woodsmall12
All-Star
Here is a quick preview for each positional group ... Denver was very active during the Free Agency period and they were aggressive in the recent draft ... last year's 6 and 10 record was disappointing to say the least so improved player personnel should help with team morale and put a better product on the playing field to keep the stands filled up and bring a championship trophy back to Denver
Signal Caller / Backfield / Pass Catchers
Offensively, Brock Osweiler begins his second season as the captain of this ship after HOF Peyton Manning was shipped off to the rival Oakland Raiders - Brocks stats were mediocre in '15 and some expected to see bigger strides from the strong armed QB (2,900 passing yards with 18 tds and 21 ints) ... Bronco ownership added another weapon to the passing game this season by bringing in TY Hilton to add some speed and experience along side Demarious and Julius Thomas ... The remaining WR core still needs to develop but their speed will be unmatched by most defensive backfields ... Another interesting development came to the Denver front office during the recent draft ... Denver was slated to take an offensive lineman in the 2nd round however since most of the top talent at the position was picked over, the Bronco brass reviewed the "best available" players still on the board and found Deangelo Hightower from the "U" sitting at the #12 slot in the 2nd round ... Hightower was slotted to drop at #8 in the first round but fell out due to his lack of committment to stay in shape during the offseason ... the Broncos hope the risk pays off as he is a Monte Ball clone with superstar development and with better vision and cutting ability ... his personality rating of 92 has already paid dividends as he is already the tops in jersey sales in his first two games
O - Line
Broncos will still be stout up front as they bring back veterans Clady and Vasquez in addition to veteran Green Bay LG Josh Sitton who they acquired in the Demarcus Ware trade ... Sitton fills a hole as an interior lineman to help with the run game ... Big things are expected this year from Bjoern Wynn, one of the key pieces from the Peyton Manning trade, who has star development and enabled the Broncos to let go of veteran center Max Ramirez ... Rookie Cy Albury will anchor the RG spot as the former Texas Longhorn has already shown he can handle the NFLs best in his first 3 exhibition games
D - Line
Denver hit the Free Agent market hard this offseason to bring in a formidable and imposing pair of DTs ... after losing Terrance Knighton to Free Agency last year, the Broncos were vulnerable to the inside run game and it showed ... The front office recognized the glaring weakness and dropped some serious cash to bring in former Seahawk Brandon Mebane and former Patriot Vince Wilfork ... Both players will eat up space and cause havoc for all running backs invading their territory ... on the edge will be second year starters Jaylon Burch and Aundre Hamilton ... both players showed great promise the second half of 2015 that allowed Denver to trade Demarcus Ware to Green Bay
Linebacking Core
All-World LB Von Miller returns to hold down the LOLB spot ... Miller finished 2015 with 12 sacks, down from 19 the previous year, yet upped his pass coverage by picking up 3 interceptions ... Last year's #1 draft pick returns at the ROLB position to add to his freshman season success ... Harmon was all over the field recording 77 tackles while recording 3 sacks ... the MLB spot is still up for grabs as Bronco vet Danny Trevathan 86 ovr has the skills to man the middle however 2nd yr player Christian Kirksey out of Iowa is pushing the vet hard for the job ... Kirksey's rookie season was plaqued with injuries yet his nose of the ball is unmatched by most ... he collected 46 tackles and 4 interceptions in his rookie campaign ... in the meantime, keep an eye on the Kirksey / Trevathen competition as this starting spot will not be determined until after the preseason is wrapped up
Defensive Backfield
Veteran cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Chad Harris return to defend the friendly skies in Denver ... Both players alongside 2nd yr player Bradley Roby collected 4 picks each ... This year Micah Hyde will move back to his original position after stepping into the FS spot last year in which he collected 6 picks ... TJ "Boss" Ward returns to his SS position ... the leading tackler amongst the D backfield, Ward will be moved around more this year in order to help stuff the run and match up with the faster TEs in pass coverage ... The last position is FS and the Broncos traded up with Green Bay this year to grab playmaker FS Ralston Hobbs out of Texas at the #3 pick - Hobbs is known in the scouting world to have a sixth sense and should make an immediate impact ... his speed will allow him to take receivers one on one and his hands could propel him to be a league leader in interceptions ... big question is, will Hobbs live up to the hype and can he ensure that his big contract is worth the risk the Broncos took in moving up to draft him? With a formidable quartet at the CB position, alongside an All Pro TJ Ward at SS, and a top 3 pick in Ralston Hobbs at FS, the defensive backfield should be one of the best in the NFL this season ... some big time playmakers will punish any and all receivers entering their air space
Special Teams
Devin Sanders and Robert Mosley were both drafted to takeover the Kicking and Punting duties this year ... both should offer consistency in the kicking game with a pension for kicking in clutch moments during their college careers
What are YOUR thoughts on this year's Denver Broncos team? How do you see the season playing out and what kind of record do you expect them to finish with?
