Key Additions
QB Joe Flacco (Trade)
TE Noah Fant (Draft)
OT Ja’Wuan James (FA)
OL Dalton Risner (Draft)
DB Kareem Jackson (FA)
CB Bryce Callahan (FA)
HC Vic Fangio
Key Losses
QB Case Keenum
C Matt Paradis
OL Billy Turner
CB Bradley Roby
OLB Shaquil Barrett
OT Jared Veldheer
OLB Shane Ray
LB Brandon Marshall
DT Domata Peko
We would be remiss not to add new head coach Vic Fangio into the ‘Key Additions’ column for the Broncos, as he was arguably the most important move they made this offseason.
Fangio, along with the rest of the staff he’s bringing in, is probably the most important move the Broncos made all offseason.
The Broncos replaced Case Keenum with Joe Flacco, which may or may not be an upgrade. If Flacco struggles, the Broncos drafted Drew Lock in the second round and I believe he’s a future franchise quarterback.
Denver got a lot better on the offensive line by signing Ja’Wuan James, drafting Dalton Risner, and hiring Mike Munchak. That was another huge aspect of this offseason.
I included in the ‘Key Losses’ column some names of players who were backups on this Denver team like Shaquil Barrett and Shane Ray because the Broncos didn’t use primary assets to replace them. Justin Hollins of Oregon was drafted in round five to possibly replace one, and Dekoda Watson (trade) could replace the other along with in-house candidate Jeff Holland and a couple of rookie UDFAs.
Defensively, the Broncos’ offseason now hinges on whether or not they bring back Chris Harris Jr.
If they lose Harris, the secondary is undeniably worse. If they bring Harris back, the defense as a whole is much better than last year, especially in the secondary.
The thought was going into free agency that the Broncos would be able to get one top flight corner, so the signed Kareem Jackson (who will apparently also play safety). They followed that move up by signing nickel corner Bryce Callahan.