The Broncos young stars provide reason for optimism in the future
Sep 25, 2019, 6:22 AM
One look at the stat sheet will tell you that if the future isn’t now for the Broncos, it’s right around the corner.
Super Bowl 50 is a distant memory. The players who contributed to that victory are either gone or will be relatively soon. And the next generation of stars are emerging right in front of everyone.
Denver’s leading rusher is in his second year, as Royce Freeman has amassed 173 yards on 36 carries and is averaging 4.8 yards per carry. The Broncos leading receiver is also in his second season, as Courtland Sutton has posted 247 yards on 16 catches, an average of 15.4 yards per reception.
Phillip Lindsay, another second-year pro, is the team’s best all-around offensive weapon, amassing 262 combined yards rushing and receiving. Meanwhile, rookie tight end Noah Fant is averaging 11.0 yards per catch and fellow newcomer Dalton Risner has been the Broncos most-consistent offensive lineman.
On the other side of the ball, where Denver isn’t putting up any stats of note, it’s tougher to quantify which players are shining. But young players are standing out on defense, too.
Anyone who has watched the first three games has seen that 2018 first-round pick Bradley Chubb has been the Broncos best defensive player. He has four tackles for loss on the season, while none of his teammates have more than one.
In addition, Justin Simmons has been among Denver’s most active defensive backs. While yet to get an interception, the fourth-year safety has 14 tackles and two passes defensed on the season, putting him among the team leaders in both categories.
But it’s not the numbers alone that suggest the torch should be passed in the Mile High City. The slightly hidden moments in Sunday’s game at Green Bay show that it needs to happen, as well.
Lindsay rushing for 81 yards and two touchdowns got the headlines, but the way he was able to amass those yards was the most-impressive thing about his performance. The 5-foot-8, 190-pound back ran with fierce determination; there was a competitive spirit in the way he played, from the first quarter until the final gun, that should be the benchmark for everyone on the roster.
It certainly inspired Risner.
After the game, everyone was talking about the left guard chucking Lindsay into the endzone on fourth-and-goal. But the steer wrestling move wasn’t the only sign that the rookie plays the game with passion.
When Lindsay had one of his multiple runs that involved bouncing off of tacklers and turning nothing into something, Risner sprinted over to the pile, grabbed his teammate, yanked him to his feet and enthusiastically patted him on top of the helmet. He was fired up about the effort given by the running back and wanted to encourage Lindsay to keep going.
Contrast to what the Broncos get from the veteran offensive linemen.
Garett Bolles is a penalty waiting to happen. He’s also someone who sprints over to a scuffle about the time it’s coming to an end and acts like he wants to defend his teammates; the false bravado is laughable at times.
Ron Leary is the fifth-highest paid player on the roster, with a cap hit of just north of $9.2 million this season. But the eighth-year pro is constantly missing practice with an assortment of injuries, picks up drive-killing penalties during games and generally carries himself with an uninspired aura; he moseys around like he doesn’t have a care in the world.
But at least he plays. The same can’t be said for Ja’Wuan James, who signed a four-year, $51-million contract with the Broncos in the offseason. So far this year, the right tackle has been on the field for a total 10 snaps. He tweaked his knee in the opener against the Raiders and hasn’t seen the field since.
But those aren’t the only veterans not providing good leadership. That’s pervasive throughout the roster.
Von Miller is the face of the franchise. He’s making $17 million this season, with a cap hit of $25.125 million. He’s primarily paid to get after the opposing passer, but he’s yet to record a sack or even a quarterback hit in 2019.
Numbers are only part of the story with Miller, too. His demeanor during games is much like Leary’s. He stands around and watches the action. He strolls on and off the field. Overall, the MVP of Super Bowl 50 looks generally disinterested this season.
At least he hasn’t quit on his team, however. In one of the most-ignored stories from the Broncos loss to the Packers, that’s what Emmanuel Sanders did in the waning moments of the game.
Trailing 27-16 with 5:49 to play, Denver was trying to march down the field to make it a one-score game before the two-minute warning. With a pair of timeouts in hand, a field goal or a touchdown would’ve kept them in the game.
But midway through the drive, Sanders stormed toward the sidelines, took off his helmet and chucked it to the ground, and found a seat on the bench. After pouting for a couple of plays, he returned to drop a pass on second-and-17, only to once again retreat to the sidelines.
Contrast that to the effort put forth by Sutton. In the team’s final drive of the game, with hope completely lost, he was sprinting to reset the ball in the middle of the field, desperately trying to save time to get another play or two off before the final gun. He was hustling until the end, giving maximum effort even when things looked bleak.
Why are the Broncos off to an 0-3 start? There’s plenty of blame to go around, but a lack of veteran leadership is high atop the list.
It’s a group that seems more worried about cashing paychecks, now or in the future, than giving a 100 percent effort on Sundays. Oh, for the days of Peyton Manning, Demarcus Ware, T.J. Ward, Aqib Talib and other veterans setting the standard.
That’s the bad news.
But the young Broncos appear to be different. They play the game with an enthusiasm, passion and sense of urgency that is needed to ultimately win in the NFL.
That’s the good news. In fact, it’s the great news.
The future in Denver is about players like Chubb, Freeman, Lindsay, Risner, Sutton and others. If they keep doing what they’ve done thus far in 2019, things will get better down the road.
