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
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.
Defensive Player of the Year: Justin Simmons
Like Gordon, Justin Simmons wins this award for the second straight year.
While both Shelby Harris and Patrick Surtain had solid seasons defensively, it was Simmons who led the way. For me, Simmons is still the best football player on this roster and he is easily one of the team’s leaders.
Simmons was second on the team with 80 tackles and he led the Broncos with five interceptions. None of his picks were more memorable than the one he got on Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff, where he went and placed the ball down on the big No.88 on the field in honor of the late Demaryius Thomas.
Simmons made a very athletic play on that ball and it just seemed that he was determined to make a play for his former friend and teammate.
Simmons also chipped in 1.5 sacks on the season along with 12 pass deflections.
He and Kareem Jackson continue to field one of the best duos at the safety position in the league, but that could easily change next season as Jackson will be an unrestricted free agent.
Simmons continues to be the leader of the defense in Denver and one of the best safeties in the NFL.
Rookie of the Year: Patrick Surtain
If there was one major positive to take from the 2021 season, it was that this year’s draft class seems to be a great one, as the Broncos hit on most of their picks.
We could have done an offensive and defensive Rookie of the Year Award but those choices would have been obvious, so this award comes down to Patrick Surtain or Javonte Williams. And that was close to a toss up.
Williams was phenomenal as a rookie, rushing for 903 yards and four touchdowns. His numbers would have been even more impressive if the Broncos would have used him a little more, which they should have.
But Surtain is the winner here and he would be a contender for the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award if not for Micah Parsons having one of the best rookie seasons the league has ever seen.
Surtain had 58 tackles and four interceptions on the season. One of those interceptions was returned for a touchdown. He also led the team with 14 pass breakups.
Though Parsons could have (and should have) been the pick the Broncos made in the first round, Surtain has all the makings of becoming one of the league’s star cornerbacks.
Surtain was selected with the No. 9 overall pick in the first round and, coincidentally, the Broncos will have the ninth pick again in the upcoming draft.
Play of the Year: Patrick Surtain interception return for TD vs. Chargers
Last year’s winner for best play of the year was made by a rookie and that is the case again this year.
Truthfully, there weren’t a lot of memorable plays made by Broncos players this year, but this one came at a big moment in what led to a big Broncos victory.
Surtain had two fourth-quarter interceptions in the Broncos’ Week 12 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
His first interception came in the end zone which thwarted a good scoring chance for the Chargers. His second, later in the quarter, came with the Broncos leading 21-7 with just under eight minutes left to play in the game.
Justin Herbert stepped up and tried to throw to his running back, Austin Ekeler. But the ball came off Ekeler’s hands and right into the hands of Surtain, who was in the right place at the right time and played the ball well, racing 70 yards the other way for a touchdown to put the Broncos ahead 28-7 and the game was out of reach.
Surtain was the MVP of this game and at the time, it was a huge win for a Broncos team still hoping to push for a playoff spot.
Team MVP: Javonte Williams
Javonte Williams didn’t win Offensive Player of the Year or Rookie of the Year, so how is he the team’s Most Valuable Player?
The answer is simple.
In what many felt were not as many opportunities as he should have had, Williams did the most with those chances. He made an impact nearly every time he touched the football and at times, was the Broncos’ most effective player.
For the season, Williams and Gordon actually each carried the ball 203 times. But many Broncos fans would argue that Williams should have had many more. He was a wrecking ball who would run through defenders as well as jump right over them.
If you take a look at this list of top plays for the Broncos over on NFL.com, Williams is in the majority of them.
On top of that, when Paton sits down with all of the candidates he has brought in for interviews to be the team’s next head coach, Williams is going to be one of the first players he points to as reasons why the job is attractive.
It was a great rookie season for the team’s second-round pick and he has all of the tools to be one of the league’s best running backs in the years to come.