By: Jake Rajala

The Denver Broncos added an infinity stone with the addition of Russell Wilson this off-season. Nonetheless, it won’t be easy for the Broncos to stand out in the wild AFC West. With that enunciated, I’m going to untwine the three biggest obstacles for the Broncos in 2022.

Pass protection

The Broncos have sexy talent at WR (Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, Tim Patrick) and even RB (Javonte Williams, Melvin Gordon) for Wilson. Although, it will be vital that Wilson can stay clean in the pocket and properly utilize his talented arsenal. The Broncos exactly don’t have the most impressive pass protection. FTN Fantasy ranked the Broncos OL as the 17th best OL unit in the NFL. Most importantly, they will need their RT to be potent against elite edge rushers in the AFC West and the rest of the NFL. Billy Turner, who was ranked as PFF’s 50th best tackle last season, will need to hold his ground for the talented Broncos offense in 2022.

Randy Gregory

It would be an understatement to say that Randy Gregory is a gifted pass rusher. For example, here is a clip of how explosive the former Boys pass rusher is:

Although, the well-paid Broncos edge rusher has been hit or miss in his career. He unleashed six sacks and 17 QB hits in 11 games last season. Although, he only unveiled 3.5 sacks in 2020 and one sack from 2015 and 2016 combined. It’s vital that he can have a consistent motor and stay healthy.

Las Vegas Raiders

There is no secret that the Broncos compete in the most difficult NFL division (AFC West). I believe the Broncos should feel confident about facing the Tyreek Hill-less (and Honey Badger-less) Chiefs. Although, they will need to have a plan for Derek Carr and the Las Vegas Raiders. LV swept the Broncos last season and it’s safe to say that the Raiders improved their offensive firepower with the addition of Davante Adams. The Goliath-like Broncos squad can’t afford to let the David-like Raiders team edge them out twice next season.

The post 3 biggest obstacles for the Broncos in 2022 appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jake Rajala

The Denver Broncos transitioned from a mediocre AFC team to a Russell Wilson-led Super Bowl favorite this off-season. Wilson is out of the wretched Seahawks island and he’s hungry for his second Super Bowl ring in Denver. With that said, I’m going to simply outline three reasons why the Denver Broncos could reach Super Bowl LVII.

The Broncos depth on offense

It’s obvious that Courtland Sutton and second-year RB Javonte Williams are expected to be superb contributors in 2022. Although, it should also be noted that the Broncos also carry tremendous depth at RB and WR. Melvin Gordon is an excellent 1B at RB, while Tim Patrick is a sleeper WR3 option. Patrick has 730+ yards without Wilson in each of the past two seasons without a quality QB. I expect him to be one of the breakout AFC WRs this season.

Strength of schedule

The Broncos might play in the wild AFC West, but they actually carry the 15th most difficult schedule next season. Meanwhile, the reigning Super Bowl Champions (LA Rams) have the most challenging schedule in 2022. The Broncos should feel ecstatic about facing a modest slate of opponents and even the Tyreek Hill-less Chiefs twice in the regular season. The Broncos also have the easiest strength of schedule among all AFC West squads.

Improved pass rush

Denver and Von Miller didn’t reunite this off-season, but the Broncos still have excellent horses at their edge-rushing spots moving forward. Bradley Chubb will return healthy (missed 10 games in 2021) and they expect a lot of production from the new speed rusher Randy Gregory, as well. The Broncos flexed the eighth-best pass defense last, but they could make more magic with their shiny, insanely athletic pass-rushing duo.

The post 3 reasons why the Denver Broncos could really play in Super Bowl LVII appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jake Rajala

The wild AFC West has been on fire this offseason and it doesn’t appear the AFC West general managers will hop off the bull anytime soon. The AFC West has welcomed the arrival of Russell Wilson, Khalil Mack, J.C. Jackson, Chandler Jones, Davante Adams, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and it really appears the AFC’s top division could feature four playoff squads next season.

The AFC West is utterly competitive, but there is a strong probability that a team not named Kansas City (also known as the six-time reigning AFC West champions) will be crowned the AFC West winner next season. Matter, in fact, I believe the favorite to win the gutsy AFC West division in 2022 is the team residing in Denver. With that said, here are a few reasons why I firmly believe the Denver Broncos are the AFC West favorites in 2022.

• Broncos WR trio

I don’t only love Russell Wilson’s mobility combined with Javonte Williams in the backfield, but I like Wilson’s outlook as a pocket passer with Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, and Tim Patrick. The Broncos carry three wideouts that have the potential to unveil 1,000+ receiving yards in a season. After the Kansas City Chiefs shipped out Tyreek Hill, the Broncos have the best WR group in the division.

