Mile High Monday: An interesting offseason is already underway

The offseason is here without any games left to play. It’s no longer Las Vegas Raiders versus Denver Broncos, but instead Mike Mayock versus George Paton – and I’ve got my popcorn ready for all of it. The Broncos are not close to contending for a championship, but the path to change starts now.

I like what the next few months will entail. We’ll have decisions about fifth-year options, restricted free agents and free agency up next. In about a month, the shape of the Broncos roster could be much different than it is now.

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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Broncos on the Short List

The Deshaun Watson saga is just getting started. The Houston Texans swear up and down that they are not going to trade Watson, but we all know that’s not going to be the case. Watson will get moved, perhaps around the time of the 2021 NFL Draft. One thing is clear: He’s done playing for the Texans.

Earlier in the week, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported that Watson was most intrigued by two teams – the Broncos and the San Francisco 49ers. That goes along the lines of what I’ve heard through the NFL sources I talk to – the Broncos will be serious contenders for Watson. The fact that he may prefer Denver over all teams is a good sign. I’ll try not to get too excited until it happens, because I still think landing Watson is a pipe dream.

From what I’ve gathered, the Broncos will be one of four serious contenders for Watson. Sure, a dozen teams will have at least a passing interest in the franchise quarterback, but only a certain few will be ready to pay the price in order to secure his services. The Broncos should be willing and able to pay that price.

The Fowler report is nice, but Watson does want out of Houston in a bad way. He may prefer the 49ers or the Broncos, but it’s really just “anywhere but Houston” on his mind.

I remember when the 49ers were serious contenders for Peyton Manning, and we all know how that ended up. Can the Broncos beat out the 49ers for yet another franchise quarterback? Are there other teams (Carolina Panthers?) who could make a stronger push than most think? The future is up in the air, but we should see Watson in a different uniform in 2021. If the Texans really don’t trade him, then I think he sits out the 2021 season. Yes, things are really that bad.

From @GetUpESPN earlier, while Texans remain firm on no deal for Deshaun Watson, the QB is at least intrigued by possibility of several teams, including out on the West Coast. pic.twitter.com/ecIohJDtHJ pic.twitter.com/ybbGMPLeUR

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) February 12, 2021

Fowler points out on his Twitter timeline that Watson’s plan is “anywhere but Houston,” but it’s nice to know the Broncos will have a prime seat at the table of suitors. Now, Paton just needs to find a way to seal the deal.

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Drop the Mic

As a rookie in 2020, Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy drew the ire of a lot of fans in Broncos Country because of his number of dropped passes. He was third in the NFL with 10 dropped passes (numbers vary with different sites, but I’m going with the numbers from Pro-Football-Reference.com), and that didn’t sit well with fans – especially those who love to make apologies for quarterback Drew Lock.

Jeudy’s drop rate, a more accurate number because it accounts for the number of targets, was at 8.8 percent. Still, not a great number but that ranked 12th in the NFL. For example, fellow rookie K.J. Hamler had a drop rate of 12.5 percent – third worst in the league. The concentration problems from Jeudy were highlighted in Week 16 against the Chargers when he was targeted 15 times but only caught six passes. The drops have caused some to say that Jeudy is playing like a bust, instead of looking at the real numbers for all quarterback.

Fans who are down on Jeudy also need to consider this tidbit of advanced data. Lock had an on-target percentage of 68.9 percent last year. That sounds good until you realize that ranks 35th in the NFL (Kirk Cousins led the league with 81.3 percent on-target throws). PFR also tracked 22.9 percent of Lock’s throws (minus spikes and throwaways) as “bad throws” and that number was the highest in the league. Jeudy dropped way too many passes, and he should not get let off the hook for that. However, when you look at the passes he was thrown and how poorly his quarterback performed, you can see how improved play should lead to improved numbers for the potential star receiver.

QBs with the most dropped passes this season:
♦️ Tom Brady – 45
♦️ Ben Roethlisberger – 41
♦️ Patrick Mahomes – 41 pic.twitter.com/WT3FurQp3J

— PFF (@PFF) February 11, 2021

As you can see, a great quarterback is going to have dropped passes. It’s about being great in critical moments and continue to progress as a passer. Also, as the Super Bowl showed us, it’s about protecting that passer. The Broncos have work to do in order to get improved quarterback play, and fans should complain a little less (please?) about dropped passes.

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All Eyes On Lawrence

The football world got to see the next great quarterback work out this past week. Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, seen as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, put on a show at his pro day. Now, I know what you’re thinking “everyone has a great pro day!” That’s not actually the case – people need to remember the “meh” pro day that Lock had when he came out of Missouri.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t mean much on the grading scale and does not indicate he’s going to be a future superstar (or that Lock will go down as a bust). It’s just interesting to note how Lawrence performed when he didn’t have to.

Lawrence is the clear-cut No. 1 quarterback in this draft class. Guys like Justin Fields (Ohio State) and Zach Wilson (BYU) are fun to talk about, but they aren’t in the same category as Lawrence. He could’ve skipped this pro day and never worked out for teams and still be the coveted first pick in the draft.

Add in the fact that Lawrence is undergoing shoulder surgery (non-throwing) this week, and you can see how he had no reason to participate in a pro day. He did because he loves football. Even though his passing schedule was a bit abbreviated compared to other pro days I’ve witnessed, Lawrence made all the throws and looked every bit the part of a real franchise quarterback.

#Jaguars headed to Trevor Lawrence's pro day.

Tune in for live coverage at 10 a.m. ET on @nflnetwork. https://t.co/IC7vhrp6Rv

— NFL Draft (@NFLDraft) February 12, 2021

Lawrence sure does have the makings of a “can’t miss” quarterback in the NFL. I loved what I saw in his pro day workout, and it will be fun to watch him in the pros. The Jacksonville Jaguars are in a perfect spot to turn things around with Lawrence at the helm. Last year, they drafted Colorado’s Laviska Shenault and he has the makings of a star receiver in the NFL. Becoming a favorite target of Lawrence should happen, and that will be very exciting for NFL fans and fantasy GMs.

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Joker Returns

We are going to get something we never get from Hollywood next month. Zack Snyder’s Justice League is set to hit HBO Max on March 18, and the first trailer for the four-hour movie came out on Valentine’s Day. It’s something we never get because this movie is a “mulligan” of sorts for Snyder, Warner Bros. and the DCEU.

Justice League was started by Snyder, but not finished by him due to a family tragedy. Warner Bros. turned things over to Joss Whedon, and the end result was a Frankenstein sort of movie because it was two different movies forced into one. You could see what Snyder was setting up for the movie, but none of that was paid off by Whedon. Instead, we got inappropriate jokes and humorous scenes (well, they were supposed to be funny) that don’t fit the DCEU.

Because of an outpouring of support for the #SnyderCut on Twitter and social networking, Warner Bros. has allowed Snyder to complete his film with unseen and newly-shot footage. Some of those new scenes include Jared Leto reprising his role as The Joker.

At the end of the trailer, you get to see and hear Leto’s Joker for the first time (in Justice League). Getting a do-over for a flop (although it did make almost $660 million) is something unheard of in the movie business. The fans demanded Snyder got to make his movie the way he wanted to, and thankfully HBO Max has obliged.

On a side note, I really like HBO Max as a streaming service. They already have some great features and fantastic TV shows to binge watch, and adding Zack Snyder’s Justice League is going to be another big feather in their cap.

Nothing but chills! Can't wait for the #SnyderCut https://t.co/0GVY0KHGnL

— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) February 14, 2021

What did you think about the trailer? Hit me up on social media and let me know!

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