Free Agent Frenzy

[BroncoBruin]

Bowden and Duvernay are my favorite WR options in the late 3rd-early 4th range. Good athletes in space you can easily manufacture touches for. 

[broncos67]

14 hours ago, BroncoBruin said:

Bowden and Duvernay are my favorite WR options in the late 3rd-early 4th range. Good athletes in space you can easily manufacture touches for. 

I love Lynn Bowden. You would need to be creative to get him touches, but the guy basically was the entire Kentucky offense, and led them to a bowl game and win this year. He's dynamic with the ball in his hands and the kind of guy that can excel in the modern NFL if used properly. That he can line up at RB, WR, or QB is an added bonus. I would love to see Denver give him an opportunity.

[Broncofan]

13 minutes ago, broncos67 said:

I love Lynn Bowden. You would need to be creative to get him touches, but the guy basically was the entire Kentucky offense, and led them to a bowl game and win this year. He's dynamic with the ball in his hands and the kind of guy that can excel in the modern NFL if used properly. That he can line up at RB, WR, or QB is an added bonus. I would love to see Denver give him an opportunity.

Sadly, I think about 20+ other teams feel the same way.   I share that enthusiasm, though.  I think we'll have to spend an early 3rd to get him, but I wouldn't argue if we did at all.  He'd be fantastic 1-2 punch to our draft strategy (there are others too in that range, but his versatility that you referred to is what makes him stand out).     His December was eye-opening in what he could do (and to be clear, he's a WR first and foremost, just he has RB/QB skills that can be leveraged).

[BroncosFan2010]

Bowden is nice, but Antonio Gibson is my top manufactured plays guy. He is an absolutely elite athlete that, while a one hit wonder, made a hell of a hit. Kid got 14 touchdowns on 77 touches last season. He is probably the closest thing to a Tyreke Hill type in this draft IMO. 

He is tough enough to be a gunner on ST, could return kicks as a rookie (28 YPC w/ a TD last year) has played RB (11YPC) and WR (19YPC). The kid is just electric. 

[broncos67]

3 minutes ago, BroncosFan2010 said:

Bowden is nice, but Antonio Gibson is my top manufactured plays guy. He is an absolutely elite athlete that, while a one hit wonder, made a hell of a hit. Kid got 14 touchdowns on 77 touches last season. He is probably the closest thing to a Tyreke Hill type in this draft IMO. 

He is tough enough to be a gunner on ST, could return kicks as a rookie (28 YPC w/ a TD last year) has played RB (11YPC) and WR (19YPC). The kid is just electric. 

I also am a big Gibson fan. I prefer Bowden slightly, but wouldn't complain with either. I hope Elway is of the same mindset. We need to start thinking big, with dynamic talent, and creative playcalling. 

[grizmo78]

1 hour ago, broncos67 said:

I also am a big Gibson fan. I prefer Bowden slightly, but wouldn't complain with either. I hope Elway is of the same mindset. We need to start thinking big, with dynamic talent, and creative playcalling. 

I think its extremely important these gadget guys are core special teamers otherwise they take up a roster spot for a "gimmick". I think both of these guys are very good returners which would replace Dionte Spencer on our roster and I would be on board with either of them around round 4. I like Gibson's frame and athletic profile a bit better and think he can also contribute as a gunner so I tend to lean towards him.

Edited April 1, 2020 by grizmo78

[BroncosFan2010]

Quote

I like Gibson's frame and athletic profile a bit better though.

Thats what does it for me personally. He has also proven to be a much more explosive pass catcher, albeit in a much smaller sample size. Bowden averaged slot WR numbers (11.4 YPC over career) while Gibson showed last season he was explosive as a deep threat and designed YAC guy (18 YPC). I think Bowden projects much more as an athletic slot than a guy that can rip off a bubble screen for 50 yards and doesnt go down on arm tackles, like Gibson is IMO. 

And while I dont project either as more than 5 carry per game types, I like Gibson there more as well. Much more strength and short area explosion. He could actually be someone who you run between the tackles where Bowden is a telegraphed sweep guy in the backfield. I like Gibson's toughness more as a gunner as well. 

And while Bowden has 2 punt returns for TD, I dont think you can look at those numbers with a serious eye as he only returned 9 punts. Thats insane, but also such a small sample size that I dont trust it. On the other hand Gibson returned a good amount of kicks (28) for a great 28 yards per, albeit kick returns are pretty rare these days. And punt returning / wildcat QB snaps are the only aspects where I prefer Bowden as a gadget guy. 

I think Gibson could come in year 1 and be a ST gunner, primary kick returner, 3-5 carry per game COP back and get 10 snaps a game as a vertical burner and designed YAC type. He has top 100 pick value, and likely will get snatched earlier than projected as teams try to emulate the speed of SF and KC as this is a copycat league. I would take him 83 or 95 personally and try to recoup some value by dealing Royce and a R7 for a high R6 (Buffalo?). 

[Cutler06]

1 hour ago, BroncosFan2010 said:

Thats what does it for me personally. He has also proven to be a much more explosive pass catcher, albeit in a much smaller sample size. Bowden averaged slot WR numbers (11.4 YPC over career) while Gibson showed last season he was explosive as a deep threat and designed YAC guy (18 YPC). I think Bowden projects much more as an athletic slot than a guy that can rip off a bubble screen for 50 yards and doesnt go down on arm tackles, like Gibson is IMO. 

