Denver Broncos: Identifying the team’s top roster weaknesses so far

Quarterback

Is the quarterback position an area of weakness for the Denver Broncos, despite the presence of Case Keenum?

At this point, the answer to that question is yes.

Keenum has not been a difference-maker worthy of $18 million per season, even if that is at or below the average going rate for decent quarterback play in the NFL these days.

At this point in time, there is no clear-cut number one overall pick at quarterback in the 2019 NFL Draft crop, though the NFL Draft community seems to be coming to a slow consensus that Oregon’s Justin Herbert is the top player at his position in the class.

Before we really get into the Broncos’ options here, let’s look at what they have and why this is an area of weakness.

Keenum has been one of the league’s most ineffective deep ball throwers this season despite the Broncos attempting to push the ball deep downfield more than just about any team in the league. We dove deep into those numbers here, as they are really dragging down Keenum’s season totals as a whole.

Keenum isn’t making the big throws necessary for a highly paid quarterback and thus, the Broncos could be forced to make a tough decision if he does not improve.

Depending on how long the Broncos remain in the AFC playoff picture, we may or may not see any of Chad Kelly this season. Kelly showed in preseason play flashes of the upside he once showed at Ole Miss, and flat out took the backup position on this roster away from Paxton Lynch.

The Broncos ate a big chunk of cash to keep Kelly over Lynch, despite draft status, and that was not without on-field merit.

If the Broncos don’t get a chance to see what they have in Kelly this season, it will be a very unfortunate repeat of the past.

Keenum really holds the keys to the resolution at quarterback. If he’s able to play well consistently in the next three-quarters of the season, and the Broncos start winning more games because of him, perhaps they will give him 2019. If Keenum continues throwing interceptions and not throwing touchdowns, it won’t be very long before the Broncos have lost enough games to get Chad Kelly on the field.

Solution: The NFL Draft

The 2019 free agent class of quarterbacks is downright terrible, especially in comparison to the 2018 class which was at least headlined by Kirk Cousins, who has done really well statistically for the Minnesota Vikings.

30-year-old Tyrod Taylor will be available next offseason, but the Broncos will already have at least $10 million wrapped up in Keenum, at that’s if he’s not on the roster. The Broncos have a $21 million cap hit on Keenum next season, and that $10 million dead money hit would probably just wipe out whatever the increase in the 2019 NFL salary cap number is.

Needless to say, the free agency route is not really an option for the Broncos given the money involved there.

The NFL Draft is the only option if the team is going to head a different direction at quarterback, and that group is headlined by Oregon’s Justin Herbert, as previously mentioned.

The Broncos have more players from the PAC 12 than any other conference in college football on their roster and obviously just did a lot of scouting of their offense since they drafted running back Royce Freeman, a former Duck, in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

Getting high enough in the NFL Draft order to take Herbert is another article entirely, something I will dive into later on.