01-28-2019, 02:59 AM
What was the Broncos’ best personnel move this offseason/preseason? With great turnover Youth Todd Davis Jersey , the Denver Broncos had to hit some home runs to rebound from a disappointing 5-11 season last year. It sure looks like they did just that heading into Week 1 of the 2018 regular season.The best personnel move could be any number of additions to the roster, so the Mile High Report staff debated that question in today’s roundtable discussion. Let us know what you think in the comments section below.What was the Broncos’ best personnel move this offseason/preseason?Ian St: The Broncos draft class of 2018. The picks and undrafted free agents not only benefit the team this season, but set it up for the future. That’s a major win.Hart: I believe that upgrading the offense in the past NFL Draft was the best personnel move the team made. It looks like Royce Freeman, Courtland Sutton and DaeSean Hamilton are all poised to make an impact as rookies and are well on their way to being the foundation of the team’s offense for years to come.Adam: The best personnel move was drafting Bradley Chubb. I know that saying their first round pick was the best move seems like a cop out, but hear me out. When the Broncos passed on a quarterback with the fifth pick, they sent a clear message about the direction the team is going. They weren’t going to panic and pass on a guy who can have immediate impact up front. Drafting Chubb also seemed to be the catalyst to what appears to be a solid draft class, which seems to have set the Broncos up for success for the next few years.Scotty: Marquette King. Dude kicks footballs far and flips the field position.Joe R: Best move was finding a quarterback. One of our starters last year is floundering for the Vikings, one is buried on the Miami Dolphins depth chart Youth Domata Peko Jersey , and Paxton Lynch may only stay in Denver because he’s John Elway’s boy. Case Keenum doesn’t even have to set the world on fire for this to be a monstrous upgrade.Pete: Quarterback! That was the single biggest move that Elway/VJ made. The reason I include both of them is because they both did something. Elway got us a legit starter and mentor in Keenum, and VJ actually made a wise coaching decision by moving Lynch down the depth chart and promoting Chad Kelly (who Keenum is mentoring from the sounds of it). The QB position has stabilized, which means the offense will finally stabilize. Lets hope Keenum stays healthy, but if he doesn’t, we’ll have Kelly, not Lynch coming in to save the day, and I’m quite comfortable with that.Sadaraine: Moving Paxton Lynch down the depth chart hands-down with no question whatsoever. The guy is a bust and putting him in the same place as the other position players where you need to earn your place is the best way to prove it to the FO. Moving on from this mistake is the best thing for the Broncos season in 2018.Taylor: The Broncos’ best personnel move won’t show up on the 53 man roster. Firing O-line coach Jeff Davidson & replacing him with Chris Strausser & Sean Kugler was an A+ move by John Elway & Vance Joseph, and one that probably won’t receive the credit it deserves. The O-line was abysmal under Davidson White Chris Harris Jr Jersey , so moving on was a solid decision. But the real gem here is the decision to split the job in half, with two coaches now specialized toward the interior and outside line positions. Combine that with two nice hires and the O-line was set up for the success we’ve witnessed this preseason.Jeff: I’ll stay in the same vein as Taylor. I think Jared Veldheer will be one of the best under the radar signings of the year by the end of the season. He has already stabilized a position that we have consistently had below starting caliber talent occupying since 2016. Veldheer is looking more and more comfortable in his new position since switching over to RT last year and I think will continue to get even better there. It has been incredible to watch the right side of the line not immediately cave to pressure every passing snap, so far this preseason.Laurie: My favorite is a tie between bringing in Marquette King and Jared Veldheer - both players will have a major impact on this team, I think. But I believe the most important one will prove to be keeping Bill Musgrave as offensive coordinator (after he filled in mid-season when Mike McCoy was fired). I’m not sure this qualifies exactly as a “personnel move” this season, but the decision to keep him as OC and the corresponding faith to let him design a creative offense that can take advantage of mismatches and misdirection is already proving valuable as Case Keenum is throwing to a lot of different targets - including tight ends and running backs. Hallelujah. If you’ve read any of my work since joining Mile High Report, you’ll know I hold Football Outsiders and analytics in high regard. So it’s was a huge pleasure to have this chat with Aaron Schatz, their founder. I’ve been reading Schatz work since I first became an obsessive NFL fan in 2003 and still find I learn a great deal every week. If you haven’t checked out their site I can’t recommend it enough. Our conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.You can find an explanation to Football Outsiders’ stats here.1st and 10Through 5 weeks the Los Angeles Rams have one of the ten best offenses by DVOA, even better than the 1997 Broncos. They’re also among the ten best defenses in the league. Does this team have any critical weaknesses opponents can exploit?As I mentioned in GIF Horse this week Youth Ronald Leary Jersey , the Rams are really weak to runs up the middle. Musgrave needs to capitalize. 2nd and 6One of the things that FO does that I keep an eye on every week is their schedule ranking. Denver’s is brutal this year as they’re past schedule ranks as the 6th hardest in the league and the future schedule rates as 8th. Is this team better than they’ve shown? Do you think there’s a possibility they can eek out a decent season through the rest of this murderer’s row of games? FO does give them as good of odds at the playoffs as a top five selection in the NFL draft.3rd and 5Going into this season I expected Denver’s defense to have huge issues in the secondary. I’ve thought that if the pass rush didn’t get there, the No Fly Zone would basically be Southwest Airlines. Through five games that’s looked like the case, but what’s surprising is how far Denver’s rush defense has fallen from last year when they were third in DVOA. What’s changed and is there any hope the D can find it’s footing over the next couple of months?The secondary is a big part of the Broncos run D woes. 4th and 3I know it’s early, but I’ve watched every game this year and pore over the stats each week. It’s obvious that Keenum has performed even worse than projected, while the Broncos offense as a whole looks better,especially the run offense which is now first in the league by FO’s numbers.I’m not sure if you noticed Chad Kelly’s performance in the preseason, but if Keenum keeps tanking is it unreasonable for fans to hope that the 2nd year QB can be an improvement?Is Keenum playing for his career in Denver already?