Denver Broncos: John Elway says team will lean on defense as offense grows

Denver Broncos General Manager John Elway says the team will rely on the defensive side of the ball while the offense comes together.

The Denver Broncos are a young football team, especially on the offensive side of the ball. In fact, the oldest players on offense are Diontae Spencer and Jake Rodgers, who are both 28-years old.

It’s been a long road since the team lost Peyton Manning to retirement, and even though Drew Lock appears to (maybe) be the answer at the quarterback position, the offense still needs to come together.

As for the defense, Broncos general manager John Elway says that the team will have to lean on the group that will try to stop opposing offenses from scoring, and the new additions that were brought in are going to play a major role.

"“If you look on the defensive side, for the most part, with the players and veterans that we’ve added to the defensive side, with the veterans that have been here with another year of understanding [Head Coach] Vic [Fangio’s] defense and what it’s about, obviously, we’re going to have to lean on the defense. We have veterans on the defensive side that we can rely on as we grow as an offense. That’s the hope. I’d love to see us come out and score 40 points against Tennessee on Monday night. I’m not saying that can’t happen, but with the youth that we have, it’s going to take some time. Hopefully we can play better defense with the veterans we have coming in and give us a chance. Ultimately, [the goal] is to win football games.”John Elway (via Broncos PR)"

40 points is definitely a big number.

Denver added to their young offense with even more young guys in wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and K.J. Hamler. They also brought in Tyrie Cleveland. All three were from the 2020 Draft and have yet to participate in a practice with the team.

The goal of the 2020 offseason for the Broncos was to bring in guys who would help Drew Lock grow. They did that with those offensive players, also including center Lloyd Cushenberry and guard Graham Glasgow to protect him.

Let’s also not forget the addition of offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur. It may start off bumpy for the Broncos offense as they try to learn yet another offense, but Giants quarterback Daniel Jones did put up 24 touchdown passes to 12 interceptions in 2019.

On defense, the team welcomed cornerback A.J. Bouye to replace Chris Harris Jr., as well as Jurrell Casey to fill the hole in the middle of the defensive line.

It’s definitely easy to see how the team is going to lean on the defense. With the return of Bradley Chubb and having Von Miller, Alexander Johnson, Kareem Jackson, and Justin Simmons, this defense has the potential to be great if they can all stay on the field.

The Broncos may not be as great in 2020 as Broncos fans hope, but that’s not to say that greatness cannot happen soon. We have to learn to give this offense time. After all, greatness does not appear overnight.