5 players who Denver Broncos need to be great in 2020
As the Denver Broncos position themselves for a rise up the AFC West standings, these five players will have to be great in 2020.
The Denver Broncos started last season 0-4, and they never recovered on the way to 7-9. Joe Flacco opened the season as the starting quarterback, before a neck injury sidelined him. Brandon Allen made three starts, then rookie Drew Lock made his way back from a thumb injury to start the final five games.
Denver went 4-1 in Lock’s starts, with the lone loss coming to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in a snow game. Lock started fast, with five touchdown passes in his first two starts, and finished slowly, but overall it looks like the Broncos have finally found a quarterback of the future.
General manager John Elway confirmed the commitment to Lock, using this year’s first two draft picks on wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and K.J. Hamler. In the fourth round, Lock’s college teammate Albert Okwuegbunam was brought in to form a formidable tight end duo with Noah Fant. Draft picks and free agent resources were poured into the offensive line too.
The Chiefs are the kings of the AFC West until someone dethrones them. If the Broncos plan on making a rise to the playoffs in 2020, these five players will have to be great.
5. OLB Bradley Chubb
Chubb stepped right in as a worthy running mate for Von Miller in 2018, with 12 sacks, 60 total tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 21 quarterback hits in a terrific rookie season. But he played just four games last year before suffering a torn ACL, and registered just one sack.
Back in March, former Bronco DeMarcus Ware has spoken highly of Chubb looking to the 2020 season.
“The thing is the mentality of ‘I can’t be stopped,'” “And I know that Bradley Chubb, he has that mentality. No matter what type of injury you have, you can come back from it if you work hard enough, and I know he’s going to come back stronger.”
The Broncos’ team sack total didn’t fall far from 2018 (44) to 2019 (40), and the addition of Jurrell Casey to the defensive line will be good. But a healthy Chubb is a special player. He will need to be healthy and back to his 2018 form for the Denver defense to have a chance to be a reincarnation of franchise’s famed “Orange Crush” defense.