The Denver Broncos are going to be hard-pressed to walk away with any postseason awards, let alone the MVP, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some guys worth talking about. And while I’m normally of the mindset that the regular season doesn’t really matter, only the postseason, that’s not as true this year; this was a special, noteworthy first 16 games.
Yes, the one and only goal of this franchise is to win the Super Bowl, and we’ll do a full breakdown of the season following their postseason run, but unlike the last three years, whatever happens in the next month won’t entirely overshadow what’s happened in the previous four.
Under Peyton Manning, the regular season hasn’t been more than an extended preseason, and when the Broncos eventually fell in the playoffs, it made the previous year feel like a complete waste. This season, though, these games have mattered; up until the second half of Week 16, there was a real possibility that the Broncos could fall out of the postseason all together.
Every week, it’s been as if a Hollywood-produced drama was unfolding down at Dove Valley; from the gut-punch against the Kansas City Chiefs to the comeback victories over the Patriots and Bengals, the 2015 Broncos were must-watch television from the start — well, except for that Browns game.
So before we get to the playoffs and forget all that’s already happened, let’s take a look back by handing out our regular season awards:
Rookie of the Year: Shane Ray
By default, this award has to go to Shane Ray, right? I mean, this whole draft class has been somewhat of a disappointment, though I wouldn’t say that’s entirely their fault.
Ray has flashed talent, and he’s improved all season. After returning from injury in Week 10, Ray has upped his production greatly, totaling two sacks, four quarterback hits and 13 quarterback hurries in the final eight weeks of the season. The issue, though, is simply that he hasn’t gotten on the field enough to make a league-wide impression.
And that’s understandable. When you have guys like Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware in front of you, even Shaquil Barrett, it’s going to be difficult to get your own reps. Even on his best week, when Ware was out versus the Chargers in Week 13, Ray was only on the field for 59 percent of the snaps. Otherwise, he’s been lucky to see 35 snaps a game.
The only other rookie that could possibly be considered for this award is Max Garcia, who’s actually played roughly 200 more snaps than Ray, but I just can’t give an award (however fake it may be) to a player on one of the worst offensive lines in football when I could give it to a guy on the best linebacking corps in the league.
And if you had any thought that Ty Sambrailo might have earned this award had he stayed healthy, you weren’t watching the games. In the three games that he did start for the Broncos at left tackle, Sambrailo earned a cumulative grade of -10.3 from Pro Football Focus; that’s an average grade of -3.4 per game. If he had kept that pace up for the whole season, he would have finished with a grade of -54.9, by far the worst in the NFL — and yes, worse that Michael Schofield.
Most-Improved Player: Malik Jackson and Derek Wolfe
I debated for awhile which guy to give this award to, but I just couldn’t do it; they both deserve it. And honestly, I think they deserve some recognition for the league-wide award, too.
Not many people outside of Denver may know who Malik Jackson and Derek Wolfe are — they’re overshadowed by big-name guys like Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware and Chris Harris Jr. — but they’re just as important as anybody on this Denver Broncos defense. In fact, the only player that graded higher than Wolfe (27.4) and Jackson (26.8) on the Denver Broncos defense is Miller (49.2).
Combined, the two have tallied 13 sacks, 15 quarterback hits and 70 quarterback hurries, giving Denver one of the best inside pass rushes in the league, but that still only accounts for part of the story. The two players, who have come up together, complement each other perfectly; Wolfe has developed into one of the league’s most dominant run defenders, while Jackson continues to be terror as a pass rusher.
And while both players have been solid for the Broncos before, they’ve reached a whole other level in 2016.
Just think of where Derek Wolfe was at a few months ago. You could have easily called him a bust — at least a letdown — before the start of this season, and his four-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs to start the year didn’t raise anybody’s confidence.
And though Jackson has been a favorite in Denver for awhile now, he’s never been more than a role player. Now, he’s a full-blown stud, putting his name up there with the best defensive ends in the NFL.
Not only should both of these guys have made the Pro Bowl, but both of these guys should be considered for All Pro honors this season; that’s how good they’ve been.
