(Photo Credit: Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
Key Players Returning:
QB Drew Lock, RB Melvin Gordon, FB Andrew Beck, WR Jerry Jeudy, WR Tim Patrick, WR Courtland Sutton, TE Noah Fant, OC Lloyd Cushenberry, OG Graham Glasgow, OG Dalton Risner, OT Garett Bolles, DE Shelby Harris, DE Dre’Mont Jones, DE DeShawn Williams, NT Mike Purcell, LB Bradley Chubb, LB Josey Jewell, LB Alexander Johnson, LB Von Miller, LB Malik Reed, CB Bryce Callahan, CB Michael Ojemudia, FS Justin Simmons, SS Kareem Jackson, KR Tyrie Cleveland, KR/PR Diontae Spencer, PK Brandon McManus, and PT Sam Martin.
Key Players Departing:
OT Ja’Wuan James (UFA), DE DeMarcus Walker (Texans), LB Jeremiah Attachu (Bears), CB DeVante Bausby (UFA), and CB A.J. Bouye (Panthers).
Key Players Added:
QB Teddy Bridgewater (Panthers), OT Bobby Massie (Bears), NT Shamar Stephen (Vikings), CB Kyle Fuller (Bears), and NB Ronald Darby (WFT).
Draft Picks:
Round 1: Pick 009 – CB Patrick Surtain (Alabama)
Round 2: Pick 035 – RB Javonte Williams (North Carolina)
Round 3: Pick 098 – OG Quinn Meinerz (Wisconsin-Whitewater)
Round 3: Pick 105 – LB Baron Browning (Ohio State)
Round 5: Pick 164 – SS John Johnson (Indiana)
Round 6: Pick 219 – WR Seth Williams (Auburn)
Round 7: Pick 237 – CB Kary Vincent (LSU)
Round 7: Pick 239 – DE Jonathan Cooper (Ohio State)
Round 7: Pick 253 – DE Marquiss Spencer (Mississippi State)
2020 Results:
W01 TENNESSEE TITANS L 14-16
W02 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 21-26
W03 TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS L 10-28
W04 at New York Jets W 37-28
W06 at New England Patriots W 18-22
W07 KANSAS CITY CHIEFS L 16-43
W08 LOS ANGELES CHARGERS W 31-30
W09 at Atlanta Falcons L 27-34
W10 at Las Vegas Raiders L 12-37
W11 MIAMI DOLPHINS W 20-13
W12 NEW ORLEANS SAINTS L 3-31
W13 at Kansas City Chiefs L 16-22
W14 at Carolina Panthers W 32-27
W15 BUFFALO BILLS L 19-48
W16 at Los Angeles Chargers L 16-19
W17 LAS VEGAS RAIDERS L 31-32
Team Info:
2020 Record: 5-11 (4th in AFC West)
Home: 2-6
Road: 3-5
West: 1-5
AFC: 4-8
NFC: 1-3
Head Coach: Vic Fangio
Denver: 12-20
Career: 12-20
Playoffs: 0-0
Returning Statistical Leaders:
Passing: Drew Lock (253-443, 2933 yards, 57.3%, 6.6 avg., 16 TD, 15 INT)
Rushing: Melvin Gordon (215 car., 986 yards, 4.6 avg., 9 TD)
Receiving: Noah Fant (62 rec., 673 yards, 10.9 avg., 3 TD)
Yards After Catch: Noah Fant (372)
TDs Scored: Melvin Gordon (10)
Sacks: Bradley Chubb (7.5)
Tackles: Alexander Johnson (124)
Interceptions: Justin Simmons (5)
Pass Deflections: Justin Simmons (9)
Tackles For Loss: Malik Reed (11.5)
Forced Fumbles: Michael Ojemudia (4)
Kick Returns: Diontae Spencer (15 ret., 281 yards, 18.7 avg., 0 TD)
Punt Returns: Diontae Spencer (16 ret., 253 yards, 15.8 avg., 1 TD)
Kicking: Brandon McManus (28-34 fg/fga., 82%, 24-27 xp/xpa., 108 pts.)
