Image Credit (Ron Chenoy/USA Today Sports)
Written by: Nicholas Mullick Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-mullick-354076184/
With Training Camp about to start for the NFL in a few weeks, there are questions that follow each team. Like I did with the Falcons, I will be doing the Top 5 Biggest questions for every team heading into Training Camp. Next up is the Denver Broncos who originally had the 9th Overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, until they traded it to the Seattle Seahawks in order to acquire QB Russell Wilson.
1. Is Russell Wilson the last piece of the puzzle for the Broncos offense?
Let's be real the Broncos absolutely got an upgrade at the QB position. Teddy Bridgewater is a solid QB, but can’t stay healthy and Drew Lock is a scrub. The offense was actually solid last season with the inconsistency at QB. So it was no surprise that the Broncos decided to make a trade and acquire Wilson. The question is if Wilson can be the same player he was in Seattle before the injuries occurred. Honestly, Wilson was on the decline as he did not look right the past few seasons. Hopefully, Wilson just needed a change of environment and can perform well in Denver. If he does not then there are a lot of issues with the Broncos than originally thought.
2. Who will be the #3 receiver on this team?
I think it is clear that Wilson is being surrounded by a ton of receivers. Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy are the clear number 1 and 2 receivers. But with the Broncos having a ton of depth at receiver and it got me thinking about who could get the #3 receiver role. Here are the many candidates. Tim Patrick had a sneakily good season last year but can be inconsistent at times. Maybe with an upgrade at QB, he can impress more. Seth Williams did not do much last year but has an opportunity to impress. KJ Hamler showed potential the past few years but got hurt last season. Kendall Hinton is most remembered as the emergency quarterback when all of the Broncos QBs were on the Covid list. Hinton did not impress as a receiver. The Broncos used a draft pick on Montrell Washington who will mainly be a special teams player. Travis Fulgham is terrible and I doubt he sticks on the roster unless he impresses. It will be interesting to see what happens in this positional battle.
3. Who will replace Noah Fant at Tight End?
In the Russell Wilson trade one of the players, the Broncos had to trade was Noah Fant. It sucks losing Fant because he showed promise the past few seasons. It will be worth it due to the upgrade at the QB position. So with Fant gone, who are the options at Tight End to replace him. Well, once the trade got announced many assumed that Albert Okwuegbunam would be the guy. I would believe it, but he has not been able to stay healthy. The Broncos drafted Greg Dulcich in the 3rd round 80th overall. Eric Tomlinson and Eric Saubert have both mainly been journeymen blocking tight ends. I think it is safe to say that the TE position is still wide open.
4. Do the Broncos have a replacement for DL Shelby Harris?
Shelby Harris was one of the other players that was traded in order for them to acquire QB Russell Wilson. The Broncos were likely going to cut him due to salary reasons due to him being 30 years old, but he was a solid part of Denver's defense. He was a player you can place at nose tackle and can be utilized as a rotational pass rusher. Now with him gone, who will the Broncos replace him with.
5. Can Josey Jewell perform well coming off a Torn Pectoral?
There are not a lot of holes on the Denver Broncos on defense. One issue I could see as a problem is the interior linebacker core. But it would make my confidence go up if Josey Jewell can perform as he did in the 2020 NFL Season. He was a super underrated piece to that defense as in 2020 he had 113 tackles, 2 sacks, and 4 pass deflections. He was hyped as being a big part of the linebacker core, but he suffered a Torn Pec and was out for the rest of the season. The inside linebackers were a weakness last season and they had to make a trade to acquire Kenny Young. Hopefully, the Jewell can perform well because it is hard to come back from a Torn Pec and they don’t have depth at that position.