Which players played the majority of the snaps for the Denver Broncos in Week 1?
The Denver Broncos won their Week 1 matchup on Monday Night Football against AFC West foes, the Los Angeles Chargers. Denver was dominant at home early on, but then had to withstand a furious comeback. They ultimately did so with a last-second blocked field goal that would’ve been the game-tying attempt.
By reviewing the snap counts we can clearly identify how much playing time some players actually received. It’s a good way to predict future output for players by gauging the amount of opportunity a player could potentially receive.
Snap counts were derived from NFLGSIS.com.
Quarterback
- Trevor Siemian, 69 snaps, 100 percent market share
Unless something unforeseen happens like an injury, the starting quarterback usually plays 100 percent of the offensive snaps. There’s nothing out of the ordinary with Siemian’s workload.
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Running Back
- C.J. Anderson, 48 snaps, 70 percent market share
- Jamaal Charles, 21 snaps, 30 percent market share
- Andy Janovich, 17 snaps, 25 percent market share
Anderson led the charge at running back, playing 70 percent of the snaps while rushing for 81 yards on 20 carries. He touched the ball on 43.75 percent of his snaps. Charles saw 30 percent of the snaps and touched the ball on 47.62 percent of his snaps. As a whole, the running backs received the ball on 44.93 percent of the team’s offensive snaps.
Wide Receiver
- Demaryius Thomas, 60 snaps, 87 percent market share
- Emmanuel Sanders, 53 snaps, 77 percent market share
- Bennie Fowler, 38 snaps, 55 percent market share
- Cody Latimer, 12 snaps, 17 percent market share
It’s quite evident that the offense ran mostly two wide receiver sets, with both Sanders and Thomas manning the outside. Bennie Fowler appears to be the team’s clear cut third wide receiver.
Tight End
- Virgil Green, 45 snaps, 65 percent market share
- A.J. Derby, 29 snaps, 42 percent market share
- Jeff Herman, 17 snaps, 25 percent market share
There’s nothing out of the ordinary here, Green led all tight ends in snaps. As a unit, the tight ends recorded a reception on 7.25 percent of their snaps.
Offensive Line
- Menelik Watson, 69 snaps, 100 percent market share
- Garett Bolles, 69 snaps, 100 percent market share
- Matt Paradis, 69 snaps, 100 percent market share
- Allen Barbre, 36 snaps, 52 percent market share
- Ronald Leary, 36 snaps, 52 percent market share
- Max Garcia, 33 snaps, 48 percent market share
- Connor McGovern, 33 snaps, 48 percent market share
Watson and Bolles anchored both tackles spots for the entire game. It appears the coaching staff wanted to keep the interior linemen fresh as there was an even rotation amongst the offensive guards. Matt Paradis played every down for the team at center.
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Defensive Line
- Derek Wolfe, 43 snaps, 73 percent market share
- Shelby Harris, 33 snaps, 56 percent market share
- Adam Gotsis, 31 snaps, 53 percent market share
- Domata Peko, 27 snaps, 46 percent market share
- DeMarcus Walker, 6 snaps, 10 percent market share
- Tyrique Jarrett, 3 snaps, 5 percent market share
The Broncos ran a rotation of six guys with the hopes to keep the defensive line fresh during the majority of the game. Derek Wolfe played 73 percent of the snaps while recording two total tackles. Adam Gotsis led all defensive linemen with five total tackles.
Linebacker
- Shaquil Barrett, 54 snaps, 92 percent market share
- Von Miller, 53 snaps, 90 percent market share
- Brandon Marshall, 52 snaps, 88 percent market share
- Todd Davis, 19 snaps, 32 percent market share
- Corey Nelson, 7 snaps, 12 percent market share
- Karim Edebali, 5 snaps, 8 percent market share
Barrett, Miller and Marshall played the majority of the snaps for the Broncos with Todd Davis also playing a large portion of the snaps (32 percent). The team will rely heavily on their main core of linebackers to get the job done in 2017.
Cornerback
- Aqib Talib, 59 snaps, 100 percent market share
- Chris Harris, 56 snaps, 95 percent market share
- Bradley Roby, 40 snaps, 68 percent market share
The Broncos didn’t rotate corners in this game as Talib and Harris played the entire game guarding the Chargers’ main receivers. Bradley Roby still managed to play 68 percent of the defensive snaps as the team third cornerback.
Safety
- Justin Simmons, 59 snaps, 100 percent market share
- Darian Stewart, 47 snaps, 80 percent market share
- William Parks, 43 snaps, 73 percent market share
- Jamal Carter, 12 snaps, 20 percent market share
Stewart and Simmons both recorded six tackles on Monday night while playing the majority of the snaps. William Parks also received a lot of playing time.
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After reviewing the snap counts for the entire team, things seem to went according to plan for the coaching staff. The starters played the majority of the game, while utilizing their bench to provide the necessary depth to keep the main rotation of players fresh.