AFC West power rankings: Is it the best division in the NFL?
45. AFC. West. Denver Broncos. player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. 2
John Elway’s club is coming off three consecutive losing seasons. But hope springs eternal for the Denver Broncos as the team overcame a 0-4 start this past year and won seven of its final 12 outings. A lot of the optimism surrounds young quarterback Drew Lock, who was the team’s third different starting signal-caller of 2019 and played well in the club’s final five games for Vic Fangio’s squad.
The defense got off to a slow start in terms of sacks and takeaways but by season’s end, Ed Donatell’s unit had allowed only 28 offensive touchdowns and 40 quarterback traps. The new offensive coordinator is Pat Shurmur, who spent the last two seasons as head coach of the New York Giants. The key additions include former Chargers’ running back Melvin Gordon, five-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jurrell Casey, and quality cornerback A.J. Bouye. Add in a trio of rookies in wideouts Jerry Jeudy (1-Alabama) and K.J. Hamler (2-Penn State) and center Lloyd Cushenberry (3b-LSU) and there’s plenty of reason for optimism. And outside linebacker Bradley Chubb returns after missing the final 12 games of ’19.
Of course, there is that little matter of nine straight losses to the Chiefs, which brings us to…