Wilson may finish fourth in passing yards in his division, but I believe his WR trio will help him be efficient, throw 30+ passing touchdowns, and be clutch in 2-minute situations. Justin Herbert could be a stat machine for the second year in a row, but he clearly needs to work on turning having fewer turnovers (15 interceptions last season). I expect Derek Carr to improve with Davante Adams in his arsenal, but I am more fascinated by the Broncos WR unit with Wilson.

• Demise of the Chiefs

The Chiefs have made horrid personal decisions in the past few years. I didn’t like the draft selection of Clyde Edwards-Helaire (after they asked Mahomes for his opinion) and then they recently traded away Tyreek Hill. Furthermore, the Chiefs appear to be losing their second-best defender in the Honey Badger this offseason.

The Chiefs lost a lot of their mojo this offseason and it will be incredibly hard for them to bully the AFC West for another season. In particular, the Broncos were swept by the Chiefs in 2021. I expect the Broncos to likely flip that script in 2022.

• The rise of Randy Gregory

The Denver Broncos clearly had an elite defense in the second half of 2021. Although, they were missing one premier player at a key position: edge rusher. The Broncos were missing Von Miller after he was shipped out of town. They did a tremendous job this offseason by signing Randy Gregory.

The former speed rusher for the Cowboys had six sacks, 17 QB hits, in 12 games last season. The Broncos made a wise choice to bring a talented pass rusher coming off a career season versus outbidding other teams for the likes of the soon-to-be 33-year-old Von Miller and 32-year-old Chandler Jones. Gregory can likely have a more career production with the Broncos and Wilson on a cheaper contract than Miller or Jones in my opinion.

The post 3 reasons why the Broncos are AFC West favorites appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Khari Demos

And just like that, the AFC West might be the best division in the NFL. I mean, maybe even ever. Just look at how deep the division is at quarterback alone.

Absolute superstars, Pro Bowlers, and dare I say multiple Hall of Fame-level players. Russell Wilson was brought in to revive the Broncos. Justin Herbert seems poised to take the crown with the Chargers. Patrick Mahomes has had it since starting in 2018. And don’t forget the tough-as-nails Derek Carr, who just got his best friend to join him in supreme wideout Davante Adams.

So the only thing to do was to build elite pass-rushing units to stop them. First LA traded for 2016 Defensive Player of the Year Khalil Mack. Then Denver stole away Randy Gregory from the Cowboys. KC was able to bring back Frank Clark to play next to three-time Pro Bowler Chris Jones. Then it was Chandler Jones, as he joined the silver and black in Las Vegas ”” just days after the Raiders inked Maxx Crosby to a $94 million extension.

Things got spooky there over night. There are so many names of note here and they all should be feared. But who has the best duo to get after the QB? Here’s how I’ve got them ranked:

4. Denver Broncos

While I do like Gregory and all the talent he possesses, I’m not too sure if his $70 million price tag isn’t a little rich. In five seasons played (across seven years, due to suspensions), the Nebraska product has never topped more than six sacks in a season. In 2021, he had career-highs with 17 QB hits and 29 total pressures.

I know stats don’t mean everything, but it’s hard to ignore Gregory’s lack thereof. He might be more of a presence than the numbers would show, but he also should be producing similarly to players in his pay range. Gregory’s average annual salary ($14 million) is just behind Danielle Hunter ($14.4 million) and right above Yannick Ngakoue ($13 million).

Ngakoue has had six seasons with eight or more sacks in his career, while Hunter has gone for six or more in each of his six seasons, including three seasons with 12.5 or more. Gregory, on the other hand, tied a career-best with six last season. Gregory could argue for being a more complete player than Ngakoue, but he has not been nearly as consistent as Hunter, even after he missed 10 games last season.

Now Gregory’s new pass-rushing partner, Bradley Chubb, is an extremely talented player in his own right. The 2018 first-round pick came out blazing hot to start his career, tallying 12 sacks as a rookie. After tearing his ACL in 2019, Chubb put together a Pro Bowl 2020 campaign where he recorded 7.5 sacks, 19 QB hits and 34 pressures.

But the injury bug bit Chubb again in 2021, as he missed 10 games due to an ankle injury.

As consistent of a performer as the NC State product is on the field, his availability has hampered his status ”” since 2019, Chubb has played 23 games for an average of 7.67 per season. So health permitting, Chubb could build a great tandem with Gregory. But thinking about their lack of availability ”” Gregory has only played in 22 games since 2019 ”” this unit may have the most question marks coming in.

