The Broncos spent Wildcard weekend interviewing candidates for their open General Manager position.
Those interviews ended today when in-house candidate Brian Stark per Troy Renck. Other candidates include likely frontrunner Champ Kelly, Minnesota Vikings assistant GM George Paton, Terry Fontenot of the Saints and Dave Ziegler from the Patriots. Kelly, Ziegler and Stark all have ties to the Broncos, even if the organization said they want a new set of eyes to take over the responsibilities of building the team back into a playoff contender.
Fontenot is also a candidate for the Atlanta Falcons’ GM job, and according to Woody Paige, the two most likely to get the job are Kelly and Fontenot.
Kelly worked with the Broncos from 2007-2014 and was partly responsible for the free agent signing frenzy which helped Denver reach the Super Bowl twice in three years. Aqib Talib, T.J. Ward, DeMarcus Ware and Emmanuel Sanders were all among those who he signed. Since leaving the Broncos, Kelly spent two years as Bears Director of Pro Scouting and the last two years as Chicago’s Assistant Director of Player Personnel.
Meanwhile, Fontenot has spent the last 16 seasons with New Orleans, including the last six as director of pro scouting. Besides Denver and Atlanta, he’s also interviewed for the GM job in Detroit.
The Broncos and the NFL in general have long been slow to hiring African American decision-makers either as head coach or in the front office, even when the game is played by a majority black players. Denver could simultaneously fill their need at GM and show they are willing to let an African American man lead their personnel decisions by hiring either Kelly or Fontenot.
And while we likely won’t know which GM Denver’s chosen for the next few days, we can look at the long list of crucial players the new GM will have to make decisions on whether or not to re-sign or walk in free agency.
1. Justin Simmons
Simmons is a homegrown talent and arguably the best safety in the NFL today. He was taken in the third round back in 2016 and has racked up 16 interceptions since then, including a career-high five this year. He’s a ball hawk and even though his Pro Football Focus grade slipped from best in the NFL in 2019 (90.7) to 77.4 this year (9th-best), Simmons is a key young player the Broncos should have signed to a long-term deal last year.
Projected value: Spotrac values Simmons as a $14.6 million per year player.
2. Von Miller
Miller has a team option of $22.3 million next year. That’s at 32 years old and after a year which was spend sidelined due to an injury in the last day of training camp in August. If the Broncos exercise his option, he’d be the highest-paid player on their roster yet again.
The NFL is a “what have you done for me lately” league and Miller’s production fell to under double digit sacks in 2019 (8.0) before missing all of 2020. He’s probably the greatest defender in the history of the Broncos, but the new GM will need to rework his deal to keep him on the roster.
Projected value: Spotrac says he should make around $10.3 million next season, meaning at his current rate, he’s due to make double that.
3. Shelby Harris
Harris is a player the Broncos were lucky to keep around in 2020 after letting him become a free agent last year. He’s a disruptive force on the interior of the defensive line — with Miller and Cubb on the outside — creating pressures and sacks. This year, in only 11 games, Harris’ tackle and sack numbers fell to 32 and 2.5 respectively, but he was able to defend seven passes at the line of scrimmage. In his four years with Denver, he’s batted down 23 passes at the line, making him the best in the NFL.
His 88.3 PFF grade was the second-highest of his career and he’s 29, meaning he has at least a few years of NFL life left. His $3.25 million deal last year was a steal and a longer deal will likely mean more per year.
4. Phillip Lindsay
Like Simmons, a homegrown talent and he’s actually from the Mile High City originally, too. He ran for 1,000-plus yards in his rookie and sophomore seasons, the first Broncos player to do so since Clinton Portis in 2002-03. But, Denver won’t want to spend $11.5 million on him, which is what Spotrac calculates his market value at. Important note: While Simmons and Harris are unrestricted free agents, Lindsay is restricted meaning Denver would get compensation if he signs elsewhere.
5. Kareem Jackson
Jackson was the sixth-best safety this year per PFF (80.4 overall grade) meaning he was better than Simmons. If Denver decides to pick one or the other, they should go with the younger Simmons, but if they lose out on Simmons keeping Jackson around would be smart. Like Miller, the Broncos have a team option on Jackson which would mean a $12.3 million cap hit. If they don’t pick it up, it’s $2.3 million in dead cap.
6. Alexander Johnson
Johnson has been a beast the last two years since Vic Fangio gave him starts in 2019. He led the team in tackles this year (124 combined) and is a consistent force in the middle they should re-sign. (RFA)
7. Tim Patrick
Patrick has done everything one could ask from a No. 4 receiver, including taking on an elevated role this year when Courtland Sutton was injured. He set career-highs in receptions (51), yards (762) and TDs (6) and Denver should certainly re-sign him, which will hopefully be around $2 million per year.
8. Demar Dotson
Dotson played well this year at right tackle, and at only $1.5 million, he was a great deal. But Vic Fangio said the team will go forward with Elijah Wilkinson at the position so Dotson will likely be forced to find work elsewhere.
9. Elijah Wilkinson
After paying him $3.3 million last year, the most he’s ever made, the Broncos will probably have to raise that number in a longer-term deal. While Garett Bolles was PFF’s third-best tackle, Dotson was 41st and Wilkinson was 78th in the league last year. But, at 26 years old compared to Dotson’s 35, Denver has to go with the younger player.
10. Jeremiah Attaochu
Attaochu ended the year with a career-high five sacks, which earned him an extra $250,000 last year. He’s a valuable backup who was asked to start five games this year and Denver should definitely re-sign him.
Not FAs but Broncos should move on from A.J. Bouye, Jurrell Casey
Bouye was acquired in a solid trade by John Elway last offseason for a 7th-round pick, but he was the 81st cornerback in the league per PFF grades (55.6). He’s not a free agent, but the Broncos could save $11.9 million but cutting him this offseason and should.
Like Bouye, Casey was a solid trade but then got injured this year, playing only three games this year. And he’s also not a free agent but Denver could save $11.68 million by releasing him this offseason, and should.