Comeback Player of the Year: Peyton Manning
For the vast majority of the 2015 season, Peyton Manning has either been completely ineffective or injured; still, he deserves this award for the reaction the fans at Sports Authority Field gave him when he returned to the field against the Chargers alone.
He may not have done much, but as far as I’m concerned, there haven’t been many comeback moments better than that one.
And let’s say Manning does go on to lead the Broncos to a playoff victory in two weeks, and let’s say he does lead them to the Super Bowl a week later; if that happens, I’d have to go ahead and say that this would become one of the greatest comeback stories in sports history.
I mean, a week ago, Manning was all but dead! Reports (emphasis on the plural) were saying that the Broncos had hitched their wagon to the Brockmobile, and unless he was involved in a cataclysmic event, it was going to stay that way. The fact that Manning was healthy enough to suit up and Gary Kubiak still wouldn’t put him back in as the starter seemed to say everything we needed to know: The Broncos thought Brock Osweiler was their best option.
But then, after a C.J. Anderson fumble, there he was, The Sheriff, strutting back out onto the field. And everything changed.
We’re halfway through the next blockbuster sports movie; Broncos Country just has to hope it has a happy ending.
Offensive Player of the Year: Demaryius Thomas
I know a lot of people have a sore spot for Demaryius Thomas, but if we’re going to pick an offensive player of the year, it has to be DT; it’s not going to be either one of the quarterbacks, and it sure as heck isn’t going to be an offensive lineman.
C.J. Anderson has had some big moments, but he’s not even the starting running back; he was benched for Ronnie Hillman months ago.
In my eyes, the only other legitimate option is Emmanuel Sanders, and simply put, he’s not as important as Demaryius Thomas. Just look at the numbers:
Thomas: 105 receptions; 1,304 yards; 6 touchdowns
Sanders: 76 receptions; 1,135 yards; 6 touchdowns
And don’t get me wrong. I love Emmanuel Sanders; you won’t hear me say a single bad thing about him. But part of the reason he’s so successful is because he’s got DT taking the opposing team’s No. 1 cornerback on nearly every play. If the roles were reversed, I can promise you that not only would DT’s numbers be significantly higher, but Sanders’ numbers would be a good deal lower.
Not to mention, Thomas just became the fourth receiver in NFL history — joining Marvin Harrison, Torry Holt and Jerry Rice — to have four consecutive seasons of 90 receptions and 1,200 receiving yards. And he did this all with a quarterback duo that threw for 4,216 yards, 19 touchdowns and 23 interceptions; that’s on par with guys like Ryan Tannehill, Sam Bradford or Brian Hoyer.
It absolutely was not DT’s best season — he finished the season with PFF’s fourth-worst Drop Rate of any wideout — but he’s still been the most important player on this offense.
This piece brought to you in part by …
[adrotate banner=”16″]MVP: Von Miller
This may have been the worst season of Von Miller’s career, and he’s still the best player on this football team; that’s how good he is.
Von finished the season with 11 sacks, 21 quarterback hits and 50 quarterback hurries, but it’s what he’s done for the rest of the defense that is so important. He may not be putting up the type of sack numbers he put up back in 2012, but he’s the main reason why the Denver Broncos led the league with 52 sacks.
It is because of Von Miller, and the attention defenses have to put on him, that 14 Broncos defenders have been able to tally a sack this season; he makes this defense go. Without Von Miller, Denver would not be the No. 1 defense in the NFL.
And that’s without mentioning that he gave us such gems as this:
And he serenaded us with this:
"MILE HIGH MAGIC BABY! WHOOOOOOOOOOO!" –@Millerlite40 #CINvsDEN #MNF
— NFL (@NFL) December 29, 2015
Oh, and he’s given us 11 classic sack-dances so far this year, including this irresistible move:
Von Miller with the Robot? Ha! https://t.co/RGtRmGwBWc
— JB Denver Sports 🎬 (@JB_DenverSports) December 6, 2015
Not only is Von the MVP of the Denver Broncos, but he’s their heart and soul, too. The team simply wouldn’t be the same without him.