A position by position look at the Denver Broncos 2017 off-season and what needs to be done on defense to return to the playoffs.
The Denver Broncos officially named Joe Woods as the team’s new defensive coordinator this week. Seen as a rising star in NFL coaching circles, the 46-year-old has been the “air traffic controller” of the Broncos vaunted “No-Fly Zone” secondary.
Woods knows this defense, knows it’s players and knows it’s strengths. He also knows where it needs the most help.
Going off the assumption that Woods will keep the Broncos running a 3-4 defense that has helped magnify the strengths of this unit, let’s take a look at the work that needs to be done to the defense this off-season.
Defensive Line
This is the area that is going to get the most attention. Outside of Derek Wolfe there wasn’t much to write home about. Malik Jackson bolted for more money in Jacksonville.
Jared Crick looked like a wasted free agent signing. Sylvester Williams still hasn’t played like a first round draft pick. Vance Walker, who was supposed to help soften the blow of losing Malik Jackson, was injured in training camp.
Demarcus Ware spent a majority of the season battling a multitude of injuries. You get the idea.
So where to start? Clearly losing Malik Jackson hurt more than anyone expected. The Broncos were vulnerable up the middle in the run game.
Denver went from boasting the third ranked run defense in the NFL last season, giving up only 83.6 yards rushing per game to giving up 130.3 yards per game this season.
Clearly all the credit for the strong run defense doesn’t go just to Jackson. But his presence in the middle was obviously a boost. Other questions come in here like will they bring back Demarcus Ware and Vance Walker? Will they re-sign Sylvester Williams or let him walk?
Expect the line to get a lot of attention this off-season in both free agency as well as the draft. Some names have already been batted around the rumor mill like Arizona’s Calais Campbell.
We should expect Denver to be aggressive on the free agent market at this position, especially in pursuit of a solid defensive tackle. The Broncos will also most likely add a player or two in draft along the line.