Rating our team by position

[Cutler06]

Ok, open discussion here, feel free to bring your own thoughts, discuss others' opinions, and evaluate as you like. 

 

OL - We made our biggest splash here in Free Agency, adding McGlinchey and Powers, both filling one of our biggest needs. Providing Bolles comes back strong from injury, it feels like we now have one of our strongest starting five in a long time. Center is still a big concern but Powers and Meinerz can cover up some of those deficiencies that Cush III is prone to. We have two strong OTs two power OGs and an average depth at C, our biggest question is depth at OT. I could see a late TC addition as a possibility. RATE B

WR - This could be one of the strongest positions on this team. Jeudy has #1 potential that he displayed in the 2nd half of the season. He has crisp route-running abilities and a good hand, yet he does seem to have an ego issue. Sutton has the potential to be a solid #2 but has regressed, his focus and consistency have waned since he signed his big contract, also seems to lack chemistry with the QB. Patrick has starting talent but is coming off an ACL injury, his return seems to be coming along but still unknown to get back into camp. New 2nd-round pick Mim brings this group's status up quite a bit IMO, his speed and play-making ability play into Russell's wheelhouse. Hamler, Virgil, Callaway, Johnson, Humphrey, and Washington are going to have to fight their way onto this squad, which says a lot about the depth of this position RATE: A-

TE - Probably the most unknown position on the offense, has both potential as well as questions to be answered. The depth chart lists Dulcich as the starter, but word has it his size isn't what Peyton desires in the position. Along with his health status, he may become trade bait.  Albert O may finally become a featured receiver as he has both the size and speed to create mismatches the coach desires. He was ignored by the previous coaching staff, but here he is filling in one of the current question marks. Payton engineered a trade for former Saint TE Adam Trautman, a former 3rd rder. Seems like he'll be a decent blocker in this system but he has soft hands that'll become another good receiver. Chris Manhertz will become the blocking TE, coming over from JAC.  RATE C-

RB - IF/when healthy, this could become another strength of this team but alas, more questions abound.  Javonte Williams has star-caliber talent, he's strong and unrelenting, very hard to get down. While he returns to form, the Broncos signed Samaje Perine, another power back who can catch out of the backfield, Beyond those two are a lot of untapped/unknown rb's, seems we could use another vet to balance this position but we have yet to find that player. We do sign FB Michael Burton from KC, a non-descript player who could play a bigger part in this offense  RATE B- 

QB - The anticipated resurgence of Russell Wilson comes from the hiring of the new Head Coach who appears to have re-focused the play-caller. No more Social distractions, no more unauthorized coaches, no more side trips, no more non-football celebrity status. Payton can re-establish RW as a top-flight QB, at least within the division. They also brought in what is believed to be a top-notch backup QB. Jarrett Stidham. HC thinks he can even start with good results, putting a bit MORE pressure on a return to for for Wilson. RATE B-

DL - This turns out to be one of the only positions of question on the defense right now. Zack Allen was the biggest acquisition on D, meant to replace the departure of Dre'Mont Jones. While he hasn't shown the pass rush Jones almost displayed, his run-stuffing ability blossomed in DC Vance Joseph's Cardinals defense and is expected to continue here in Denver. DJ Jones is a playmaker in the middle even thou he is a bit undersized for the NT position, he is a disruptive force who plays the position well. He's where the unknown part comes in, who mans the RDE position? Johnathon Harris is the incumbent, but is he up to the job? He's got the size at 6'5" 295lbs but can he take the next step? Not adept at either the run or the rush, but can man both. The backups are both young but started seeing some playing time last year. Matt Henningsen and Eyioma Uwazurike offer both sides of the position, Henningsen offers athleticism while Uwazurike offers a high motor and power but neither established themselves. Mike Purcell is a high-paid backup, but a stabilizing force who can provide the size at the NT position. The Broncos did sign PJ Mustipher as an UDFA but see him more as a PS guy. RATE C+

Edge - Here is the game-changing position of the 3-4. Randy Gregory, WHEN healthy is exactly that, a game-changer. However, he only played in 6 of 17 games last year, not exactly Mr. Consistent. Baron Browning made the move from ILB to OLB , his size/speed ratio showed in his 1st year but needs to take that next to take advantage of those skills. a more consistent year will go a long way. Last year's top pick, 2nd rder Nik Bonitto never really made the expected step up from his college production, especially given the opportunity Gregory's absence presented. Only 23yo, he needs to show out this year to prove he isn't a bust. Johnathon Coope leads the rest of the backup, followed by one of my undiscovered fan favorites Christopher Allen, a former LSU standout (when he was able to get on the field), Aaron Patrick, and UDFA Thomas Incoom. RATE B-

ILB - This position is a song sung by Dokken, it "Just Got Lucky".  The drafting of Drew Sander in the 3rd rounder will come out as the steal of the draft. He has size, speed, and instincts that will make the ILB a strength. He'll become a starter before midseason, you heard it here first. While I can't be sure which starter he displaces, both Singleton and Jewell play (or trade value ?) deserve spots but can be talented depth. Griffith and Strnad have never fully panned out but are decent talents. Plus reports out of Rookie Mini Camp state Seth Bensen made a strong impression of good angle, instincts as well as coverage skills, someone to keep an eye on, perhaps another PS player. RATE B+

