The Denver Broncos lost a heartbreaker to the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night, but the season is far from over. The attention now turns to beating the Houston Texans and getting on the board this season in the win column. After the loss to the Seahawks, there’s no reason for general manager George Paton to panic in the slightest. The Broncos moved the ball very well offensively, they made some adjustments and had a dominant second half defensively, and overall the roster looked good.
At the same time, there are some adjustments I think this team could make, even after just one week. A general manager’s work is never truly done and now that Week 1 is in the books, veteran contracts are not guaranteed for the entirety of the season which could make teams more open to bigger moves.
The Broncos could look into some free agents but could also make some adjustments over their own roster after the win against the Seahawks.
5 moves the Denver Broncos should make after loss to Seattle
1. Denver Broncos need to move Andrew Beck up the pecking order at TE
As I was putting this post together, I discovered something very interesting that, even as closely as we follow the team here, I hadn’t noticed. Looking at the team’s official depth chart, Andrew Beck is actually the TE2 behind Albert Okwuegbunam with Greg Dulcich on injured reserve for the time being. That was surprising for a couple of reasons.
First of all, it seemed like Beck was almost strictly kept on the final 53-man roster as a fullback option as well as for his special teams prowess. Even for the biggest Andrew Beck fans out there, his prominent role in Week 1 against the Seahawks was surprising to see.
Beck was not targeted a single time in the Pat Shurmur era. He was strictly relegated to special teams in his 22 games between 2020 and 2021. It isn’t altogether surprising that Beck’s role was much clearer with the change in offensive scheme considering he was acquired by the Broncos in 2019 when Rich Scangarello was offensive coordinator and running an offense similar to what Nathaniel Hackett has installed in 2022. With all of that being said, Beck earned more chances after what we saw on Monday night.
He had three targets and caught two passes for 56 yards, and would have had a touchdown were it not for a false start penalty on the one-yard line.
Although Beck is already listed as the TE2 on the Broncos’ roster, I think he deserves even more opportunities to make plays as a receiver after what we saw against the Seahawks.
2. Enough is enough: Sign Ndamukong Suh
Maybe you’ve seen me suggest this before, and until Ndamukong Suh signs elsewhere or announces that he’s retiring from pro football, I’m going to continue to suggest it. There are a wide variety of reasons why I think the Broncos should be making a bold move like this, even though Suh is in his mid-30s and you typically expect decline in play at that age.
First of all, the Broncos need the additional depth on the defensive front. Sixth-round pick Matt Henningsen is above Eyioma Uwazurike on the depth chart. The Broncos divided their defensive line snaps among primarily just four guys against Seattle:
- Dre’Mont Jones (51 snaps)
- DJ Jones (43 snaps)
- DeShawn Williams (34 snaps)
- Mike Purcell (25 snaps)
Henningsen played five snaps and the Broncos also heavily incorportated Baron Browning in the season opener.
I think as of right now, this is more than the Broncos just being an injury away from the defensive line being a terribly weak area of this roster. DeShawn Williams playing 34 snaps is fine for now, but could that spot be upgraded? I think when you’re talking about Ndamukong Suh, the answer is yes. Not to mention, the optics of signing a guy like Suh at this point would indicate the Broncos obviously believe in themselves as contenders. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that leaving him unsigned means the opposite of that, but why not be aggressive?
Suh could really help this team, he could make the rest of the pass rushers better, and he’s still effective at his age.
3. Add Blake Martinez to the group at linebacker
Things settled down considerably in the second half of the Broncos’ loss to the Seahawks, but in the first half, the off-ball linebacker position was a complete liability without Josey Jewell on the field. Jonas Griffith was making his first ever opening day start, and Alex Singleton was out there in place of Jewell. Unfortunately, that position group was getting beat in the passing game and in the running game, missing tackles, and just overall preventing the defense from getting off the field.
This is a position group that people in Broncos Country have been calling for upgrades all offseason, and understandably so. I think going into the season with Jewell and Griffith as your projected starters was a completely fine strategy, but the team’s depth has been questionable with Singleton and Justin Strnad. Especially after what we saw from Singleton and Strnad in the preseason (and training camp), I think the Broncos even saw a need to upgrade there.
They called up Joe Schobert, but cut him in a week after he looked horrendous in a preseason outing against the Buffalo Bills. At final roster cuts, former Packers and Giants starter Blake Martinez was cut and became available, and there’s reason to believe he could land with the Denver Broncos.
First of all because of the team’s current depth at the position. Second, because he has connections on the team. The Broncos have multiple former Green Bay assistants on the coaching staff so those guys will be familiar with Martinez from their time together there. The Broncos’ linebackers coach — Peter Hansen — was also Martinez’s position coach during his time at Stanford.
Having connections on the Broncos’ staff is definitely a plus from Martinez’s side of things, but this is just a move the Broncos should make regardless. The connections are a bonus.
4. More Mike Boone, a little less Melvin Gordon
Mike Boone was arguably the Broncos’ most impressive offensive player throughout the 2022 preseason on a per-touch basis. Whether he was getting the ball as a running back or receiver, he showed outstanding burst, agility in space, and the ability to make tacklers miss. After the Broncos’ season-opener against the Seahawks, should we be seeing more of Mike Boone and less of Melvin Gordon?
I’m not suggesting Boone take the RB2 spot on the depth chart, of course, but Gordon received 14 total touches (12 rush attempts, two receptions) and wound up with a fumble instead of a one-yard touchdown run.
Unfortunately, fumbles have been far too commonplace for Gordon. The Broncos put him right back out there after the fumble so clearly, they’re not overly worried about it. But the fans are. Mike Boone could also fumble but at this point, wouldn’t it be worth finding out? Maybe Gordon should have his touches limited in Week 2 and Boone should get a bigger opportunity.
5. Landon Collins as a hybrid player to consider?
I want to sneak one more potentially underrated idea in here before we go. Why not sign Landon Collins to come in and play a hybrid linebacker/defensive back role? The Broncos trotted Kareem Jackson out there for 100 percent of the defensive snaps on Monday night. While his impact on the game goes beyond the box score, Jackson had just two solo tackles on 55 snaps.
Landon Collins is a younger player and could work well playing in the box or as a dime linebacker. Heck, he might even be more effective as an off-ball linebacker than Alex Singleton.
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Either way, I think the former Alabama star would be a worthwhile roster flyer at this point with the upside to become a key contributor attacking the line of scrimmage, maybe rushing the passer a little bit, and overall just being another weapon for the defense.