John Elway and the Denver Broncos are itching to get back to the playoffs after missing the postseason in every year since their Super Bowl win in 2015. Things are exponentially different though for the team in the Mile High City.
In 2015, Peyton Manning was on his last leg but managed to make plays when needed. Also, Wade Phillips and the defense were relentless against the MVP of the NFL in Cam Newton. That led them to a 24-10 win while Manning rode off into the sunset, calling it a career.
Since then, the Broncos have been unable to find the answer to replacing Manning. Guys like Brock Osweiler, Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, and Case Keenum have all failed to produce at a high enough level to win.
This offseason, Elway made a move to acquire Joe Flacco from the Baltimore Ravens in hopes to solve the quarterback woes—at least for the short-term. He also drafted Drew Lock to groom under Flacco.
Regardless, the Broncos are going to need more than just Flacco to step up in 2019. Here are three players who must take the next step for the Broncos during the 2019 season.
3. Josey Jewell
At first glance, Denver seems to have put together a defense that is going to terrorize opposing offenses. There are a few question marks—including the inside linebacker position that Josey Jewell resides at.
In his rookie season last year, Jewell turned some heads with his productiveness when he was on the field. Jewell may have been drafted in the fourth round, but it didn't take long for him to crack the starting lineup.
The rookie linebacker started in nine games while racking up 58 tackles, four tackles for loss, and three pass deflections. The Broncos know what they have in Todd Davis next to Jewell, but the young linebacker could make a name for himself in 2019.
1. Phillip Lindsay
One of the best stories that came out of the 2018 season was the emergence of an undrafted rookie in Phillip Lindsay. There are not many times an undrafted running back gets the opportunity to start, but Lindsay did more than seize the opportunity—he ran with it.
In his rookie season, Lindsay rushed for 1,037 yards on 192 carries and got into the end zone nine times. Lindsay became the third undrafted rookie running back to rush for 1,000 yards in NFL history.
Furthermore, he also was the first offensive rookie that went undrafted to make the Pro Bowl. Undoubtedly, Lindsay solidified himself as the future ball carrier in Denver, but he will need to repeat his success in 2019.
After all, the running game will be vital to the Broncos being able to get the most out of Flacco from under center.
1. Courtland Sutton
One of the most important players for the Broncos in the upcoming season is Courtland Sutton. The second-year wideout will be asked to take a more significant role within the offense.
Last season, Sutton found himself in the starting lineup after the team traded away longtime Broncos receiver, Demaryius Thomas. As a result, Sutton started in nine games and managed to put up decent numbers.
In his rookie season, Sutton totaled 42 receptions, 704 yards, and four touchdowns. Again, the quarterback play left more to be desired, so his numbers are even more impressive.
Coming out of college at SMU, Sutton was known to be a big-play threat on offense. Last year, he showed he can bring that to the NFL by averaging 16.8 yards per reception. That was good enough for seventh best in the entire NFL.
Flacco has some decent weapons to air the ball to with Emmanuel Sanders and DaeSean Hamilton, but Sutton will need to improve upon his impressive rookie campaign from 2018 in 2019.
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