Denver started off scorching hot, but are now struggling and will likely look to rebuild in the draft
Looking back to the off-season, the Denver Broncos were all positives. The Broncos made a couple of notable off-season moves with the acquisitions of Ronald Darby and Kyle Fuller to an already quality defense. To add to the Darby and Fuller move, the Broncos also drafted one of the better cornerbacks in the draft in Patrick Surtain.
Denver was looking positive, but then during the day of the draft, the whole NFL world exploded. Adam Schefter broke the news that Aaron Rodgers possibly wanted out of Green Bay, and it turned out that Denver was one of the teams that Rodgers possibly wanted to get traded to. The days and weeks after, rumors were swirling around Rodgers and where he might land. Rodgers is still in Green Bay, and Denver never got him.
To start the season, there was still hope that Denver would land Rodgers after this season, and initially, things seemed to be going well. Denver was showing why they were so positive heading into this season, but they also received a pleasant surprise in Teddy Bridgewater who was arguably playing the best football of his career.
Denver’s 3-0 start was great, but things quickly took a turn for the worse. After going 3-0, Denver got beat handily by the Ravens with a final score of 23-7 and then would lose to their next three opponents. Denver went from a 3-0 possible playoff team, to a team who will now possibly be sellers at the trade deadline and maybe looking to rebuild when the offseason arrives.
Denver Broncos get a new franchise QB in 2022 mock draft
Looking back to the last draft Denver Broncos fans were almost begging for a QB, and quite fairly so. The past draft was loaded with QBs, and when Denver’s draft pick did come up, there were two QB’s available for them to select, those players being Justin Fields and Mac Jones. The Broncos ended up taking Patrick Surtain instead, while Fields would land with the Bears, and Jones would be taken by the Patriots.
While the QB situation hasn’t been as bad as previously thought, thanks in part to Teddy Bridgewater playing some decent football, Denver still needs a QB for the future. Unfortunately for Denver, this draft class is not nearly as deep at QB as the previous draft.
One thing that has been a big change from Teddy Bridgewater this season is how aggressive he has become. Teddy Bridgewater currently has a 9.4 average depth of target, the highest mark of his career; not only is it the highest mark of his career, but it’s the highest by a wide margin.
With Teddy Bridgewater being aggressive, a player who is not known for being aggressive, it would be fair to assume that whoever Denver would draft, the player would naturally be an aggressive QB, and that’s exactly what Sam Howell is.
Looking back to the last season one more time, Sam Howell was cooking college defenses. Howell dominated last season and was looking at being a top 10 selection in this upcoming draft, but unfortunately for Howell, he has struggled quite a bit this year. One reason why Howell may be struggling this season is that he lost most of his weapons from last year, namely Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome.
Outside of struggling this season, Howell would be a good fit for Denver. Howell is a very aggressive QB and can really push the ball down the field with his cannon of an arm. With the young weapons that Denver has in Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, Noah Fant, and Howells’s former teammate Javonte Williams, Howell could feasibly play well in his rookie year.
Other players considered: Charles Cross, Christian Harris, Trent McDuffie