Denver Broncos: Top newcomers living up to expectations so far

Denver Broncos newcomers are living up to big expectations already.

The Denver Broncos made a bunch of big-time moves in the 2020 offseason through trades, free agency, and the NFL Draft.

In the 2019 offseason, the Broncos had made a number of high-profile additions as well, namely trading for Joe Flacco and signing veterans Ja’Wuan James, Kareem Jackson, and Bryce Callahan. They also drafted tight end Noah Fant in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Even though fans were excited about the additions the Broncos made, Joe Flacco wasn’t exactly lighting it up in practices ahead of promising rookie Drew Lock, who was also being criticized heavily by head coach Vic Fangio a year ago at this time.

Jackson was injured in camp, as was Callahan, and James ironically was the only one really showing why the Broncos paid so much money for him during training camp.

Although it’s typical for draft picks — even your high draft picks — to struggle early on as they get their feet wet in the NFL, you want to see your big-money additions come through in practices and show why you paid so much money and/or traded so much to acquire them.

So far in the first week-plus of 2020 training camp, the Broncos’ top additions are proving exactly that.

1. Jurrell Casey, DL

How good has defensive lineman Jurrell Casey been so far in Denver Broncos training camp?

When asked about Casey’s impact on him specifically, starting linebacker Alexander Johnson opened his eyes wide and said that Casey’s not just going to impact him, but the entire defense.

Every single day at training camp, there have been reports of Casey blowing up a play, getting a good rush, blowing up another play, batting down a pass at the line, and he’s getting it done off the field as well.

Casey is a five-time Pro Bowl selection from his time with the Tennessee Titans, and the Broncos of course inherited the remainder of his salary with Tennessee, but at the cost of only a seventh-round draft pick.

So far, Casey has looked every bit the part of a Pro Bowl defensive lineman in practice and his presence on the defensive line as a whole can’t be overstated. How much better does Casey make guys like Von Miller and Bradley Chubb on the edge? Even his defensive line-mate Shelby Harris?

The Broncos’ defensive front seven is the best they’ve had — easily — since the 2015 unit that ultimately brought home a championship.

2. AJ Bouye, CB

AJ Bouye was traded to the Denver Broncos from the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason for the low price of a fourth-round draft pick.

The Broncos were in the market for an outside cornerback this offseason with Chris Harris Jr.’s likely departure, and Bouye was a tremendous player to grab at a discounted rate.

After an awesome start to his Jacksonville career in 2017-18, Bouye had a down 2019 season and injuries could be a major reason for that.

Now, he’s got a daily appointment at the catch point and is looking fully healthy and ready for CB1 responsibilities in Denver.

https://twitter.com/Broncos/status/1296583037925433344

The Broncos needed Bouye to be a CB1 for them this season, and if he’s been ‘everything’ they hoped for?

That’s great news for all.

The cornerback position was an underrated weakness for Denver last season, but with Bouye coming in and Bryce Callahan coming off of his injury and also looking really good, it could very well become one of the team’s top strengths in 2020.

3. Melvin Gordon, RB

Many in the Denver Broncos fan base were not pleased with the team’s decision to give free agent running back Melvin Gordon a two-year, $16 million contract with Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman already on the roster.

At this point, Gordon is on the roster and now it’s most important that he hopefully lives up to the deal, and he showed early on in camp why he was a bigger-money free agent and why the Broncos sought after him to pair up with Lindsay.

https://twitter.com/Broncos/status/1295807717026627584

Gordon has not only been making plays as a runner, as you would expect, but he’s showing out in the passing game as well. He has missed a couple of days nursing a rib injury, but it’s clear that Gordon is going to fit in with this Broncos offense and he may have been sold a bit short due to some statistics that made him seem more average than anything coming out of the Chargers’ program.

4. Jerry Jeudy, WR

The spotlight for the majority of the early goings at Denver Broncos training camp has been on rookie wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, and for good reason.

I maintain that Jeudy is the most high-profile player to be drafted to the Denver Broncos in John Elway’s tenure, even with two former top-five picks in Von Miller and Bradley Chubb on the roster.

Jeudy has been a coveted, five-star everything since he was in ninth grade, when Broncos WRs coach Zach Azzanni initially recruited him (when he was coaching the Tennessee Volunteers).

Jeudy is also the first player the Broncos have drafted in Elway’s tenure from Alabama, and coming out of school as the Biletnikoff Award winner in 2018 and All-American, All-SEC, best route runner Todd McShay has ever seen — it’s safe to say he’s at least on a very short list of the highest-profile athletes to come to Denver.

It would have been pretty easy for a rookie to come in and not live up to lofty expectations, but Jeudy has found a way to exceed them.

https://twitter.com/Broncos/status/1296533361037516800

Even though it’s difficult for rookie wide receivers to transition from college to the pros and Jeudy has things he can certainly be working on, it’s tremendous to see him making such a significant early impact at camp.