CB - Without question, the strength of the team. The only place to start is All-Pro Patrick Surtain II. Lock-down skills, speed, physicality, what's not to like? Across from him, Damarri Mathis stepped up to replace a broken-down Ronald Darby (and his $10MM salary). While having a slow start, he showed a strong rebound from unwise penalties for a 4th round pick. Decent speed allowed him good recovery skills in coverage but he only has average size for the position, a detriment against some of the bigger receivers. Thus lead to the drafting of Riley Moss. The FO thought enough of his size/speed and coverage skills to trade up to obtain this prospect. Again, he made a definite impression in Mini Camp, which could be a worthwhile acquisition, we shall see. In the slot, we have K'Waun Williams, a stalwart at the position. Essang Bassey, Tremon Smith, and UDFA Art Green

ST - K Brandon McManus had a bit of a down season but he's always been a stalwart and I expect that to continue. P Riley Dixon excelled in the Mile High, can't see that changing anytime soon. RATE A-

 

[lomaxgrUK]

I think the three main positions I disagree on are WR, DL and EDGE. Unfortunately, I think all are worse than you've put.

WR - I don't see how we can have this group as an A-. It's unbalanced and lacking in (proven) game-changing speed. Patrick is coming off an ACL at 29 years old. For me, it's a B at very best. I would have us as a B- right now.

DL - we're so painfully thin here, as we were last year. I think Purcell took a backwards step last year which in theory, makes us even thinner than we were going into the season last year. You will struggle to find a team in the NFL with worse #3 - #6 options on their DL, unfortunately. D for me.

EDGE - Gregory was hurt all year (this is a trend at this point, not an anomaly) and Baron Browning has 5 career sacks. How can we be considered anything higher than a C at this point? I think this is where we will miss Evero the most. His ability to bring pressure with blitz without overexposing the back end of our D was masterful. Joseph has a got job on his hands if we get any form of injury to these two. I'd have this a C-.

[Cutler06]

 I can easily see why you dropped the EDGE position, as I believe it has a lot of question marks but could be just as big of a boon too. Gregory, his health has always been the issue but when healthy (from what I remember last season), he was a disruptive force when he was on the field. And Baron, yes only had 5 sacks, all in his 1st year playing at the OLB position. Gotta think an upgraded ILB position can't hurt as well. I do concede you could have a strong case for that C- with the questions at the DL position too. However, I'll stay optimist with the young guy

 

I do believe the WR staff will be better as Wilson gets better, makes sense to me. No one really expected him to be as bad as last year and that had to reflect on the WR's. Also,  Mims will fill the speed role which we didn't even have last year with Washington being over-hyped and falling very flat and with a 2nd year of Hamler ending in the injured list, that made it so much easier for the opposing DB to target Jeudy and Cortland. 

I can see your points as being very valid, I can be called out as a Homer (I am) but it doesn't feel we're that fall off, but could go either way on any of the positions you brought up. 

[broncos_fan _from _uk]

Although I agree that WR is a dependent position (dependent on the QB and scheme) if I’m ranking the positions independent of each other I have to agree with Lomax. 
 

I would also grade QB lower (yes we have a top backup but QBs typically don’t rebound after falling off of a cliff.  Until Russ proves otherwise I don’t know how you rate him as anything above a below league average starter) 

[AkronsWitness]

16 hours ago, Cutler06 said:

 I can easily see why you dropped the EDGE position, as I believe it has a lot of question marks but could be just as big of a boon too. Gregory, his health has always been the issue but when healthy (from what I remember last season), he was a disruptive force when he was on the field. And Baron, yes only had 5 sacks, all in his 1st year playing at the OLB position. Gotta think an upgraded ILB position can't hurt as well. I do concede you could have a strong case for that C- with the questions at the DL position too. However, I'll stay optimist with the young guy

 

I do believe the WR staff will be better as Wilson gets better, makes sense to me. No one really expected him to be as bad as last year and that had to reflect on the WR's. Also,  Mims will fill the speed role which we didn't even have last year with Washington being over-hyped and falling very flat and with a 2nd year of Hamler ending in the injured list, that made it so much easier for the opposing DB to target Jeudy and Cortland. 

I can see your points as being very valid, I can be called out as a Homer (I am) but it doesn't feel we're that fall off, but could go either way on any of the positions you brought up. 

I still find it weird how this is year 3-4 for some of these young WRs and we still have no idea how good they are despite being massively talented. Injuries and poor QB play has really robbed us of finding out. For instance, Sutton. I have drafted Courtland Sutton as a WR2 in every fantasy league Ive been in for the last few years because I KNOW he is really good and destined for one of those big break out seasons. He is too athletically and physically talented. However, each year I get left waiting and waiting because of injuries/bad QB play.

Same thing with Hamler. Hightly touted draft pick, flashes when hes actually on the field but I feel like Ive seen him play in 5 games in 3 years. I forget hes on this team half the time.

When you think of the names Sutton, Hamler, Jeudy, Patrick and now Mims its like......this has to be the best WR corp in the NFL. So much talent. But I feel like we have never seen it all put together with a competent QB who can simply get these guys the dang ball to showcase their abilities. Its really strange.