Punting: Sam Martin (65 punts, 3040 yards, 46.8 avg., 19 in20)
Projected Offensive Starters:
QB: 3 Drew Lock
RB: 25 Melvin Gordon
FB: 83 Andrew Beck
WR: 14 Courtland Sutton
WR: 10 Jerry Jeudy
TE: 87 Noah Fant
LT: 72 Garett Bolles
LG: 66 Dalton Risner
OC: 79 Lloyd Cushenberry
RG: 61 Graham Glasgow
RT: 70 Bobnby Massie
KR: 11 Diontae Spencer
PK: 8 Brandon McManus
Projected Defensive Starters:
DE: 96 Shelby Harris
NT: 98 Mike Purcell
DE: 93 Dre’Mont Jones
LB: 55 Bradley Chubb
LB: 45 Alexander Johnson
LB: 47 Josey Jewell
LB: 58 Von Miller
CB: 2 Patrick Surtain
CB: 23 Kyle Fuller
FS: 31 Justin Simmons
SS: 22 Kareem Jackson
PR: 11 Diontae Spencer
PT: 6 Sam Martin
Team Grades:
Offense:
Quarterbacks: B
Running Backs: B
Wide Receivers: B
Offensive Line: B
Defense:
Defensive Line: B
Linebackers: A
Secondary: B
Special Teams:
Kick Returns: C
Punt Returns: A
Kickers: A
Punters: A
Schedule:
09/12 at New York Giants | Denver trails the series 6-7. The Broncos lost (10-23) the last meeting between teams in 2017.
09/19 at Jacksonville Jaguars | Denver trails the series 6-7. The Broncos lost (24-26) the last meeting between teams in 2019, and their last series win (20-10) was in 2016.
09/26 NEW YORK JETS | Denver leads the series 17-9. The Broncos won (37-28) last season’s meeting between teams, and their last series loss (16-34) was in 2018.
10/03 BALTIMORE RAVENS | Denver trails the series 6-8. The Broncos lost (14-27) the last meeting between teams in 2018, and their last series win (19-13) was in 2015.
10/10 at Pittsburgh Steelers | Denver leads the series 20-12-1. The Broncos lost (21-26) the last season’s meeting between teams, and their last series win (24-17) was in 2018.
10/17 LAS VEGAS RAIDERS | Denver trails the series 50-60-1. The Broncos are 12-8 since 2011, and their last series home win (16-15) was in 2019.
10/21 at Cleveland Browns | Denver leads the series 24-6. The Broncos won (24-19) the last meeting between teams in 2019, and their last series loss (16-17) was in 2018.
10/31 WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM | The series is tied 7-7. The Broncos lost (11-27) the last meeting between teams in2017.
11/07 at Dallas Cowboys | Denver leads the series 8-5. The Broncos won (42-17) the last meeting between teams in2017.
11/14 PHILADELPHIA EAGLES | Denver trails the series 5-8. The Broncos lost (23-51) the last meeting between teams in 2017.
11/28 LOS ANGELES CHARGERS | Denver leads the series 66-44-1. The Broncos are 14-6 since 2011, and their last series home loss (9-23) was in 2018.
12/05 at Kansas City Chiefs | Denver trails the series 54-56. The Broncos are 8-12 since 2011, and their last series road win (31-24) was in 2015.
12/12 DETROIT LIONS | Denver leads the series 8-5. The Broncos won (27-17) the last meeting between teams in 2019, and their last series loss (10-45) was in 2011.
12/19 CINCINNATI BENGALS | Denver leads the series 22-10. The Broncos won (24-10) the last meeting between teams in 2018, and their last series loss (17-20) was in 2017.
12/26 at Las Vegas Raiders | The Broncos last series road win (16-10) was in 2015.
01/02 at Los Angeles Chargers | The Broncos last series road win (20-13) was in 2019.
01/09 KANSAS CITY CHIEFS | The Broncos last series home win (24-17) was in 2014.
Prediction:
Home: 8-1
Away: 3-5
DIV: 4-2
AFC: 7-5
NFC: 4-1
Overall: 11-6 (3rd in AFC West – Eliminated in Wild Card by Browns)
UFA: Unrestricted Free Agent
Series Histories: Histories are from the inception of the first Super Bowl season through present day. Meetings prior to 1966 are not included. Playoff wins are included in the year the season took place. For example, if a team won a wildcard game in January of 2016, the game will be listed under the 2015 season.
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