Mile High Monday: Hackett reveals that the Broncos will “Let Russ cook”

The NFL offseason is rolling along, with the big moves in free agency mostly wrapped up. There are still some quality players out there, and there will be more movement, but the big-name, high-dollar signings are largely over.

In addition to veteran free agency, the trades between teams have been a whirlwind. During the month of March, seven first-round picks have changed hands – the most ever in a single month during the common draft era.

I like how the NFL is not taking a break this offseason. It’s not really an offseason, but more of a “non-playing” season where it’s front office versus front office instead of team versus team on the field.

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.

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Custom Fit

The Broncos are going to finally do something they’ve should’ve been doing this entire time. This weekend at the NFL owners meetings, Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett revealed how his offense is going to be structured. Hackett is well-versed and grew up in the West Coast offense. Those concepts are certainly going to be the foundation of what the Broncos do on offense, but most importantly the new head coach is going to listen to what his new quarterback wants to do.

The trade for Russell Wilson was the type of blockbuster trade we don’t normally see in the NFL. The Broncos have sent a haul of players and picks for the superstar quarterback, and he chose Denver over other teams that wanted to trade for him. The Broncos aren’t going to give up all those assets and not structure things around Wilson. Instead, the offense is going to do what Wilson does best – and what he wants to do.

Yes, they’ll still run the ball – perhaps more than anyone realizes at this moment. However, they’re going to “let Russ cook” on offense, and that means he’ll use his arm to attack defenses. That didn’t happen as much as Wilson wanted to in Seattle as the team wanted to be run-heavy and play strong defense to win. This led to the frustration mounting on both sides which eventually caused the two sides to get divorced. Expect a happy marriage between Hackett and Wilson in Denver.

Russell Wilson reportedly frustrated he didn't have enough say in SEA offense. Won't be case w/Broncos. Hackett on tailoring offense: "Once get to know him, understand him, we'll build it around him. So what is it going to be? It’s going to be what Russell likes to do.” #9sports

— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) March 27, 2022

I’m excited to see what Wilson does in the Hackett offense. The one time Wilson was in the top 10 of passing attempts, he led the NFL in touchdown passes (34, 2017). I imagine the Broncos offense will resemble what that unit did in Seattle – but with better defense and a better outcome. The Broncos are in a playoff window, and that means they’re in a Super Bowl window in 2022. Crafting the offense around Wilson makes sense, and it will help the Broncos make a deep postseason run.

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Retooled Rival

The Kansas City Chiefs are the best team in the AFC West – for now. The Broncos are on their heels, but so is the rest of the division. Not only the Broncos, but the Los Angeles Chargers and the Las Vegas Raiders have made big moves this offseason to improve their roster. The AFC West is now the toughest division in football, and I don’t even think anyone can argue that point. It’s going to be a bloodbath between the Chiefs, Broncos, Chargers and Raiders this year. The team that comes out on top will have had gone through a gauntlet other playoff teams won’t have to this season.

As I wrote on DenverFan.com last week, the Chiefs are down but not out. They traded away superstar wide receiver Tyreek Hill and they did not re-sign superstar safety Tyrann Mathieu. Those are two big pieces, and they will be difficult to replace, but the Chiefs are going to roll over for the rest of the division. Instead, they’re making moves to adjust their roster as well. A close look at some of these moves on offense reveals they all have something in common.

Expectations are a wonderful thing. Players who understand the expectations that come with a superstar quarterback and Super Bowl aspirations just operate differently from those who don’t have that on their teams. Their latest addition, running back Ronald Jones, won a Super Bowl with Tom Brady just a couple of seasons ago. He split time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and should continue to do so with the Chiefs. However, his skill as a runner and receiver are a bit underrated and I think he could bring an element to the offense they just didn’t have over the past few years.

An interesting trend with the #Chiefs new skill players. 3 of them came from teams with playoff expectations & prominent QB.

