NFL Draft 2018: 5 Teams that improved the most for this season

Denver Broncos 

The Denver Broncos were thought to have wanted to take a quarterback early. When the opportunity presented itself, general manager John Elway opted to stick to the side of the ball that won him a Super Bowl title, the defense. Bradley Chubb is a fantastic edge rusher who has excellent size, speed and bendability to make an instant impact.

Given the attention that Von Miller will receive and Shane Ray’s production, Chubb is in a position that former 49ers edge rusher Aldon Smith was in. They both share similar skill-sets and size, Smith, however, saw limited action, but still finished his rookie season with 14 sacks. Chubb can do the same as head coach Vance Joseph has likely been dreaming up ways to get Chubb involved early and often.

The other immediate contributor came in the second round with a big-bodied receiver, SMU’s Courtland Sutton. Sutton is a boundary guy that could really help out a Broncos offense, which really only had two weapons out wide in Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. Sutton would give new quarterback Case Keemun another red zone target who has an excellent catch radius fantastic body control.

The power running game looks to be a factor in their quest to take the AFC West as Royce Freeman and all 230 pounds of him will come in and fight for the spot as the feature back. Freeman fits the mold of back that offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave likes to feature, like with Latavius Murray. During the Oakland Raiders playoff run in 2016, Musgrave used a three-back system with Murray leading the way, which means Freeman and Devontae Booker should be the one-two punch for Denver.

Freeman will give Keemun the breathing room to operate in a similar fashion like he did with the Minnesota Vikings last season, while Sutton wlli provide a nice safety blanket underneath. And Chubb being a force on the defense will likely help that unit finish in the top five in the league again.