The Denver Broncos are one of the most interesting teams in the AFC, if not the entire NFL entering this season. Teddy Bridgewater was named the starting quarterback for this season in a move that basically tells us the Drew Lock experiment is coming to a close. The former second-round pick lost his job to the journeyman Bridgewater.
Moving past the quarterback on offense, the weapons and the offensive line should be all right. Courtland Sutton is returning from a full-season injury in 2020, Jerry Jeudy is in line for a potential year-two breakout, and Noah Fant is a fine tight end. The running backs are Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams, a pairing that will be around the league average. There's one common theme with every position group on the Broncos. They all appear extremely average on paper. That's where the defense comes in.
Defensively, things are looking great for the Broncos. Von Miller and Bradley Chubb are making their returns and Patrick Surtain II was drafted early in the first round to help a secondary with Justin Simmons, Ronald Darby, and Bryce Callahan, among others. The defense is ready to be one of the best in the NFL, but can it be good enough to carry this team to the playoffs?
Here are four bold predictions for the Broncos' season.
Broncos Predictions:
Teddy Bridgewater starts at least 14 games
Let's give some leeway for injury or COVID-related absences here, but Teddy Bridgewater will not be replaced by Drew Lock or anyone else due to poor performance this year. This is the exact type of situation Teddy should thrive in. All he has to do is score around 23 points per game and let the defense do the rest. Teddy will bore you to death while watching him play, but at the end of the game he'll have 250 yards and two touchdowns and somehow the Broncos will win 23-18.
Bridgewater likely won't play at such a great level that he's irreplaceable, but stability and lack of a better backup may force the Broncos' hand even if Teddy is terrible. It's unlikely he's anything worse than the 20th-best quarterback in the league, and that should be just fine.
Javonte Williams quickly becomes the clear lead running back
Melvin Gordon appears to be starting the season as the top running back for Denver, but that shouldn't last long. Gordon is not at all the player he once was with the Chargers. The Broncos are well aware of that. They actually traded up in the second round to take Williams, the eventual replacement for Gordon. There is one year remaining on the Melvin Gordon contract, so Williams is sure to be the replacement entering next season. It would be wise to just let the young player take over sooner rather than later. Melvin Gordon is fine, but his ceiling is so low compared to what Williams could bring to the Denver offense. They'll split carries early with Williams quickly becoming the lead running back.
Both Gordon and Williams are said to have a very similar skill set, but with Williams being younger, he may be the more enticing option. Williams can play the same role as Gordon, but because of their ages, Williams could explode and quickly become a three-down back. He certainly has the skill set to do it, but will Denver give in and tell Gordon to take a back seat? It'll be something to watch for fantasy managers and Broncos fans.
The Broncos end their double-digit losing streak to the Chiefs in Week 18
As of this moment, the Denver Broncos have lost 11 straight games to the Kansas City Chiefs. That's over five seasons of losing to the same team every single time the two teams play each other. The 2021 season will finally be the year the Broncos beat the Chiefs again and it will happen in Week 18 at home. The Broncos are going to play a very annoying, slow-paced, careful game, especially against Kansas City.
This will also be in Week 18, so the Chiefs could very well be resting any given player as they prepare for another Super Bowl run. This prediction absolutely has a loophole! If the Broncos take on the Chiefs in Week 18 with something to play for — and the Chiefs don't — I wouldn't be surprised at all if they came away with a win, ending the long losing streak.
The Broncos will sneak into a wild card spot
The playoffs are back for Denver and their fans for the first time since the Super Bowl win back in the 2015 season. The rebuild isn't coming to an end — no rebuild should ever conclude with a quarterback like Teddy Bridgewater — but their situation is similar to the one in Washington. A very solid roster could have been supplemented with a quarterback in the draft, but instead both teams are rolling with a veteran. For Washington it's Ryan Fitzpatrick, and for Denver it's Teddy Bridgewater. Both teams are also trying to escape the rebuild a little quicker than many thought.
Denver is right in the range of 8.5 wins on most over/under betting sites. That ninth win could very well end up determining who makes the playoffs. It will likely take at least 10 wins to make it, but getting to win number nine gives every team a sliver of a chance. The division is going to go to Kansas City barring some unforeseen injuries or meltdown, so if Denver wants a playoff spot, it'll be through the wild card. That's where Week 18 comes in. Denver will end its losing streak to Kansas City and secure a playoff berth in the same game.
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