RB Ronald Jones (Bucs/Tom Brady)

WR Juju Smith-Schuster (Steelers/Ben Roethlisberger)

WR Marquez Valdez-Scantling (Packers/ Aaron Rodgers)

— Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) March 27, 2022

We’ll see how quickly these new additions to the Chiefs roster can acclimate to what they do in their high-powered offense. Smith-Schuster and Valdes-Scantling are the new-look wide receivers for the Chiefs, and their chemistry with Mahomes is going to be key to the team’s success. Hill and Mahomes had a mind meld when they played football together, and the duo was nigh unstoppable. This new pair of weapons will have big shoes to fill, but the offense is going to morph and look different without Hill.

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Move Up For What?

The Broncos don’t have a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, and their second-round pick is the final pick in that round. They’re going to miss out on some top talent because of the trade for Wilson, but all Broncos fans should be okay with that. The talent will be flying off the board, but if there’s someone the Broncos want who won’t be there – or falls close enough to select – then general manager George Paton will be ready to pounce.

At the NFL owners meetings this weekend, Paton revealed that he could move up because of the cache of picks the team still has. They have five picks in the top 120 of the draft, and that’s where most of the “meat” is in this class. I don’t think the Broncos have to move up because there are going to be some quality pass-rushers (a big need) who will be available when the Broncos first pick at No. 64 overall.

However, if the Broncos want an offensive tackle, then they will have to move up. I don’t think they will because of the addition of veteran Billy Turner in free agency last week. Turner flourished during his time with the Green Bay Packers, and he’s improved from the player he was the first time around with the Broncos. Turner is not going to be given the starting right tackle job, but the odds are in his favor that he will be the starter at that position in Week 1.

George Paton said today that the Broncos still "have the ammo" to trade up in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Paton told @philmilani that could possibly include going back up into the first round.

— Aric DiLalla (@AricDiLalla) March 27, 2022

The Broncos seemed to have solved their right tackle situation, so there’s really no need to move up in the draft. If there’s a tackle they can’t do without, then things change. I don’t think they need to move up, especially if they’re targeting EDGE players but you never say never in the NFL draft. It certainly seems like Paton has caught the “trade bug” and he’s going to play things light and easy to give his team maximum maneuverability.

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Coming Soon: Marvel’s First Family

This year is going to be a great one for nerds. It’s not even a bad word because nerds pretty much run everything – and certainly in the entertainment industry they do. If you are a comic book fan, like me, then 2022 is going to be a banner year for content on the big and small screens.

Disney+ is leading the way with multiple shows and movies, and the next blockbuster movie coming up is “Dr. Strange 2: Multiverse of Madness.” It’s not a spoiler, because it was in the first trailer fo the movie, but we’ll see a group known as “The Illuminati” introduced in this movie. The members of the group (in the movie) are unknown, but comic book fans know that group is usually fronted by Mr. Fantastic – Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four.

The Fantastic Four is the first family of Marvel, and they were the first team book from Marvel Comics when they debuted back in 1961. Richards is joined on the team by his wife Sue Richards, Johnny Storm aka the Human Torch and Ben Grimm aka The Thing. There have been a few tries to bring this family to the silver screen before with mostly poor – or at best – mixed results. The new Marvel Cinematic Universe has perfected the superhero genre on the silver screen. I’m sure MCU president Kevin Feige is going to get The Fantastic Four right – and we may get the first on-screen appearance of the new team in the upcoming Dr. Strange movie. I can’t wait for May 6 and “Multiverse of Madness” to hit theaters.

RUMOR: #MultiverseOfMadness post-credits reveal Mr. Fantastic, played by (Ioan Gruffudd) as the only surviving member of the Illuminati. The scene also heavily indicates that he will be the main antagonist in the upcoming Fantastic Four. pic.twitter.com/w7xbtpKkxD

— Moth Culture (@Moth_Culture) March 21, 2022

How excited are you for the new Dr. Strange movie? Hit me up on social networking and let me know!

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