In the spirit of beat-writers fighting over who broke the news first, allow me to say, I’ve probably known Howard Bender and read his work longer than anyone reading this piece right now. I remember when I found his first fantasy baseball blog, RotoBuzz, on BlogSpot and he’s had me coming back for more ever since. We’ve battled back and forth over the years, especially with my unbridled love (and his hate) for drafting Josh Gordon, but this is now almost 20 years “together” and it’s been a tremendous ride. 

When he asked me to write up my beloved Broncos for this year’s Draft Guide Homer Corner, I jumped at the chance. My name is Duran Spray and here are my thoughts.

 *ADJUSTS ORANGE-TINTED GLASSES*

Denver might have one of the most talented rosters in the NFL top to bottom with one exception: a serviceable quarterback. But hey who needs to throw accurately when you have sweet dance moves like this?

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Lock spent some time this offseason with the five headed legend himself Peyton Manning.  Together they worked on footwork, reads and strengthening Lock’s mental game.  The physical tools are there.  The decision making leaves a lot to be desired.  Teddy B should start the season as a backup with Drew having a short leash.

The weapons are there for Lock.  He’s starting to show promise towards the tail end of camp.  I’d say he has QB2 upside.

The Bronco with the most upside right now to me is Javonte Williams.  I was excited about this kid out of college and didn’t think he’d end up in Orange.  He runs angry.  His .48 broken tackles per run is a PFF college record and his 78 total led the country by a wide margin.  He should very quickly, if not by week 1, take the starting role.

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 Now for the pass-catchers.  This will all come down to if Lock can take the next step.  There are 5-6 talented receivers on this roster and poor QB play will not allow any of them to truly stand out.

Sutton is coming off a severe injury and didn’t suit up for a week 1 preseason.  They’re hoping to get him in a preseason game before the regular season starts but that’s yet to be seen.  Draft at your own risk here.

Patrick has looked good, and he’s drawing trade interest from the Ravens.  He had 79 targets last year and zero drops.  Only Fitzgerald equaled that. QB’s had a 104.5 rating throwing to him.  This includes a game started by a practice squad WR. You could do much worse looking for a WR3/4.

Jeudy perhaps was one of the best route-running rookies we’ve seen.  If he can fix his alligator arms and has Sutton taking some pressure off him, he could really turn a corner (or turn around multiple corners).  He’s flashed his skills all training camp and this is a guy I would target if he dropped far enough. 

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The tight end group is interesting as well.  Noah Fant is back and looking to prove he can hang in that back end TE1 group.  If you can get Fant around the 8th round I think you’re golden.  He should see decent volume and if the rest of the receivers are healthy, he’ll be loosely covered. 

Lock’s college safety blanket, Albert O, is also back and possesses an incredible size/speed combo.  His SPARQ numbers jump off the chart and is someone I like to stash in the very back end of dynasty drafts.

This ends the optimistic take in what will probably end up a 6-11 team.  It will all come down to what Drew Lock shows up this year.