Mile High Sports

The Broncos need John Elway to orchestrate yet another comeback

The Denver Broncos may already be settling into the offseason, but John Elway is already hard at work.

Let’s be honest, the Duke didn’t have an exceptional offseason following the Broncos’ win in Super Bowl 50. While the Broncos 2016 draft class looks like it might yield some solid players down the line, the free agent class was particularly underachieving.

Denver didn’t have much money to spend last summer, as they had a number of unrestricted free agents to try to resign. Teams around the NFL were only too happy to scoop up those players, in hopes that they could bring some of the Broncos’ Super Bowl magic with them. With all of those losses, the Broncos had a number of holes to fill.

In March, Elway traded a conditional draft pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for veteran quarterback Mark Sanchez. He wouldn’t even make the opening day roster, as the Broncos wound up cutting him prior to the season.

Then, in an attempt to rebuild the Broncos offensive line, Elway signed free agent offensive tackles Donald Stephenson and Russell Okung. Okung struggled all season, and cost himself a substantial amount of player incentive money with his poor performance. Stephenson might have actually been worse, and was consistently graded as one of the worst starting tackles in the league.

Yet, if we know anything about John Elway. it is that he knows something about comebacks. This year he has the opportunity to add another one to his list.

The Broncos should have 10 picks in this April’s NFL Draft, as they will most likely receive four compensatory picks for their free agent losses last year. In addition to those picks, Denver has very few free agents that need to be resigned to new deals. Decisions will still have to be made on DeMarcus Ware, Sylvester Williams, Vance Walker, Jordan Norwood and Kayvon Webster.

However, the biggest key to this offseason, is the fact that Elway will have some money to spend. The Broncos are projected to have around $32 million dollars in cap space this year. That money could come handy as this team needs to be upgraded at a number of positions, and there are a number of players that could be available.

With two young quarterbacks on their roster, Elway could look to bring in a veteran presence. There isn’t an abundance of offensive linemen available, but the Broncos are going to have to do something to try to shore up their offensive front. Russell Okung will either have to be given a restructured contract, or he will have to be replaced. The Denver running game struggled, and they could take a look at a new running back to add into the mix. There are a number of talented wide receivers that could be available to give the Broncos a third threat in the passing game. The defensive side of the ball could see some significant changes too.

The center of the Broncos defensive line needs to get significantly better, and there are some major players that are going to be on the market. Kawann Short, Brandon Williams, Dontari Poe, and Chris Baker are all scheduled to become free agents this spring, and could find themselves in Elway’s crosshairs. The inside linebacker position struggled to stay healthy and Denver could look for help there as well.

The Denver Broncos are looking to make a comeback in 2017, and who could possibly be better than John Elway to lead it?

 

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