On the Broncos’ special teams, kicker isn’t the only question

Quarterback quandaries remain the primary cause of the Broncos’ post-Super Bowl 50 woes. But that remains far from the only area of the team that chronically underperformed. And when it came to providing consistent, year-in-and-year-out woe and letdowns, special teams matched QB.

Whether you use Football Outsiders’ DVOA metric or longtime NFL reporter Rick Gosselin’s annual rankings, Denver’s special teams sits among the league’s dregs. Since 2017, it hasn’t been better than 21st in either of those rankings. Others have been worse from year to year, but no team is consistently in the bottom tier like the Broncos.

So, while nearly all the buzz regarding Sean Payton’s hire revolved around what he could do with Russell Wilson, the new head coach’s impact on special teams could be equally profound. There is no dismissal of this phase under a Payton regime. Instead, he sees it as one of the quickest ways in which to accelerate a rebuilding process and improve a team.

To that end, Payton coaxed special-teams guru Mike Westhoff out of an active retirement of riding snowmobiles, fishing and myriad other outdoor activities to be his second-in-command as assistant head coach. Westhoff brought in his longtime lieutenant, Ben Kotwica, to be the special-teams coordinator. And one of Westhoff’s former players in New Orleans, Chris Banjo, is the special-teams assistant.

Cutting Brandon McManus in May would seem to be a counter-intuitive move on the surface. For most of the last eight seasons, the placekicker was a special-teams strength. In a phase where little seemed reliable, McManus was — although his success rate dropped last year, even when removing attempts of beyond 60 yards from the calculus.

But a deeper message came from the move. On this phase, drastic change was required. And it starts with the fact that none of the three specialists will be the same as they were at the conclusion of 2022.

STARTERS: K Elliott Fry, P Riley Dixon, LS Mitchell Fraboni

For the three kicking-specialist roles, there is no competition — at least, not on the roster. Dixon should have little about which to worry; the Broncos brought back the 2016 draft pick in March, and since the team jettisoned him for the ill-fated Marquette King experiment in 2018, he’s only improved since then.

Fraboni delivered flawless snapping work in his 4-game cameo last season. His play made possible the Broncos’ decision to let incumbent Jacob Bobenmoyer walk. Bobenmoyer signed with the Las Vegas Raiders, and now Fraboni gets a chance to be the next link in the Broncos’ long-snapping chain.

Not including injury/emergency replacements, the Broncos have had five primary long snappers since midway through the 2002 season: Mike Leach (2002-08), Lonie Paxton (2009-11), Aaron Brewer (2012-15), Casey Kreiter (2016-19) and Bobenmoyer (2020-22). So, if Fraboni continues faring well, expect a multi-year run for the former USFL standout.

Those are the easy parts.

As for kicker …

Start with this: Fry hasn’t been a team’s primary kicker since 2019 in the Alliance of American Football. The league didn’t last a season. But Fry delivered splendid work. He hit all 14 of his field-goal attempts for the Apollos.

Eleven teams later, he’s a Bronco. For now. Payton made it clear that Fry’s competition is every kicker who remains on the outside looking in. One such kicker, Randy Bullock, had a tryout in June.

Other potential kickers could be cut by another team at the 53-player deadline. That’s how Payton got his best kicker in New Orleans, Wil Lutz.

“We had a kicking battle one year in New Orleans with two guys and man, [the media] all charted it each day during training camp,” Payton remembered, recalling the 2016 camp. “It was either/or. This went on and on, and it was one of those battles where I don’t know if I was any clearer after four weeks than I was when it began. They both did good things, and then had days maybe they weren’t as good.

“Then, the final cut down takes place at 53 and I get a call from someone I know well with another staff that thinks he’s got a kicker. We bring him in on Monday, work him out, and we sign neither of the two in the kicking battle.”

Lutz, cut by Baltimore, was that kicker. And aside from an injury-wrecked 2021, Lutz has been the Saints’ kicker ever since.

Fry will get the first shot. But if he falters, look for Payton to see if the cutdown market yields a standout once again. That’s how the Broncos got McManus, after all; they traded for him in 2014 when the Giants were poised to cut him.

History in the NFL has a habit of repeating itself.

RETURN POSSIBILITIES: Marvin Mims, Tremon Smith, Montrell Washington, Jaleel McLaughlin, Pat Surtain II, Jalen Virgil

Surtain’s cameo during minicamp grabbed the headlines. But the chances of him actually becoming a regular punt returner remain slim. Still, Payton’s decision to even consider Surtain, the team’s only 2022 All-Pro, underscores the importance of special teams in this regime.

“I think it reasserts what you’re preaching and what you’re talking about,” Kotwica said during minicamp. “It’s not just special teams. Any great team will tell you that when your best players are your hardest workers, you have something. I’ve seen that so far out here on the field.”

But it goes deeper than that. Surtain’s punt-return snaps are the tip of the spear. Specific special-teams scenarios are part of what Payton and his staff emphasize in practice. And he wants to make sure that every player on the roster understands what action each of these potential game situations demands.

But as for returner itself, the likely solutions seem a bit simpler. Smith, a reserve cornerback, brings extensive experience on kickoff returns. Mims’ speed and agility could make him a dynamic threat on punt returns — although the coaches want to evaluate him there to see what lurks.

“We’re anxious to see Mims,” Westhoff said during minicamp.

And then there is Montrell Washington, whose dynamic potential didn’t translate last year. By Weeks 17 and 18, he lost his grip on return duties, relegated to the game-day inactive list by interim head coach Jerry Rosburg. It made sense at that moment; the Broncos’ special teams were the league’s worst, as measured by Football Outsiders’ DVOA metric. Rosburg’s tweaks pulled the Broncos up three spots in a fortnight.

But Washington is firmly in the mix with new eyes and voices guiding him.

“First off, I love his work ethic,” Kotwica said in June. “He’s always asking questions and wants to be out on the field. Under the parameters that we have, we can’t be out there all day, but he is a player that would be out there all day. We’ve talked to him about that.”

Kotwica also sees dynamic potential in Washington. But after last year’s bobbles, Washington needed a morale boost.

“He has that athletic ability. I think it’s continuing to [show] confidence in the player,” Kotwica said. “I’m excited about where it will take him during training camp.”

And the same is true for the special-teams units as a whole.

“I’ve seen more things here that I like than I dislike,” Westhoff said. “And I’m going to be honest with you: I’m a little bit pleasantly surprised. Because it’s a little better group than I sort of thought I was gonna have.

“I don’t know how it’ll turn out. But I’ve thrown a lot at them. I’ve got a million things we do. And they’re handling it very well. They’re good kids that have worked very hard. And so, I have a very high bar. And that hasn’t gotten lowered one inch. So, I push them very, very hard. And they’ve responded exceptionally well.”

***