3. Kansas City Chiefs

The KC pass rush starts and ends with Jones, as he’s posted four straight seasons at 7.5 sacks or more. In fact, amongst all players since 2018, the three-time All-Pro ranks fourth in the NFL in terms of sacks. Jones’ 41 trail only Aaron Donald (59), Myles Garrett (51.5), and Cameron Jordan (47.5) in that span.

That type of production is unique, especially for a defensive tackle. The former Mississippi State Bulldog only trails Donald in terms of sacks from players at the position since ’18. Jones is also the king of pushing the pocket from the interior ”” not only does he have 29 career pass deflections, Jones has totaled 154 pressures since 2018 as well.

But as a DT, Jones needed a formidable counterpart with him on the edge. Enter Clark, as he’s made three consecutive Pro Bowls since coming in from Seattle. Now he may not have the sack totals (18.5 since 2019), but his pressure rates overall are tremendously high.

With 46 QB hits over the past three seasons, Clark has also compiled 81 total pressures in that stretch. But the Michigan product really turned up the heat in postseason play ”” while with the Chiefs, Clark recorded a sack in five of his first six playoff games for a total of eight.

But both Clark and Jones had their struggles last postseason, as they both were held sackless in games against the Steelers, Bills, and Bengals. Ironically, Jones has yet to earn a postseason sack throughout his career.

Jones may be one of the top DTs overall in the league, and Clark may be one of the biggest disruptors in the game coming off the edge. But being able to send double teams Jones’ way inside, and Clark’s inability to top double-digit sacks since 2018, this duo does seem to have a bit of a ceiling in terms of being the go-to pass rush in the division.

2. Las Vegas Raiders

Jones and Crosby, in my opinion, bring the most flash as a tandem. Mad Maxx is coming off his first All-Pro selection this season, as he netted eight sacks, 30 QB hits, 19 QB knockdowns, and 42 total pressures.

The 2021 season may have been a coming out party for Crosby nationally, but he’s been superb throughout his Raiders tenure. He’s recorded seven or more sacks in each of his three seasons, as well as 31 or more total pressures in each of those seasons. Not to make light of the situation, but that’s amazing considering the struggles Crosby had with his addiction early on in the league.

For Jones, he was stellar in Arizona once again ”” with 10.5 sacks in 2021, the Syracuse product recorded his seventh double-digit sack season in his career. Jones also added 26 QB hits, 17 QB knockdowns, and 36 total pressures.

Not to hate on a player I have rooted for as a native of Western New York personally (just down the road from his home of Rochester), but Jones’ 2021 season is a bit inflated with the sack numbers. You must remember, the four-time Pro Bowler registered five against the Tennessee Titans in Week 1, so that means he had 5.5 in his final 14 games played.

And that’s not to diminish him for his ’21 season, that’s just the facts of the matter. Maybe this was a byproduct of Haason Reddick joining the Panthers last season. But that’s definitely not a sight you like to see for a player who’s entering the twilight of his career at age 32.

I struggled so much with this one so much because I believe so much in this duo. Ironically, I think what held me back from making them #1 was because I think they’re more complete, dominant edge players, rather than just elite in the pass rush part of things. Yes, they both are known to get after QBs, but I believe their biggest strengths show in the run game as well.

So with that being said, we have our last duo to crown.

1. Los Angeles Chargers

Bosa and Mack have the potential to be one of the greatest edge rushing duos ever. Bosa tallied 10.5 sacks last season, the fourth time he’s gone for double-digits in his six career seasons. The two seasons he didn’t? He was on pace to do so, but he missed 15 total games of action to slow him down a bit (2018, 2020).

The Ohio State product has been downright scary over the past three seasons ”” since 2019, Bosa has posted 54, 45, and 43 pressures in those respective campaigns.

Now comes in Mack, a four-time All-Pro and 2010s All-Decade performer. From 2015-20, Mack had 8.5 sacks or more in each season, including a career-high 15 in 2015. That streak ended in 2021, but the numbers lie a bit on that.

Mack only totaled six sacks on the season, but he did that in only seven games played after going through foot surgery in November. My former UB teammate also wrecked havoc in terms of pressures before the ’21 campaign, posting 47, 45, and 31 in 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively.

The case I really want to make for these two is that they’ve played some of their best ball when they had another formidable rusher with them. Whether it was Mack having 21.5 sacks in 2016 and 2017 playing across from Bruce Irvin, or his 12.5 with a healthy Akiem Hicks inside in Chicago in 2018, as well as Bosa’s 47.5 sacks in his first five seasons playing the opposite side of Melvin Ingram, the numbers bear proof.

