Denver Broncos: Trade pickups showing up big early on
The Denver Broncos made a couple of under-the-radar acquisitions before the trade deadline, and the players they acquired are coming up big.
After trading away Von Miller to the Los Angeles Rams, many assumed (wrongfully) that the Denver Broncos were rebuilding the roster. Although that is not an entirely unfair perception based on Miller’s ability and how much he has meant to the team for over a decade, it’s clear that the Denver Broncos are not a “rebuilding” roster.
George Paton may have sent away the biggest name player in a trade this NFL season, but he was also a “discount buyer” leading up to the trade deadline, acquiring a couple of intriguing short-term pieces in linebacker Kenny Young and pass rusher Stephen Weatherly.
The early returns on those two players have been pretty outstanding.
Denver Broncos: Trade pickups showing up big early on
Through two games with the Broncos so far, linebacker Kenny Young has played 80 snaps, racking up seven total tackles and adding a much-needed veteran presence at the linebacker position with the losses of both Alexander Johnson and Josey Jewell this season to pectoral injuries.
Statistically, Young’s production for the Denver Broncos isn’t anything really to write home about. Where he has really made a difference thus far? He’s bringing energy, intensity, and speed whenever he’s on the field.
Young attacks the line of scrimmage, he plays fast, and he has tremendous reactive instincts.
Although there’s absolutely nothing official about this, it’s hard to look at the way Young had been playing in Los Angeles and the way he’s already playing in Denver and not think he was some sort of “down payment” on the Rams’ eventual acquisition of Von Miller.
Young’s productivity goes beyond the box score at this point. He’s starting for the Broncos at a position that, historically, has been very tough for linebackers to learn even over the course of an entire offseason.
Young was traded from one of the best teams in the NFL to a team fighting for any sort of chance at the playoffs it could get. Coming off of that horrendous loss to the Cleveland Browns, it was understandable that Young would be disappointed about coming to Denver at 3-4, but since his arrival, the defense has significantly picked up the pace, and the Broncos have now won a pair of games with him in the lineup.
The team has also gotten a significant boost in the pass rush department since the acquisition of Stephen Weatherly from the Minnesota Vikings.
Weatherly parlayed a nice four years in Minnesota with a free agent deal in 2020 with the Carolina Panthers, but didn’t stick around there and wound up back with the Vikings in 2021.
The Vikings traded Weatherly to Denver for basically nothing, and he’s on a two-game streak of QB hits.
He also notched his first sack as a Bronco in his first game with the team against Washington, looking a lot like Von Miller coming off that left side.
https://twitter.com/Broncos/status/1454926463363280897
As the Denver Broncos continue to get healthy, it will be interesting to see what kind of role Weatherly has in the defense and what kind of impact he can have with perhaps a slightly diminished role.
For the time being, he’s proving to be an excellent acquisition, getting a QB hit on Dak Prescott against the Cowboys and bringing his two-game totals with the Broncos to two tackles, two QB hits, a sack, and two pressures.
George Paton’s decision to acquire Weatherly and Young is a clear indicator of his understanding of the war of attrition that is an NFL season. You’re only going to be as good as your depth.
While the acquisitions of Weatherly and Young didn’t exactly move the needle initially, they have helped the Broncos get back into the playoff discussion at 5-4.