The Denver Broncos 2022 Off-Season Decisions
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The Denver Broncos lost their season finale versus the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday in spectacular fashion. The team played an actually inspired game, scoring on long sustained drives, defense getting timely stops, special teams playing surprisingly good. The Broncos held a 21-20 lead in the fourth quarter and were at the 14 yard line about to increase their lead to eight points, when disaster strikes. Melvin Ingram breaks through the offensive line untouched and lays a monster hit on Melvin Gordon split-seconds after he touches the ball, forcing a fumble that was then scooped up and ran back 86-yards for a touchdown and a 28-21 deficit. The Broncos would drive the length of the field the next drive, staring down a fourth and nine at the KC 13 yard line, instead of going for a touchdown with nothing to lose, they kicked a 31-yard field goal to make it 28-24… The Chiefs would never give the Broncos the ball back, bleeding the final almost 5-minutes off the clock and defense again failing to get the Offense one final chance to go win t he game.
Head Coach
With the game ending in a Broncos loss, they finish the season at 7-10 and after all the smoke settled on the 2021-22 season, the Broncos will draft 9th overall in the upcoming NFL draft. Broncos General Manager fired head coach Vic Fangio, Offensive Coordinator Pat Shurmur, and Special Teams Coordinator Tom McMahon the next day and thus added the Broncos to the list of teams actively hunting for their next leader to pull them from the jaws of losing seasons. Reports have been going wild today of coordinators the Broncos have requested interviews with, list below:
- Nathaniel Hackett – OC Green Bay Packers
- Kevin O’Connell – OC LA Rams
- Eric Bieniemy – OC KC Chiefs
- Kellen Moore – OC Dallas Cowboys
- Dan Quinn – DC Dallas Cowboys
- Jerod Mayo – ILB Coach New England Patriots
- Jonathan Gannon – DC Philadelphia Eagles
- Aaron Glenn – DC Detroit Lions
Once the list of head coaches that the team is interviewing is nailed down, I will go ahead and handle a pros and cons article on each possible candidate. Other possible candidates that have emerged from the fan’s perspective are Jim Harbaugh (University of Michigan Head coach), Byron leftwich (Tampa Bay Buccaneers OC), Brian Daboll (Buffalo Bills OC), Todd Bowles (Tampa Bay Buccaneers DC), Doug Peterson (ex-Eagles head coach), and Chuck Pagano (ex-Colts head coach). With this interview process still pending, the playoffs still in full swing, and the season now six months away, I believe it will be a while before we know who the next Denver Broncos head coach is. George Paton has the challenging task of selecting the next leader of the Broncos who he believes will elevate the team from the basement of the NFL and back into the playoffs, hopefully he’s up for the task.
Free Agency
So, the team has a very high, very important draft selection to prepare for in April. They have a head coaching selection process that will pretty much, eventually, be one of the most impactful decisions that George Paton has to get right in order to leave his mark on the organization and carry this franchise back to winning football. The Broncos have 32 free agents to figure out how to navigate with major players potentially leaving in free agency.
Names like Josey Jewell, Malik Reed, Kenny Young, Alexander Johnson, Bryce Callahan, Melvin Gordon just to name a few, are either Restricted or Unrestricted Free Agents. The team has the infamous quarterback discussion to navigate through…
The Broncos have a giant amount of salary cap, and the salary cap was also raised almost $20 million dollars. The Denver Broncos will have $48 million in cap space, the 10th-most in the NFL, and really not a ton of holes on the current roster. That money could most likely go to a blue chip quarterback, maybe a blue chip offensive lineman, and potentially a blue chip edge rusher, depending on who hits the open market.
Quarterback
Teddy Bridgewater, as we all agree, for the most part, will be gone in free agency. It was reported midway through the season that Teddy was wanting $20-25 million a year in his next contract, and that type of money is not coming from Denver. Drew Lock’s biggest criticism for the 2020 season and the spots he played filling in for Teddy Bridgewater were that he was a turnover machine and didn’t improve enough in his ability to read defenses and remain calm under pressure.
Well in his last three games of the season, he didn’t have single turnover, made great throws and great reads. but the team went 0-3, the offense was not productive (besides the final week) as the team underperformed around him.
So here we are again, does the team stick it out with Drew Lock for 2022? Do they draft a QB at pick nine, in an admittedly poor quarterback class? Do they go aggressively target a QB in free agency like Aaron Rodgers, Russel Wilson, Deshaun Watson, Matt Ryan? I think if the Broncos don’t have a short and intermediate term solution to the 6-year quarterback problem during this offseason, this GM is just as delusional as the previous one.
Draft
So draft, head coach hunt, free agency, and quarterback decisions all to be made for George Paton in what could ultimately be an offseason that transforms the Broncos back into a playoff team if done masterfully. The Broncos have 11 picks in this 2022 draft, including #9 overall, two seconds, and two thirds, totaling five selections in the first 100 picks. The defense has all the talent in the world. The offense has bright young stars in the making at skill positions, all under contract. The team, again, needs a quarterback that will win us games and energize the squad, some luck to stay healthy through most of the season, and to learn how to win close games starting early in the year.
If Paton is as successful with this 2022 draft as he was with last seasons draft, there is a real chance this is the offseason that gets us back on track. Personally I’d call the Broncos needs through the first three rounds QB (unless they go with Lock or a FA acquisition), Right Tackle, defensive line, edge rusher, and linebacker after free agency comes through.
In a future article I’ll review potential free agent targets, potential draft targets, and review the likelihood of the different options at quarterback this offseason. Big offseason Broncos Country!
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