Denver Broncos: Which position group does team spend the most money on?
Despite going all out for offensive weapons this offseason, the Broncos will still be giving a large chunk of cash to players on the defensive side of the ball.
Looking at the team’s salary cap for the upcoming season, Von Miller is still far and away the highest-paid player on the roster. Throw in the salary for Bradley Chubb and those two linebackers are due about $33 million in 2020.
That might make one think that the linebacker corps is the highest-paid position group on the team, but it’s the secondary where the Broncos have really shelled out the money to.
Kareem Jackson is the team’s second-highest-paid player, due $14 million this season, just a shade higher than the $13.4 million A.J. Bouye is scheduled to make. Throw in the fact that Justin Simmons will make $11.4 million under the franchise tag, and three of the six highest-paid players on the team are members of the secondary.
That number for Simmons will be even higher if the team reaches an agreement on a long-term contract.
In addition, Bryce Callahan is set to count about $6 million against the cap this season, meaning that the quartet of Jackson, Bouye, Simmons and Callahan will count nearly $45 million against this year’s cap.
That could be a good reason as to why the team does not want to invest in any more proven depth at the cornerback position, as players such as Logan Ryan and Dre Kirkpatrick remain as available free agents.
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The Broncos expect to get much more out of their offense in 2020, but out of the top 10 player salaries on the team, only two — Ja’Wuan James and Melvin Gordon — are on offense.
Most teams have a highly paid quarterback. For the Broncos, Drew Lock is scheduled to make just $1.5 million in base salary and a roster bonus this coming season. There are 23 players on the team — including his backup Jeff Driskel — who are currently set to make more.
This all illustrates that though the Broncos expect more explosive plays out of the offense in 2020 with Lock hopefully blossoming in his second year and using the young targets around him, the team is still going to live and die on defense.
With the secondary, particularly the cornerback position still being a bit of a concern, the hope is that these players making these big salaries, namely Bouye and Callahan, are able to step up and get the job done.