It's Time To Get Excited About The Denver Broncos

Every year in the NFL, there's always a couple teams that breakout unexpectedly. Last year, we look at the Ravens, 49ers, and Bills and see that they were classic examples of a "breakout" team. This year, one of the breakout teams will be the Denver Broncos. When I look at the Broncos, I see a team that truly has no holes. I mean sure, they've got areas that could be improved but there's no spot on their team that is bad by any means. There are so many reasons to get excited about the Denver Broncos.

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Drew Lock

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Drew Lock is one of the biggest reasons as to why I'm super excited to watch the Broncos in 2020. Coming off a rookie year where he went 4-1 in his five starts, Lock enters this year with high expectations.

Last year, though a small sample size, Lock proved that he has what it takes to be a great starting quarterback. In several games, Lock showed great poise and displayed solid accuracy while helping his team win games. He played extremely conservative last year and a lot of people are worried that he won't be able to transition to a more downfield attack but I disagree. Coming out of college, he was seen as high potential QB with a great arm, which is just fantastic.

Last year, we saw some solid games and then some mediocre ones. The game versus the Texans was particularly impressive, as he threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns. Of course, you could look at the game versus the Chiefs and say he may not be ready for big time competition but keep in mind that was the ONLY loss the Broncos had with Lock at quarterback. Winning isn't entirely on the quarterback but it's still impressive.

I am EXTREMELY excited to see how Lock does this year. He's going to be the X-Factor for them this season. If he plays well, the Broncos will be great but if he disappoints, then so will the Broncos. However, I think he's going to take big leap forward. I think saying he'll win MVP is premature but I think top five in the voting is very possible. It sounds crazy but I truly do believe in Drew Lock this year and I think he's going to be have a big sophomore season.

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The Offense

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Of course, every great quarterback needs weapons. You can't gauge a quarterback by themselves. Thankfully for Drew Lock, he is surrounded by a lot of great weapons in Denver and that's what going to help him take such a substantial leap.

With the 15th pick in the draft this year, the Denver Broncos drafted star receiver Jerry Jeudy. Jeudy has ELITE talent and was a consensus top three wide receiver by everyone. He's a perfect fit for what Denver is trying to build and he's got all the talent/tools to be a number one receiver. They've also got Courtland Sutton who had 72 catches, 1,100 yards, and was named to the Pro Bowl. He's 6'4 foot and he's a perfect compliment to Jerry Jeudy. They also drafted KJ Hamler with a late round draft pick. Noah Fant also has tremendous potential and showed signs of potential last year AND they drafted Albert O to be the backup.

You also have to look at the run game, as the run tends to set up the pass. The Broncos went out and signed Melvin Gordon in free agency and they're pairing him with Phillip Lindsay. Lindsay gets slept on but he was solid last year with over 1,000 yards and 35 receptions out of the backfield. Melvin Gordon is obviously better but those two are both good but not great. Putting them together may potentially be a big recipe for success.

The offensive line may actually be the weak point of this offense but it's still improving and I don't think it's bad by any means. The offense truly has no holes. They've got the weapons, the run game, and the quarterback to lead them to the promise land.

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The Defense

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Denver's defense is truly what sets this team over the edge. Yes the offense is great, yes the offense is exciting, but the defense is what's really going to make this team dominant next year.

One of the biggest pieces for this defense is Bradley Chubb. Chubb was primed for a big season last year until he got injured but he's going to have a monster campaign. And even if he doesn't for whatever reason, he's got Von Miller right on the other side. Those two are going to wreck HAVOC on opposing offensive lines and they'll be one of the best pass rushing duos in football. They even got Jurrell Casey for a pack of peanuts and he still holds some value.

They've also got a great secondary. They've got one of the best safety duos in football with Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson. For cornerbacks, Bouye and Callahan aren't amazing but they'll get the job done and they'll obviously be helped by two of the best safeties in the NFL.

Their linebacker core isn't spectacular but Alexander Johnson has been extremely solid. We look at some of the best breakout teams last year and see one common theme: they all had a great defense. The Ravens, Bills, and 49ers all posted top 10 defenses. As great as the offense is, the defender is going to be the consistent point of this team.

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Vic Fangio

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Vic Fangio is my personal pick for Coach of the Year. Normally, the COTY typically leads their team to a division title but I believe this year will be an exception simply due to the sheer improvement of the Denver Broncos.

Vic Fangio is a defensive minded head coach which is perfect because he's got a great defense. Fangio was the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears when they went 12-4 two years ago. He helped that defense FLOURISH and then we saw them take a big step back once he left. He clearly has a great impact on the defensive side of the ball and we can expect the Broncos to have a top five defense next season.

He's not some sort of offensive mastermind, as the Broncos were a very low scoring team but it's going to take some really awful coaching to fail with all the weapons on this team (unless Drew Lock were to completely flop). Fangio understand that this team is talented and expressed that he wants to take more downfield shots because he knows that's how his team is going to win football games AND compete with the Kansas City Chiefs.

To sum it all up, Fangio is a great head coach. His defensive brilliance combined with the offensive talent that his team has is going to make the Broncos a FORCE on both sides of the ball and we could potentially see a top 10 offense and defense.

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Some people say this team is overhyped and that Drew Lock is unproven but I'm betting on them this year. They've got a great roster with no true holes at the moment along with a great young quarterback that is in the PERFECT position to succeed. This Broncos' team is going to boom in 2020 so do not sleep.

If you have any further questions, make sure to either email us or contact me on Instagram @_mr.sideline.