Denver Broncos: Roster is set up to beat Kansas City
The Denver Broncos finally have the offensive and defensive firepower to beat the Chiefs, after a very active offseason from General Manager George Paton.
Just a few short months ago, the Denver Broncos’ long-term outlook was unknown. The aftermath of John Elway stepping away from his General Manager role sent Broncos Country into a frenzy.
The man who built two Super Bowl rosters all of a sudden stepped down, and for a minute, the Broncos looked hopeless.
In comes General George Paton, a longtime Vikings executive bringing two decades of experience into his new role. Paton had interviewed with roughly one-third of the league for vacant GM positions, but ultimately landed with Denver, calling the team a “sleeping giant.”
Since his introductory presser in Mile High, George Paton has sent a wave of rejuvenation and optimism in the fanbase, and an absurd influx of fresh talent on the roster.
The Broncos essentially completely rebuilt their secondary, adding Kyle Fuller, Ronald Darby, and Patrick Surtain II, re-signed Justin Simmons, and re-worked a new deal for Kareem Jackson.
Furthermore, Paton managed to keep Von Miller and extend Shelby Harris, all while keeping some under-the-radar players like Tim Patrick and Alexander Johnson.
Why am I saying all of this?
You see, for the first time in a half-decade, the Denver Broncos finally have a roster capable of knocking off the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Broncos came close in 2020, losing to the Chiefs by six last December. There were quite a few positives to take away from that game for the Broncos.
Being that the team’s defense had already lost several starters, and the fact that the Chiefs were at home and in primetime, the Broncos admirably held their own.
I think that game was a good stepping stone to build off into next season. Barring another year of catastrophic injuries, the Broncos will have the secondary firepower to finally take down KC.
The Broncos already had three studs in the secondary before the offseason began–Bryce Callahan, Kareem Jackson, and Justin Simmons are wildly talented players.
But to add arguably three CB1s in Kyle Fuller, Ronald Darby, and Patrick Surtain II is simply something no other team can come close to.
Since the Mahomes era began in 2018, the Broncos have never had this much roster talent, especially on defense. Not only that, the additions of Patrick Surtain II and Baron Browning, who can both cover tight ends, may allow for the defense to finally begin to shut down Travis Kelce.
A good defense who plays the Chiefs needs to make either Tyreek Hill or Travis Kelce a non-factor, which assists in making the Chiefs’ offense less lethal.
For the Broncos, they have the secondary talent to keep both at bay. I’d have a hard time believing that a secondary which is six quality DBs deep can’t keep a 5’10” Tyreek Hill from burning you.
In my opinion, when the team plays the Chiefs, Vic Fangio will do everything he can to keep as many DBs on the field as possible. I’m no X’s and O’s guy, but I think we’ll be seeing six DBs on the field when the Denver Broncos play the Chiefs.
I also think we overrate the Chiefs’ offensive firepower as well. Outside of Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce, the Chiefs don’t exactly have great TE or WR depth.
Their next best options in the passing game are guys like Demarcus Robinson, Byron Pringle, and Antonio Callaway. Eh.
Seriously, the Chiefs are kind of top-heavy. Both Hill and Kelce will need snaps off during games, and many drives may fall on the shoulders of some of their depth pieces on offense, but I don’t feel threatened by any of them.
Not only that, while the Chiefs did overhaul their offensive line, there’s no guarantee that the line will perform well. Now, I do expect that they will, but it may take some time before they develop enough chemistry to perform as they should.
Moving to the other side, let’s look at the Chiefs’ defense and the Broncos’ offense. The Chiefs defense didn’t exactly impress in 2020. They were 16th in total yards allowed and 10th in points allowed.
Their top sack master was Chris Jones, but he only had 7.5, and their top tackler, Daniel Sorensen only had 68 tackles. The Chiefs also allowed nearly 2,000 rushing yards and 4.5 yards per carry.
They also allowed 29 passing touchdowns, nearly two per game. The Chiefs’ defense is average, at best, and the Broncos have above average offensive personnel.
It’s a very real possibility that the Denver Broncos can begin to put points on the board against the Chiefs. As Jerry Jeudy looks to take a massive sophomore leap, and Noah Fant begins to break out as a star, the Chiefs, and all of the Broncos’ opponents will have to gameplan for quite a few studs.
One of the issues for the Chiefs is that they don’t have close to the secondary talent to account for all of the Broncos’ playmakers. The Broncos’ offense will have much more challenging defenses to face in the 2021 season, so there’s no reason to be scared of the Chiefs, especially their eh defense.
Sure, they have some great players like Chris Jones and Tyrann Mathieu, but they can only do so much.
Continuing on, not only do the Broncos have elite weapons in the passing game, their rushing attack is quite formidable. In 2020, the Chiefs were just 21st in the league in rushing defense, allowing 122.1 yards per game.
If you couple that with the addition of Javonte Williams to the Broncos’ backfield to pair with Melvin Gordon, the Broncos have the ‘dudes’ to run all over the Chiefs’ milquetoast defense.
I’m not afraid to say that the Denver Broncos have a more talented roster than the Kansas City Chiefs. Denver has better offensive playmakers, a more talented defense, and stronger depth.
It’s time to quit being afraid of Kermit the Frog, it’s time the Denver Broncos unleash their loads of talent and start beating the Chiefs like they did for years before.