moving forward.

The post 5 takeaways from the Denver Broncos depth chart appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jake Rajala

The Denver Broncos have their veteran wide receiver Courtland Sutton, the third-year WR Jerry Jeudy, and the underrated Tim Patrick. Sutton recorded 72 receptions, 1,112 receiving yards, and six touchdown receptions in 2019 – as he earned a Pro Bowl nod. Unfortunately, he suffered a torn ACL and missed 15 games in 2020. Sutton returned healthy and reliable in 2021, but he wasn’t an impressive WR with 776 yards and 2 touchdowns (with a mediocre QB display by Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock in three games).

Sutton will certainly expect Jeudy to be a rock-star WR that could potentially outplay him, despite the Bama WR having a sophomore slump (467 yards and 0 TDs). Jon Heath of Broncos Wire believes Wilson-Jeudy is the second-best new QB-WR duo. Perhaps Jeudy’s superb deep route running can finally be utilized to its fullest ability with Russell Wilson.

Outside of the big two WRs in Denver, the Broncos will anticipate play-making ability from the very underrated Tim Patrick. The Broncos WR3 quietly has 730+ yards in each of the past two seasons. Conor Orr from Sports Illustrated pegged Patrick as the most underrated player on the Broncos. Orr believes that Patrick’s early chemistry with Wilson is inspiring for the future.

After the Broncos big three weapons at WR, they have KJ Hamler and Kendall Hinton. Of course, Hamler played in only three games last season – as he tore his ACL. Hamler recorded 30 receptions and 381 yds in his rookie season. Hinton had 175 yds and 15 receptions last season. Let’s not forget about a key non-WR-catching weapon in Noah Fant – who is looking to have a career season in 2022 after unleashing 670 yds and 4 touchdowns a season ago. It’s safe to say that Russell Wilson is a darkhorse MVP candidate with his toys in Denver.

The post Denver Broncos wide receiver outlook right now appeared first on Pro Football Mania.