On a roster loaded with talent, and a front office led by a new owner, who are some truly great values for the Denver Broncos?
The new owner of the Denver Broncos, Rob Walton, has created and benefitted heavily from a brand within a brand, Great Value.
Who will bring great value to the 2022 Denver Broncos?
Denver Broncos Great Value no. 1: Russell Wilson, QB
Slated to make just around $24 million in 2022, as a franchise quarterback, Russell Wilson is the epitome of a great value for the Denver Broncos.
While this number is expected to and will go up as early as 2023, George Paton and Rob Walton can (fruit) smile at the fact that Wilson is scheduled to make less than quarterbacks like Jared Goff and Jimmy Garoppolo.
There are even a few cornerbacks that are going to be more expensive than Wilson this upcoming season. Having what is considered to be a cheap franchise quarterback like Russell Wilson has allowed the Denver Broncos to spend money in other areas to improve the overall talent on the roster.
More than likely, Wilson will be a $50 million quarterback over the next couple of years, but for now, the Denver Broncos can rejoice in having one of the best values at the quarterback position in the NFL.
Russell Wilson is a nine-time Pro Bowler, a Super Bowl Champion, and one of just four quarterbacks in NFL history that holds a career passer rating over 100 in his career. He is expected to surpass Denver Broncos’ legend John Elway in passing touchdowns this year.
With 292 current passing touchdowns over 10 seasons, Wilson should eclipse Elway’s 300 total passing touchdowns within the first few weeks of the 2022 season.
Wilson is going to be blessed with an excellent wide receiver group, another group that holds great value.
2. Denver Broncos Wide Receiver ROOM is a Great Value
Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick both signed contract extensions during the 2021 season, with both deals looking like great values.
Courtland Sutton is expecting to have just north of a $5 million cap hit for the 2022 season & Tim Patrick is just below $4 million. Jerry Jeudy, on his rookie deal, is expected to have a larger cap hit in 2022 than Tim Patrick who just signed an extension months ago.
No, that is not advocating for Jerry Jeudy to be traded because he is expensive.
Sutton and Patrick are two physically dominant, contested catch monsters who are willing and capable blockers on the outside too. To have both of those guys on a roster, especially for right around $9 million dollars is better than a great value, it is an incredible value.
K.J. Hamler is another dynamic playmaker, a speedster that is scheduled to be less than a $2 million dollar cap hit for the upcoming season. If you add the cap hit from Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, Jerry Jeudy, and K.J. Hamler up, it is roughly $15 million for the four.
There are five guys in the NFL alone this season that are expected to cost more than that entire group, some of the names are tough pills to swallow too. Nelson Agholor and Kenny Golladay are a couple of them, then guys like Cooper Kupp, DeAndre Hopkins, and Keenan Allen round the group out.
Hard to argue that there is a better wide receiver group in the NFL that possessed a greater value than what the Denver Broncos have in 2022.
This last great value may come as a shock to some, but for I think will be the Denver Broncos’ starting right tackle, there is an argument made for one of Garrett Bolles’ closest friends.
Denver Broncos Great Value no. 3: Calvin Anderson, OT
Ending his season early with an injured reserve dictation, Calvin Anderson was brought back on a deal that cost the Denver Broncos cap $2.5 million in 2022.
With the ability to play either right or left tackle, Anderson brings value not just as a potential starting right tackle, but as a reliable and cheap backup at left tackle.
He will continue to battle for the starting right tackle job during the offseason, but he has been and will continue to be my favorite to win the job as the Denver Broncos’ starting right tackle against the Seattle Seahawks.
Anderson came into the league as an undrafted guy, playing his collegiate football mainly at Rice before closing his collegiate career out with the Texas Longhorns. Anderson went undrafted, so he has fought for every opportunity he has had.
You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who believes in Calvin Anderson stronger than Calvin Anderson. His confidence leaks through his pours, he is an intelligent guy, a nasty football player, and an individual who wants to be the best he can be at whatever he does.
Whenever called upon, Anderson has answered the phone.
He has looked better when asked to play left tackle during his short stints in actual live-game scenarios, but with his willingness to learn and ability to learn, I think being solely focused on learning the right tackle position, Anderson will do it, and do it well.
Looking oh so far ahead, I think Calvin Anderson will play himself into a midseason extension with the Denver Broncos.
It probably won’t be top of the market, but to stay in Denver, with his pal Garrett Bolles, and a team who truly believed in him, I think Calvin Anderson solves the Denver Broncos’ right tackle issue this season and beyond.
Denver Broncos Great Value no. 4: MyCole Pruitt rejoining George Paton?
In 2015, MyCole Pruitt impressed George Paton and the Minnesota Vikings’ brass enough for the organization to spend a fifth-round pick on him.
While the Denver Broncos tight end room is talented, it still has several question marks.
Albert Okwuegbunam is an incredible athlete but has battled with injuries throughout his career. Greg Dulcich is another all-world athlete, but he will be a rookie in the upcoming season. Learning the tight end position as a rookie is a complicated process as you learn multiple things in a short timeframe.
Offensive line calls and adjustments and absorbing the different route trees for pass catchers are just a couple of them. Eric Tomlinson is a glorified tackle and Eric Saubert is a guy who will get you by in a tight situation, but this group is one of the more concerning from top to bottom.
Adding a guy like Pruitt would bring a veteran into the room, who plays well in the red zone. He isn’t going to be a game changer, but he could be a valuable piece to a team that will be making a push come January for the first time in what feels like centuries.
George Paton has done a phenomenal job on adding free agents late in the process who will contribute heavily to the Denver Broncos’ success in 2022. Pruitt could be the next.
Melvin Gordon and Kareem Jackson are two that were difference makers in the previous years and I expect them to make plays in 2022.
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This roster is built with great value from top to bottom, something that I assume George Paton and Rob Walton are both thrilled about.