{"id":286534,"date":"2023-09-06T13:31:24","date_gmt":"2023-09-06T13:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/?p=286534"},"modified":"2023-09-06T13:31:24","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T13:31:24","slug":"broncos-mailbag-covering-week-1-ground-in-broncos-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/nfl\/broncos-mailbag-covering-week-1-ground-in-broncos-country\/","title":{"rendered":"Broncos Mailbag: Covering Week 1 ground in Broncos Country"},"content":{"rendered":"

Denver Post Broncos writer Parker Gabriel posts his Broncos Mailbag periodically during the offseason. Click here to submit a question.<\/em><\/p>\n

What is the meaning of life? No football this past weekend! I’m going through withdrawal. What do I do, PG?<\/strong><\/p>\n

— A Referee, Greeley<\/em><\/p>\n

Ref, luckily most of the desert is behind us, and ahead is a cool, glimmering football oasis. Didn\u2019t you watch some college ball at least? Get your fix with some Big Ten slugfests or Colorado knocking off TCU? This week is obviously a huge one in the NFL \u2014 we\u2019re off and running Thursday night with Detroit at Kansas City \u2014 and here on the Front Range we\u2019ve got quite a weekend double with CU-Nebraska on Saturday in Boulder and Broncos-Raiders on Sunday at Empower Field. Get the living room or tailgate setup primed early. It\u2019s going to be a fun one. And you know The Denver Post will be out in force at both games, so plenty of coverage coming your way right here.<\/p>\n

Being a retired U.S. Marine from Denver, living in San Diego, I see that running back Jaleel McLaughlin is wearing Mike Anderson’s number (38). Would LOVE to see him bring the “Mile High Salute” back when he scores TDs!<\/strong><\/p>\n

— Ron, San Diego<\/em><\/p>\n

Hey Ron, thanks for writing in! McLaughlin\u2019s been quite a story, hasn\u2019t he? I was intrigued by him when he signed as an undrafted free agent because everybody spoke highly of him and because he ran for 8,000-plus yards in college, but he\u2019s pretty clearly exceeded even the most optimistic expectations so far. Now, let\u2019s see what he can do with the next step. It\u2019ll be the biggest test yet.<\/p>\n

As for his number, he had an interesting story about it this week in the locker room. McLaughlin told reporters that he didn\u2019t pick it but thought about it later and realized he\u2019d worn No. 10 in high school, No. 20 at Division II Notre Dame College and No. 8 when he transferred to Youngstown State. You can have my level of math proficiency and figure that one out. Pretty cool.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s already a heck of a story. If he scores touchdowns regularly enough to follow Terrell Davis\u2019 salute or create something of his own, Broncos fans are going to be fully in love very quickly.<\/p>\n

Parker, what can we expect from the receiving corps from what you’ve seen? Does Courtland Sutton look like he’s bounced back to the form he had before his injury? And what should we expect from Brandon Johnson and Marvin Mims Jr. this year?<\/strong><\/p>\n

— Mike, Denver<\/em><\/p>\n

Mike, great question. Matter of fact, I wrote about just that in The Post this week.<\/p>\n

Sutton was open and honest earlier in camp about the changes he made to his offseason routine in search of better results. He hasn\u2019t shown the same kind of speed and explosiveness since the torn ACL cost him nearly all of the 2020 season. While he\u2019s had a terrific training camp \u2014 if you were ranking every player on the Broncos roster relative to individual situation, I think you\u2019d put him near the top \u2014 I\u2019m not sure the top-end speed is ever coming back.<\/p>\n

The good news is he doesn\u2019t need it to be a force. He\u2019s in great shape, feels comfortable and confident and is playing big. That\u2019s what the Broncos really need from him. Go get the ball, give Russell Wilson a big target area to work with. Use that unique size to his advantage. If Sutton can do that, Sean Payton\u2019s going to find a lot of ways to get him the ball.<\/p>\n

I was taking a look back at the Broncos’ 2019 draft and hoo-boy, we don’t have a single guy left from that class. Looking back, how would you grade that draft? If Russell Wilson returns to form and we reach the playoffs, do you think trading Drew Lock and Noah Fant justifies us having drafted them?<\/strong><\/p>\n

— Thomas, Lakewood<\/em><\/p>\n

Alright Thomas, good one to close on. For those of you reading who don\u2019t happen to have the 2019 Broncos draft list either memorized or sitting in front of you, let\u2019s run it down: R1 (No. 20 overall): TE Noah Fant. R2 (No. 41): OL Dalton Risner. R2 (No. 42): QB Drew Lock. R3 (No. 71): DL Dre\u2019Mont Jones. R5 (No. 156): OLB Justin Hollins. R6 (No. 187): WR Juwann Winfree.<\/p>\n

One thing to keep in mind is that rookie contracts for any 2019 draftee were up this past offseason without a) being a first-rounder or b) getting an extension. So this would be the time that a class starts thinning out. However, none remaining from a class of six is still noteworthy.<\/p>\n

On production and snaps alone, the Broncos came away with some players from this group. Obviously Dre\u2019Mont Jones played himself into a lucrative second contract. He just signed it with Seattle rather than here after the sides didn\u2019t come to an agreement on an extension. Risner started 62 games at left guard for the Broncos, all but four since getting drafted. The organization thought it could upgrade at that position this spring and signed Ben Powers to a long-term deal. As of this writing, Risner is still looking for work. But he played a whole lot of snaps for Denver over his first contract. It would be hard to call him a bad pick.<\/p>\n

As for Fant and Lock, certainly a Wilson bounce-back would make everybody feel better about that trade overall. But the stinger on that deal in retrospect will always be the absolute haul of draft picks they gave up in addition to those two players and defensive lineman Shelby Harris.<\/p>\n

The 2020 draft class is maybe more disappointing at this moment. The Broncos found a productive player in first-round wide receiver Jerry Jeudy. He showed enough to convince the Broncos to pick up his fifth-year option for 2024. They\u2019ve also still got third-round center Lloyd Cushenberry as a starter and fifth-round linebacker Justin Strnad as a special teams regular. The rest: KJ Hamler\u2019s been waived with an illness designation for a heart condition (he could return in the coming weeks). The rest of the others are gone, too: CB Michael Ojemudia, DL McTelvin Agim, TE Albert Okwuegbunam, OL Netane Muti, WR Tyrie Cleveland and LB Derrek Tuszka.<\/p>\n

Attrition and turnover is the way of life in the NFL, but the best teams find players that they can retain and become the foundation for their rosters. Those John Elway draft misses, combined with the Broncos’ coaching turnover and general manager George Paton’s decisions to unload premium draft capital for Wilson and Payton in successive offseasons, have made that virtually impossible in Denver.<\/p>\n

Maybe this is the start of a turnaround on that front. Maybe not.<\/p>\n

Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.<\/em><\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Denver Post Broncos writer Parker Gabriel posts his Broncos Mailbag periodically during the offseason. 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