Denver Broncos: An Aaron Rodgers era would supplant Manning’s
The ‘what ifs’ swirling around the potential Denver Broncos-Aaron Rodgers marriage are hard to not get excited about.
Peyton Manning is my favorite football player ever — even when he was on the Colts. The Manning Era in Denver was magical, mostly, but I firmly believe that an Aaron Rodgers era can and will be even more magical.
I remember getting called a ‘bandwagon fan’ during my senior year of high school in the 2015-2016 season when the Broncos went 12-4 and won it all.
Honestly, Broncos Country didn’t deserve Peyton Manning. We got to see the team win 50 regular season games in four seasons and got to watch The Sheriff break about 15,400 different passing records.
Manning’s likable personality and immeasurable integrity made him the complete package that we still get to experience today, over five years after he announced his retirement.
Aaron Rodgers, on the other hand, doesn’t exactly exude the Manning-vibe that we all loved.
In fact, Rodgers has a very interesting personality. One minute he’s having the time of his life hosting Jeopardy, and the next minute we get mixed signals from his camp or controversial statements during press conferences.
I can see why many people in the NFL community simply dislike the guy. I get it, but what Aaron Rodgers would bring to the Denver Broncos would most definitely yield better results than what we got from Peyton Manning.
I know, I spoke ill of Peyton Manning, but let’s look at some facts.
Peyton Manning’s neck injury and five procedures convinced many people that he wouldn’t be able to play in the NFL again. He missed the entire 2011 season trying to work his way back and had many doubters.
When he signed with the Denver Broncos, the team was taking a massive and unknown chance on a 36-year-old who apparently had lost some feeling in a finger or two.
It was clear that the Broncos needed an upgrade at the position, even though franchise legend Tim Tebow had just won a playoff game the year before, but to sign a man who went through neck fusion procedures, who was also pushing 40, was unbelievably risky.
Now, compare that to Aaron Rodgers, and the circumstances could not be more different, and it’s easy to see why.
You see, Aaron Rodgers just won his 3rd NFL MVP and put together one of the most efficient seasons in NFL history. Rodgers threw for 48 touchdowns on a 70 percent completion rate; Madden type numbers.
What also separates Rodgers from Manning here is that there is very little unknown with A-Rod. It’s been widely reported that the Broncos are one of his, if not top destination, so you know he’s at least partially excited to come here.
Not only that, I think the Denver Broncos have a much more talented roster on paper right now than they did any year during the Manning era.
Looking at the current roster; I’m not sure there are any holes, frankly. Right tackle will be interesting to address, but it is very likely the Broncos can get league-average play from a free agent like Dennis Kelly, Bobby Massie, or Charles Leno.
With Ja’Wuan James never showing anything in Denver, replacing his productivity will be rather easy to replace, so I do not think there will be much of a downgrade at RT.
Outside of that small uncertainty, where else do the Broncos have holes?
They have four good receivers, a solid offensive line with an elite left tackle, a punishing running back room, an above-average defensive line, an elite secondary, solid linebackers, and crazy athletic tight ends with 4.5 speed.
I understand that it is easy to be a pessimist with the Denver Broncos since they haven’t done much at all since 2015, but this roster is loaded.
I do think the Broncos can win and make the playoff with either Drew Lock or Teddy Bridgewater, but trading for Aaron Rodgers gives this team at least a 3-year window to win as much as possible.
All things considered, the Broncos, if they land Aaron Rodgers, are poised to have greater success than the Manning era.