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Fantasy Football: Denver Broncos Season Preview

By Bruce Matson

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Denver Broncos Season Preview

The Broncos finished last season with a 12-4 record while winning the AFC West Division. The Broncos are one of the few teams in the league who could possibly have a stud player at every position this season. Can Peyton Manning continue being a stud in fantasy, or is this the year that he falls off the wagon?

Quarterback

Peyton Manning

Manning finished last season ranked 3rd among quarterbacks scoring 455.95 fantasy points on the year averaging 28.50 points per game. He had 11 games last year where he scored 20 fantasy points or more, and he only had 1 game where he had less than 10 fantasy points. Gary Kubiak is the new head coach, so there’s going to be changes with the offensive system, which creates a variable when it comes to predicting Denver’s offensive output. I look for Manning’s fantasy production to decrease a little bit, but I’m still going to consider him a reliable starter until he absolutely can’t do it anymore.

Running Back

C.J. Anderson

Anderson finished last season ranked 11th among running backs scoring 212.80 fantasy points on the year averaging 14.19 points per game. Anderson had 1 game where he had 10 fantasy points or more and he had 6 games where he scored 20 fantasy points or more. Anderson was very efficient when he took the reins of the starting job in Denver during week 10. Anderson is going to be drafted in the late 1st to the mid-2nd round of your fantasy drafts. He’s going to be worth the high price tag because he was incredible last season, and he’s a great fit in Kubiak’s offense.

Montee Ball

He’s a player you will want to have on your watch list or have stashed on the back of your roster if you have deep benches, because if Anderson goes down with an injury then you will have a RB2 to plug into your starting lineup.

Ronnie Hillman

I value Hillman the same as Ball,. Keep an eye on him during the season so you can pluck him off the waiver wire, or stash him if it’s applicable to your roster space.

Wide Receiver

Demaryius Thomas

Thomas finished last season ranked 2nd among wide receivers in fantasy production with 343.90 fantasy points averaging 21.49 points per game. Thomas had 12 games where he scored 10 fantasy points or more and he had 7 games where he scored 20 fantasy points or more. Thomas is a stud wide receiver, and he holds value as a late-1st to a mid-2nd round pick in redraft leagues. Thomas is worth the price because he has the capabilities to score 40 points during any given week.

Emmanuel Sanders

Sanders finished last season ranked 6th among wide receivers in fantasy production with 303.30 fantasy points on the year averaging 18.96 fantasy points per game. Sanders had 13 games where he scored 10 fantasy points or more, and he had 7 games where he scored 20 fantasy points or more. The odds of Sanders finishing with this production are highly unlikely, because it’s hard to do and the odds of him receiving the same amount of workload as last year are very low. Again, Gary Kubiak and his offensive system is another variable to keep in mind when we do our assessment on Sanders. That means there are going to be moving parts in this offense that are different, and we have to take that into account. Sanders is not a top-notch talent, so a change in scheme could affect his fantasy output. I’m not saying Sanders is going to be a bust, but a top-10 finish is highly unlikely, and a finish in the WR 15-25 range is more likely for him. Sanders holds more value in PPR leagues, and his price tag might be too high for me in standard leagues.

Cody Latimer

Latimer was selected in the 2nd round in last year’s draft. Latimer is a highly athletic prospect and if he could win the WR3 job in camp he could be fantasy relevant this season. Keep him on your watch list.

Tight End

Owen Daniels/Virgil Green

The tight end that wins the starting job on this offense is the tight end that you want to own. Manning is a big fan of utilizing his tight end in the passing game, and Kubiak also is a fan of utilizing the tight end. The odds are high that the starting tight end in this offense could finish in the top 10 in fantasy production this season. Both Daniels and Green are candidates to win the job, and you should keep an eye out on both of these players. My guess would be that Daniels wins the job.

Defense/Special Teams

The Broncos defense finished 11th among DSTs scoring 120 fantasy points on the year. The Broncos had 3 games where they scored 10 fantasy points or more (ESPN standard scoring). I look for the Broncos defense to be similar to last year, which could mean that they will be a solid streaming option, but hard to depend on them for weekly production.

Need help making roster decisions? Need help on who to pick off the waiver wire? Need an opinion on that trade offer that’s in your inbox? I’m your guy, follow me on Twitter @bmatz08, and I’ll give you the guidance you need to make the best choice for your fantasy team.

Next: Kansas City Chiefs Season Preview

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