A lousy year for the Broncos’ special teams led to a split decision for the top player in that phase

EDITOR’S NOTE: This week, we’ll be giving out Broncos awards for the 2022 season.

SPECIAL-TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

CECIL: Brandon McManus

The special teams player of the year for the Broncos is Brandon McManus. I could not name a return man for this team, mainly because rookie WR Montrell Washington was so bad at his primary job — returning kicks and punts. Washington has explosiveness, but he was so far in above his head that I’m afraid his confidence may be shaken. We’ll have to see next year if he can learn the nuances of the pro game and regain the playmaking ability he showed in college at Samford.

Meanwhile, there is McManus coming through as per usual. Yes, his numbers dipped slightly in 2022 and that’s because he tried more field goals from 50-plus yards this season. Overall, McManus hit 77.8 percent of his field goals – going 8-of-13 from long range (50-plus). When it came to 40-49 yard field goals, McManus was a perfect 10-for-10. Between 30-39 yards, McManus hit 4-of-6 field goals and from 0-29 yards he went 6-of-7 through the uprights.

The Broncos didn’t do much scoring, so his extra points and kickoffs were down this year. He may not be as automatic as he used to be, but McManus is still a key member of the Broncos team. I was happy to see him get more long-distance opportunities this year, something he’d been pushing for with the previous coaching regime.

MASE: Alex Singleton

When the Broncos ached for a play on special teams, Alex Singleton made it.

And by the time the season ended, Singleton had more unassisted tackles than anyone else on the unit. He punctuated the year with that big play, a forced fumble in Kansas City that Eric Saubert recovered. One play later, Russell Wilson ran in for a touchdown.

The intention for Singleton was to be a core special-teamer. Injuries to both Josey Jewell and Jonas Griffith at inside linebacker changed that. Still, even with his playing time diminishing, he remained a demon on the field, displaying the same kind of tackling ability that he did in racking up the stops on defense.

A close second was P.J. Locke, who actually led the Broncos’ special teams with 12 total tackles. Locke played 341 special-teams snaps, second on the team behind linebacker Justin Strnad (405).

Punter Corliss Waitman closed strong. By the end of the season he ranked a respectable 16th in net punting average. But consistency remained an issue, and it would be no surprise of the Broncos add competition next year.

As for McManus, he ranked 28th among 34 kickers (minimum 10 attempts) in field-goal success rate from inside 50 yards. His 72.7-percent success rate from 50-59 yards was just above the league average of 70.6 percent. That ranked 16th of 28 NFL kickers with at least 4 attempts from 50-59 yards. It wasn’t a vintage season for him, and it would be no shock to see competition there, too.

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2022 WINNERS:

Offensive Player of the Year:

• Mase: Jerry Jeudy
• Cecil: Jerry Jeudy

Defensive Player of the Year

• Mase: Justin Simmons
• Cecil: Justin Simmons

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