Mile High Monday: The offense impresses and a rookie stands out

It’s a Mile High Monday after the final week of voluntary offseason training activities. With OTAs wrapped up, the Broncos now move on to the next phase of the offseason – mandatory minicamp.

That starts on Tuesday, and we should see full attendance as we did over the last week of OTAs. This will be the first Mile High Monday where I’m not writing about the Broncos working on a deal with cornerback Chris Harris Jr. His deal is done, and basically was just a raise for this season, but at least he was back out at practice last week.

I like what we’ve seen from the Broncos under Vic Fangio out at practice for three weeks. Yes, it is just practice and doesn’t mean everything – but it doesn’t mean nothing, either. The Broncos have some things to work on, but they also look like an improved team compared to the last two offseasons under former head coach Vance Joseph.

I also like contemplating life and sports when driving around with the top down on my old Jeep TJ. The following is a result of those trips during the week.

Buckle up, let’s take a ride through my thoughts.

***

Hip Concerns

Earlier this offseason, the Broncos made Ja’Wuan James the highest paid right tackle in the league with an annual average salary of $12.75 million. A first-round pick of the Dolphins in the 2014 NFL Draft, James has only played a full 16-game season twice in his career. The Dolphins seemed to never fully commit to him, despite his physical talent and his injury history might have been part of the reason they let him go in free agency.

James did not participate in team drills this final week of OTAs. He was out there for warmups, but did not do much after that appearance.

The Broncos insist that the hip injury is no big deal.

“Everything’s fine. He, I think, tweaked his hip working out over the weekend, so we just kept him out, precautionary,” Vic Fangio said.

Denver’s offensive line is the biggest concern of all for the 2019 season and if James struggles to stay healthy, it could create problems this team can’t afford to have. While Ron Leary did practice last week after missing the previous week, we have yet to see the Broncos starting five offensive linemen work as a group through team drills over the last two weeks.

We can’t yet truly answer any of the questions about the offensive line that we had entering the offseason. Hopefully, James can get healthy, Leary (and everyone else) can stay healthy and we can start learning more about this revamped unit.

***

Sleeper Prospect

The Broncos had a very good start to the 2019 NFL Draft, especially with their first four picks. In the first three rounds of the 2019 NFL draft, the Broncos selected tight end Noah Fant, offensive lineman Dalton Risner, quarterback Drew Lock and defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones. Those four players were all among my top-50 players graded in this draft class.

Fant could be in line for a big role as a rookie, Risner may start from Week 1 and Lock could be the quarterback of the future, while Jones may be a sleeper for the Broncos this season.

Jones may still be developing as a prospect. His talent and potential has always been off the charts, but he didn’t get a chance to play much until his final season at Ohio State.

With (No. 2 overall pick) Nick Bosa banged up, the Buckeyes turned to Jones more than ever. Jones has explosive traits, but is more than just an interior rusher as he’s strong enough to play on run downs and doesn’t need to come off the field.

The Broncos defensive line has some interesting names on it, but is not set it stone. Jones has the build to create mismatches on the interior of the line. His quickness off the ball means he can knife through to the quarterback and be a disruptive player in 2019. Most see Jones as a quality rotational player as a rookie, but why couldn’t he be a starter? If he impresses in mandatory minicamp, training camp and the preseason, we could see that narrative change.

***

Sutton Becoming Em-Boldin-ed

We learned last week that Broncos receiver Courtland Sutton is working hard on taking his game to the next level. Ever since offseason workouts began, the wideout has not shied away from what he needs to do in his second season.

“Having a year under my belt, I know what to expect for myself and what my teammates expect from me. I’m excited going into this season knowing that I am going to get to be the No. 1 and I’ll get all of (those) looks and all of the pressure. I’m excited about that. I want my teammates to look to me as that leader and that guy that is going to assume that role and take it and go with it as long as I possibly can,” Sutton said.

Sutton has been working with former star NFL receiver Anquan Boldin, per Nicki Jhabvala from The Athletic. Boldin was known for his strength, ability to win at the catch point and his dominance when running after the catch. He played with Joe Flacco for three seasons (2010-12) when the two were with the Baltimore Ravens. During that time, Boldin was targeted more than 100 times each season and had 14 touchdowns combined. He was a favorite target of Flacco, and that’s experience and knowledge that a player like Sutton can find invaluable.

It would be nice to see Sutton emerge as the No. 1 receiver for the Broncos this season. His size/speed combination is near the top of the league, but his nuance and route running need improvement. Boldin’s guidance can help Sutton improve in those areas and take a big jump from year one to year two.

***

Everyone is Doing It

There has been a common theme when interviewing Broncos defensive players this offseason. All of them go out of their way to praise this Broncos offense.

I talked to defensive end Derek Wolfe at his press conference and tossed out a simple question about 2019 second-round pick Dalton Risner. Wolfe was quick to discuss Risner, but then he moved on to add some interesting thoughts about the offense.

“I’m just really happy about the team. It’s a whole new feel offensively. You’ve got Joe Flacco over there, who’s doing a great job of running the show over there. Our offensive line looks really good. They’re playing as a unit. It seems like they’re all starting to come together more,” Wolfe said.

On Friday, defensive end Shelby Harris was asked about his thoughts of the team’s new starting quarterback. He had no problem opening up about how Flacco has impressed.

“That man has a cannon; I can tell you that. That man can throw the ball. When you have a Super Bowl MVP as your starting quarterback, it kind of put a calming feeling on the offense. They’re in the right hands. Especially with a new offensive coordinator, it’s sometimes kind of a frenzy thing, but he’s out there and he’s calling the shots. I really like it. I really like what they’re doing on offense,” Harris said.

One could think that everyone is positive all the time and that we’ve heard similar things about different coaches, quarterbacks and teammates in previous offseasons. That’s not untrue, but at the same time, it is usually something guys don’t go out of their way to mention unless asked.

We are assembling clues during the offseason but no concrete conclusions can yet be drawn. From the clues we’ve all gathered so far, it sounds like the Broncos offense is impressing this top-notch Broncos defense – and that’s a positive. We’ll see if things stack up positively for the offense when the regular season gets here.

***

Nerd Alert

I was able to attend Denver Pop Culture Con this weekend. As some of you may know, I wanted to be a comic book artist when I was growing up and even into my college days.

I have always loved sports, and I have always loved comic books, science fiction and fantasy. Now more than ever, the two worlds are intertwined as a majority of pop culture comes from these worlds.

Had a great time at #DenverPopCultureCon – got to hang out with my dude @MikeLorenzoArt and was fun interacting with fans! @1043TheFan pic.twitter.com/ex7X49mhOp

— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) June 2, 2019

It’s great to be at a comic book convention and see so many fans dressed up as their favorite characters. In addition to seeing some great, and not-so-great, cosplay it’s also fun to see Broncos jerseys, hats, jackets, etc mixed into the crowd.

There used to be a time when comic book culture was seen as too nerdy for the mainstream. Now, the mainstream is nerd culture and the top movies, books and TV shows have captured the imagination of our country. In August, I am traveling to Hollywood (when the Broncos play the Rams in the preseason) to pitch independent properties to executives from multiple studios with the hope that my ideas/pitches/screenplays become a movie or a TV show.

It was outstanding to run into several fans while walking about the convention, and it was fun talking football and comics with people who listen to The Fan. It would be a blast too if one day these people stopped to talk to me because of my football knowledge and comic book movies.

A guy can dream, can’t he?

Follow @CecilLammey