So I’m taking the tandem that has a former NFL DPOY and has combined for 10 Pro Bowl selections. There’s a lot of different ways you can look at this argument, but Mack and Bosa seem to be just a notch above when it comes to getting after QBs, in my opinion.

But above all, we get to watch them all chase Russ, Herbert, Carr, and Mahomes all season. Man oh man, get your popcorn ready.

The post Ranking the pass rushing duos in the AFC West appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: J. A. Massey

Beating a team led by Tom Brady has been a tall order for teams over the last twenty years. Brady has a record of 230-69 in the regular season, and he has been a part of seven Super Bowl winning Championship teams. So what does the Dallas Cowboys defense have to do to give their team a chance to win on Thursday night? The answer is pretty simple… Make his life miserable. Simple to say, not so simple in reality.

              To make his life miserable, you need to put him under pressure and keep him there. This is what it took to beat Brady in New England, but is it the same for beating Brady in Tampa Bay? Let’s look at how he performed under pressure last season. His completion percentage was 71.7% when he wasn’t under pressure in the regular season, but it dropped to 43.8% when pressured. According to Pro Football Focus, he averaged 3.1 fewer yards per attempt under pressure than when he was in a clean pocket, which was the seventh-largest drop in the league last year. He was one of only four quarterbacks to see his QB rating decline by more than 60 points when under pressure. Pretty simple right? Not so fast, because Tampa Bay’s offensive line is excellent, Brady only faced pressure on 17.2% of his throw in 2020. So how is Dallas going to accomplish this feat?

              The answer to that question involves many factors and a lot of things going right on Thursday night. The first factor will be whether the Cowboys can get a consistent push along the interior of the defensive line. Follow that up with the emergence of defensive end Randy Gregory and whether he can show he has finally put it all together, rookie LB Micah Parson, and finally Dan Quinn and his defensive staff. Put that all together, and you might have something cooking.

              The Cowboys had one of the worst interior defensive lines last year, and they made sure to address it during the offseason. They brought in defensive tackles Carlos Watkins and Brent Urban and drafted Osa Odighizuwa in the third round. While starting DT Neville Gallimore is injured and will miss the game; Osa has stood out in his place, providing quality reps and a push from the center of the line. Brent Urban, more known as a run stopper (PFF’s third highest-rated run defender for interior DL in 2020), has surprisingly been pushing the pocket in camp and preseason. Even if they cannot generate direct pressure on Brady in the game, it will be a massive upgrade for the interior defensive line not to be pushed 5-10 yards downfield, allowing the QB a pocket to escape into when the rush comes from the outside.

              Speaking of the rush from that outside, that brings us to Randy Gregory. The Cowboys need him to have an excellent game opposite of DeMarcus Lawrence. Lawrence has consistently been one of the best pass rushers in the NFL (despite what the sack numbers will tell you), and having a consistent rusher opposite of him will only make the both of them better. Gregory has bulked up this year and has been a standout in camp, many calling him the best player all camp for the Cowboys. That needs to translate to the field on Thursday with consistent pressure on Brady all night.

              The next factor will be the Cowboys’ first-round pick in this year’s draft, Micah Parsons, and his unique ability to line up just about anywhere and make a play on the field. So far, we have seen him line up at LB, DE, and even at NT. In each position, he has shown an ability to get to the ball carrier and make a play, whether running with a wide receiver in coverage or beating a double team block to pressure the QB. The Cowboys would be wise to bring Parsons as an extra rusher early and often against Brady.

              Lastly, the addition of Dan Quinn and his defensive staff should be a massive upgrade over the disaster that was Mike Nolan last season. The Cowboys’ defense is noticeably faster on the field, which will be crucial in the game against a skilled Tampa Bay offense. The Cowboys blitzed on 46.4% of pass plays during the preseason, which is a considerable upgrade and would have been the highest blitz rate in the NFL last season. While a higher blitz rate does not guarantee pressure on the QB, a higher rate can mask predictability, something the Cowboys’ defense struggled with the previous season. I don’t expect the blitz rate to continue to be that high, but it does show the Cowboys’ willingness to bring the extra man if they feel it’s warranted this season.

The Cowboys’ defense will have their hands full on Thursday night with Tom Brady and his high-powered offense. On paper, it is a mismatch in favor of Tampa Bay, and most expect Brady to have his way. However, don’t dismiss this Cowboy’s defense just yet due to the shortcomings of last season. If these ingredients mix just right and the stars align, they might be able to put Tom Brady in the pressure cooker and make it a miserable night.

The post How the Cowboys defense can make life miserable for Tom Brady appeared first on Pro Football Mania.