You don't want to knock any teeth out with a knee-jerk reaction after just two games, but there are clearly some areas the Denver Broncos made mistakes over the course of the 2023 offseason as things currently stand. The Broncos have started the 2023 season 0-2 after close losses to both the Las Vegas Raiders and Washington Commanders.
With the way this team's schedule lines up from here on out, it's hard not to think things could go south in a hurry for the Broncos. So what got us to this point? Why are the Broncos in such rough shape after only two games?
Let's take a look at three of the moves this team made over the last six or seven months that most significantly contributed to the team starting off 0-2.
1. Hiring Vance Joseph is looking like it was a last resort
You don't want to make any sweeping assumptions after just two games but some of the worst fears fans in Broncos Country expressed about hiring Vance Joseph over other prospective candidates have been realized. Many in Broncos Country were not eager to welcome Joseph back for another stint with the team after the way things went from 2017-18 when Joseph was the Broncos' head coach. With that being said, the combination of Joseph coming in and the Broncos obviously preferring at least one other candidate leads me to believe this was more of a last resort move than anything else.
The initial rumor regarding Sean Payton coming back to the NFL was that he wanted Vic Fangio as his defensive coordinator. Obviously, when Payton took the Denver job, he tried to twist Vic's arm to get him to come back to Denver but Fangio ultimately decided not to do it.
Payton then interviewed a host of other candidates for the position after Ejiro Evero decided to leave Denver for Carolina as well. Whether it was not doing enough to sway Fangio or Evero to be with the Broncos in 2023, or not choosing Rex Ryan, one way or another it looks like the Denver Broncos made a mistake bringing back Vance Joseph. The defense has been abysmal through two weeks, giving up way too many big plays, committing way too many untimely penalties, and allowing way too many extended drives.
2. Approaching the kicking situation weirdly
I'm not going to sit here and say that letting go of Brandon McManus was a mistake. The Denver Broncos have a 4-11 over the last two years in one-score games, and McManus did his part in the 11 losses, that's for sure.
Don't get me wrong -- McManus deserves a ton of credit for helping the team win Super Bowl 50. Broncos Country will be eternally grateful for that. But in recent years, he's not been good and in fact, has been one of the more inconsistent kickers in the league. It was time for a change of scenery.
But why did the Broncos wait so long to let him go? Why did it take them so long to make that decision? Again, it made sense to move on from McManus, but not in the middle of the summer when they decided to do it. They didn't set themselves up to sign or draft any incoming kickers. They didn't set themselves up to sign anyone in free agency.
The decision to let go of McManus so late in the offseason caused the Broncos to have to MacGuyver the situation and trade a draft pick for Wil Lutz...
...who then promptly missed a field goal and extra point in his first game with the team.
Not that approaching the position earlier would have eliminated bumps in the road, but it might have given the Broncos a shot at finding long-term stability when the pool of players to pick from was bigger.
3. Putting too much stock in Damarri Mathis
Two weeks into the 2023 season, it looks like the Broncos put way too much stock in Damarri Mathis as their primary starter at the outside cornerback position. They didn't make any prominent veteran additions at this spot over the course of the offseason, and that was understandable given the presence of defensive backs coach Christian Parker and what we saw over the course of the 2022 season from Mathis.
Through two games this season, however, Mathis has been a total and complete liability. He looks lost out there in coverage, and is getting consistently picked on by opposing teams.
It's a good thing the Broncos drafted Riley Moss in the third round, because they might need to throw him out there in the near future and see what he is capable of doing.
Should the team have spent big money at the cornerback position? Not necessarily, but you saw the team go after Fabian Moreau (who has also not been good) when Moss suffered a core muscle injury early in training camp. There have been a number of veterans available throughout the course of the offseason that would have been preferable additions for the Broncos.
Byron Murphy signed for less than $9 million per season. Rock Ya-Sin signed for just $4 million. Ronadl Darby signed in Baltimore for less than $2 million. There were moves out there that the Broncos could have raised their floor at the cornerback position and they've simply not done that.
Again, it's understandable that the Broncos put their faith in player development, but there's no harm raising the floor of a room when the budget allows for it. Mathis's play early on this season could be leaving the Broncos in a situation where they have to bench him in favor of another young player.