One of the hottest teams at the end of the season, the Denver Broncos finished the year 4-1. Drew Lock proved to be the starter in Denver and the team built an offense around him to help; Adding stud rookies Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler to an already exciting group of young guys on the team. They look to make a push for one of the three wild card spots, sitting behind the Super Bowl Champion Chiefs.
Returning Starters
Offense: 8
Defense: 8
Key Additions
WR Jerry Jeudy (Draft)
WR KJ Hamler (Draft)
Lloyd Cushenberry (Draft)
CB AJ Bouye (Trade)
Jurrell Casey (Trade)
Graham Glasglow (FA)
Melvin Gordon (FA)
Denver Broncos Season Outlook
John Elway has done a fantastic job finding supplemental pieces to make a team shine. His biggest issue since the retirement of Peyton Manning was finding a franchise QB. Whether or not Lock is the man of the future, we will find out soon enough. Elway drafted 2 key WRs and found two additional guys to help on the offensive line. He also added another RB in free agency in Melvin Gordon.
I am currently trying to stay objective on this, but I am excited about the Denver Broncos. The swagger Drew Lock brings is unmatched. There are so many weapons for him to throw the ball to, as well as a heavily underrated defense. They should be a lot higher up on this list in my opinion. If everything goes right, you are looking at a 9-7 or 10-6 wildcard team that will be a tough out in the AFC. But of course, a couple things have to go right.
Drew Lock needs to continue to progress as a QB and prove that the last 5 games were not a fluke. The offensive line needs to continue to produce and open up some lanes for Melvin Gordon and Phillip Lindsay. The pass catchers have to separate themselves from the hype and rise above it. And finally, the defense has to keep pace, which I think they will have no problem doing.
The AFC West in no pushover though. They are one of two divisions where you could make a logical case for each team making the playoffs. Divisional games will be a battle and that will ultimately decide where this team ends up this year.
Denver Broncos Win Total
William Hill Sports Book opened with the Broncos win total at 7.5, which is practically free money (knock on wood). See above if you want a good explanation as to why they might finish .500 or better.
Fantasy Player to Watch: Phillip Lindsay
These guys are quite the dynamic group for fantasy ownership. There is about six rosterable guys (Drew Lock, Melvin Gordon, Phillip Lindsay, Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, and Noah Fant) but none get underhyped like Lindsay. Naturally the inclusion of Melvin Gordon will take away snaps from the undrafted RB, but at Lindsay’s ADP, he is a steal!
In his first two years with the Broncos, he plateaued 1,000 yards and 7+ TDs in both of those seasons. All of the signs point to Gordon and Lindsay splitting time 50/50 during the season, per what has been seen in training camp. Even with that, Melvin Gordon’s ADP is 3.04, compared to Lindsay’s 7.12.
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