And while I dont project either as more than 5 carry per game types, I like Gibson there more as well. Much more strength and short area explosion. He could actually be someone who you run between the tackles where Bowden is a telegraphed sweep guy in the backfield. I like Gibson's toughness more as a gunner as well. 

And while Bowden has 2 punt returns for TD, I dont think you can look at those numbers with a serious eye as he only returned 9 punts. Thats insane, but also such a small sample size that I dont trust it. On the other hand Gibson returned a good amount of kicks (28) for a great 28 yards per, albeit kick returns are pretty rare these days. And punt returning / wildcat QB snaps are the only aspects where I prefer Bowden as a gadget guy. 

I think Gibson could come in year 1 and be a ST gunner, primary kick returner, 3-5 carry per game COP back and get 10 snaps a game as a vertical burner and designed YAC type. He has top 100 pick value, and likely will get snatched earlier than projected as teams try to emulate the speed of SF and KC as this is a copycat league. I would take him 83 or 95 personally and try to recoup some value by dealing Royce and a R7 for a high R6 (Buffalo?). 

I too prefer Gibson, also I think we could get him in the 4th round which would be great value. But doesn't Bowden have a passing skill set as well.  

[BroncosFan2010]

Quote

But doesn't Bowden have a passing skill set as well.  

He does, but your going to have him throw the ball maybe 3 times per year right? Even Randle El only had 27 passes in 9 seasons and he was a far more accomplished college QB. 

I don't put too much value on that aspect of him personally. 

[MileHigh]

Apologies if I missed this - but what do you all think of our potential to sign Cam Newton? 

 

For what it's worth the odds for the Broncos have jumped from over +1300 to +550 (which would put the implied probability that we sign him at around 15%). I haven't seen any explicit news that would cause that jump - did I miss something?

 

Personally, I hated the idea at first - but the more I thought about it - I've warmed up to the idea. The main thing that changed my thinking is Cam's connection with Mike Shula who effectively shepherded Cam to success, and the season he left Carolina - Cam's play significantly deteriorated. If we think our team is 1-3 seasons away from super bowl contention - I'd argue that Cam has a better chance of getting us over the hill than Drew Lock?

 

 

 

 

[AKRNA]

19 minutes ago, MileHigh said:

Apologies if I missed this - but what do you all think of our potential to sign Cam Newton? 

 

For what it's worth the odds for the Broncos have jumped from over +1300 to +550 (which would put the implied probability that we sign him at around 15%). I haven't seen any explicit news that would cause that jump - did I miss something?

 

Personally, I hated the idea at first - but the more I thought about it - I've warmed up to the idea. The main thing that changed my thinking is Cam's connection with Mike Shula who effectively shepherded Cam to success, and the season he left Carolina - Cam's play significantly deteriorated. If we think our team is 1-3 seasons away from super bowl contention - I'd argue that Cam has a better chance of getting us over the hill than Drew Lock?

 

 

 

 

No

[Broncofan]

1 hour ago, BroncosFan2010 said:

He does, but your going to have him throw the ball maybe 3 times per year right? Even Randle El only had 27 passes in 9 seasons and he was a far more accomplished college QB. 

I don't put too much value on that aspect of him personally. 

The impact will only be there if we're good enough to make the playoffs (2021+ still my ETA where that's a realistic sustainable hope, but hey, it's better than 2+ years away, like it's been for 2018-9...).   Then it could be a gamechanger if deployed properly, like Philly Special or Edelman's occasional throws.  But as a factor for a 16-game schedule, yeah, negligible.

[BroncosFan2010]

Quote

Apologies if I missed this - but what do you all think of our potential to sign Cam Newton? 

 

For what it's worth the odds for the Broncos have jumped from over +1300 to +550 (which would put the implied probability that we sign him at around 15%). I haven't seen any explicit news that would cause that jump - did I miss something?

 

Personally, I hated the idea at first - but the more I thought about it - I've warmed up to the idea. The main thing that changed my thinking is Cam's connection with Mike Shula who effectively shepherded Cam to success, and the season he left Carolina - Cam's play significantly deteriorated. If we think our team is 1-3 seasons away from super bowl contention - I'd argue that Cam has a better chance of getting us over the hill than Drew Lock?

No. 

[broncosfan_101]

45 minutes ago, MileHigh said:

Apologies if I missed this - but what do you all think of our potential to sign Cam Newton? 

 

For what it's worth the odds for the Broncos have jumped from over +1300 to +550 (which would put the implied probability that we sign him at around 15%). I haven't seen any explicit news that would cause that jump - did I miss something?

 

Personally, I hated the idea at first - but the more I thought about it - I've warmed up to the idea. The main thing that changed my thinking is Cam's connection with Mike Shula who effectively shepherded Cam to success, and the season he left Carolina - Cam's play significantly deteriorated. If we think our team is 1-3 seasons away from super bowl contention - I'd argue that Cam has a better chance of getting us over the hill than Drew Lock?

 

No thanks to Cam ‘Making Business Decisions in the Super Bowl’ Newton. 

[broncosfan_101]

So at what point does Jadeveon Clowney’s market get so soft that you just HAVE TO make a call? His fit in a 3-4 isn’t ideal, but I’d trust Fangio to move him around into spots he’d succeed in. Von seems to be in decline, his contract is basically done after this season, and we’ve got the cap space to make it work right now...I don’t know. In the $16-18M per range, that’s pretty attractive, in my opinion.