3 Underrated NFL storylines for the 2020 season
By Dustin Baker
Underrated 2020 NFL storyline: Are the Denver Broncos on the cusp of a lengthy run?
Yes, the Broncos must first be successful in one season to then have a lengthy run. That is self-evident.
Look at how this team is constructed. Since Peyton Manning retired four years ago, Denver has the NFL’s eighth-best defense via points allowed. It hasn’t been elite, but it has been very respectable. Where they have not been respectable is on the offensive side of the ball. The Broncos rank 30th in points scored since 2016.
How do you remedy an anemic offense? Hire a flashy, offensively-minded coach, right? Wrong.
In-charge-of-everything John Elway did the opposite. He hired Vic Fangio away from the Chicago Bears, a team that had a stiff defense during his tenure as defensive coordinator. This made a defense-first team an even better defense-first team.
Elway did not stop there. He grew tired of the hodgepodge of quarterbacks that bumbled their way through his system: Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, Brock Osweiler, Case Keenum and Joe Flacco. His solution was bazooka-armed Drew Lock from Missouri.
Lock showed ample promise during his maiden voyage in 2019. But Elway took the next few months after last season ensuring Lock has the arsenal he needs to succeed. Denver drafted highly-coveted wideout Jerry Jeudy, speedster K.J. Hamler and signed slasher tailback Melvin Gordon.
Not bad for an offseason haul, correct? Well, those men are in addition to the 2019 assets already sitting atop Denver’s depth chart — wideout Courtland Sutton, tight end Noah Fant and running back Phillip Lindsay.
Next. Predicting the entire 2020 NFL season before camp. dark
On paper, Denver has a magnificent balance of defense that Fangio has enhanced and an offense that Elway has tailor-made for second-year signal-caller Drew Lock.
Be afraid.