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Denver Broncos 2021 season award winners

By Travis Wakeman

Denver Broncos safety Justin Simmons. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Denver Broncos safety Justin Simmons. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /
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Denver Broncos, Justin Simmons
Denver Broncos safety Justin Simmons. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

The NFL playoffs have started and the Denver Broncos are not a part of them. That is something that Broncos fans are sadly having to adjust to.

The Broncos missed the playoffs once again, becoming the first team in NFL history to win a Super Bowl and then miss the playoffs in each of the next six seasons. That is something the Broncos must turn around and general manager George Paton intends to do that when he hires the team’s next head coach.

While that announcement should come soon, we are going to look back at the season that was and hand out team awards, just as we did following the 2020 season.

There wasn’t a lot to celebrate this year as the Broncos had to move on from head coach Vic Fangio, once again got subpar play from the quarterback position and finished with a double-digit number in the loss column.

So while we all watch the 14 teams that did qualify for the postseason, let’s go back and look at the players who stood out for the Broncos in a good way in 2021.

Offensive Player of the Year

Denver Broncos, Melvin Gordon
Dec 12, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos running back Melvin Gordon III (25) reacts following his touchdown carry in the third quarter against the Detroit Lions at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

Melvin Gordon

Now granted, there was not much to pick from in this category as the Broncos are just a stagnant offensive team.

Teddy Bridgewater threw for over 3,000 yards but his safe style of play was a hindrance in more ways than not. He also missed the final three games of the season.

The team’s leading receiver was Noah Fant with 68 receptions and Courtland Sutton led the team in receiving yardage with 776. Neither of those players lit the world on fire this season.

So the winner, almost by default here, is Melvin Gordon.

Gordon led the team with 918 yards rushing and he also led the team with 10 total touchdowns. He had 1,131 all-purpose yards as well, but it’s still difficult to hand this award to Gordon due to the three fumbles he lost this season, including one against the Kansas City Chiefs in the season finale that pretty much cost the Broncos the game.

Gordon is this year’s Offensive Player of the Year, winning the award from us in back-to-back seasons, but the team still has a difficult decision regarding what to do with him going forward.

The fact that Gordon won this award from Predominantly Orange two years in a row tells you all you need to know about this offense, as neither of those seasons was earth-shattering for Gordon.

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