Signal Caller / Backfield / Pass Catchers
Offensively, Brock Osweiler begins his second season as the captain of this ship after HOF Peyton Manning was shipped off to the rival Oakland Raiders - Brocks stats were mediocre in '15 and some expected to see bigger strides from the strong armed QB (2,900 passing yards with 18 tds and 21 ints) ... Bronco ownership added another weapon to the passing game this season by bringing in TY Hilton to add some speed and experience along side Demarious and Julius Thomas ... The remaining WR core still needs to develop but their speed will be unmatched by most defensive backfields ... Another interesting development came to the Denver front office during the recent draft ... Denver was slated to take an offensive lineman in the 2nd round however since most of the top talent at the position was picked over, the Bronco brass reviewed the "best available" players still on the board and found Deangelo Hightower from the "U" sitting at the #12 slot in the 2nd round ... Hightower was slotted to drop at #8 in the first round but fell out due to his lack of committment to stay in shape during the offseason ... the Broncos hope the risk pays off as he is a Monte Ball clone with superstar development and with better vision and cutting ability ... his personality rating of 92 has already paid dividends as he is already the tops in jersey sales in his first two games
O - Line
Broncos will still be stout up front as they bring back veterans Clady and Vasquez in addition to veteran Green Bay LG Josh Sitton who they acquired in the Demarcus Ware trade ... Sitton fills a hole as an interior lineman to help with the run game ... Big things are expected this year from Bjoern Wynn, one of the key pieces from the Peyton Manning trade, who has star development and enabled the Broncos to let go of veteran center Max Ramirez ... Rookie Cy Albury will anchor the RG spot as the former Texas Longhorn has already shown he can handle the NFLs best in his first 3 exhibition games
D - Line
Denver hit the Free Agent market hard this offseason to bring in a formidable and imposing pair of DTs ... after losing Terrance Knighton to Free Agency last year, the Broncos were vulnerable to the inside run game and it showed ... The front office recognized the glaring weakness and dropped some serious cash to bring in former Seahawk Brandon Mebane and former Patriot Vince Wilfork ... Both players will eat up space and cause havoc for all running backs invading their territory ... on the edge will be second year starters Jaylon Burch and Aundre Hamilton ... both players showed great promise the second half of 2015 that allowed Denver to trade Demarcus Ware to Green Bay
Linebacking Core
All-World LB Von Miller returns to hold down the LOLB spot ... Miller finished 2015 with 12 sacks, down from 19 the previous year, yet upped his pass coverage by picking up 3 interceptions ... Last year's #1 draft pick returns at the ROLB position to add to his freshman season success ... Harmon was all over the field recording 77 tackles while recording 3 sacks ... the MLB spot is still up for grabs as Bronco vet Danny Trevathan 86 ovr has the skills to man the middle however 2nd yr player Christian Kirksey out of Iowa is pushing the vet hard for the job ... Kirksey's rookie season was plaqued with injuries yet his nose of the ball is unmatched by most ... he collected 46 tackles and 4 interceptions in his rookie campaign ... in the meantime, keep an eye on the Kirksey / Trevathen competition as this starting spot will not be determined until after the preseason is wrapped up
Defensive Backfield
Veteran cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Chad Harris return to defend the friendly skies in Denver ... Both players alongside 2nd yr player Bradley Roby collected 4 picks each ... This year Micah Hyde will move back to his original position after stepping into the FS spot last year in which he collected 6 picks ... TJ "Boss" Ward returns to his SS position ... the leading tackler amongst the D backfield, Ward will be moved around more this year in order to help stuff the run and match up with the faster TEs in pass coverage ... The last position is FS and the Broncos traded up with Green Bay this year to grab playmaker FS Ralston Hobbs out of Texas at the #3 pick - Hobbs is known in the scouting world to have a sixth sense and should make an immediate impact ... his speed will allow him to take receivers one on one and his hands could propel him to be a league leader in interceptions ... big question is, will Hobbs live up to the hype and can he ensure that his big contract is worth the risk the Broncos took in moving up to draft him? With a formidable quartet at the CB position, alongside an All Pro TJ Ward at SS, and a top 3 pick in Ralston Hobbs at FS, the defensive backfield should be one of the best in the NFL this season ... some big time playmakers will punish any and all receivers entering their air space
Special Teams
Devin Sanders and Robert Mosley were both drafted to takeover the Kicking and Punting duties this year ... both should offer consistency in the kicking game with a pension for kicking in clutch moments during their college careers
What are YOUR thoughts on this year's Denver Broncos team? How do you see the season playing out and what kind of record do you expect them to finish with?