Now that the Denver Broncos season is fully upon us, our weekly mailbag series will start up once again beginning with today’s installment. If you want to participate and have your Broncos questions answered each Tuesday, be sure to send them to me via email at cody@milehighsports.com or on Twitter @CodyRoark NFL.
Denver Broncos mailbag after Week 2 of the NFL preseason
The Denver Broncos are gearing up for their third and final week of the preseason ahead of next week’s roster cuts. Broncos fans sent in their questions regarding surprise cuts, personnel, and more.
Who’s the odd man out with regard to the RB room? Will we see a deal made with any of them before the Arizona game? – Jolene.
As preseason and training camp have progressed, all signs point to Samaje Perine being the odd man out inside of the running back room. There’s always a possibility a trade could take place, but I don’t see that being as likely right now especially with the depreciation of the position itself. Even if Denver were to keep four running backs, Tyler Badie has done enough to be that fourth tailback option.
If younger players on defense like Riley Moss take their expected leaps, can we expect to see things like NASCAR packages and/or CB/ILB blitzes to pressure opposing QBs this year? – @newtype_jk47 on Twitter.
Even if Moss doesn’t take the expected leap, the Broncos defense still has and will use a ‘NASCAR’ package in certain situations this season. Denver is very comfortable with their skill players in the secondary and their ability to cover. On top of that, with the Broncos emphasis on attacking and using various stunts, there will be plenty of opportunities for man-to-man coverage while sending the house. I think the defense will surprise a lot of people this year.
Which team stats do you see as critical for the Broncos to improve on this year, which will be a leading indicator for sustained success? – JPerrin on Twitter.
This is a great question. Offensively for Sean Payton, he’ll tell you that it’s third down and red zone. Throughout training camp, he’s placed a heavy emphasis on third-down situations and executing down in the red zone. He doesn’t want a repeat of last season and he doesn’t believe the team or personnel will struggle in that department.
So far, on third down through two preseason games, the Broncos are 14-of-26 (53.8%) while defensively holding opposing offenses to 7-of-23 (30.4%).
In the red zone, the Broncos have converted on 7-of-10 red zone opportunities through their first two weeks of the preseason. If these can translate into the regular season, Denver will have a chance to win nine or more games this year.
Who do you think the surprise cuts will be on roster cut down day? – Joshua Hansen on Twitter.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the Broncos roster this offseason. Despite national outlets who never come and attend practice saying that they have the worst roster, they could be a sneaky team this season. With that said, I feel like the surprise cuts won’t be big-name players but possibly players who have had pivotal roles lately.
Tremon Smith at cornerback and Denver’s special teams ace could be one, and I feel Samaje Perine could be the other, as discussed above. There was some speculation before the preseason began that Tim Patrick would be on the bubble, but I think after his preseason performance and a clean bill of health, he’s a safe lock.
Why are Marvin Mims and Troy Franklin not getting much run in the preseason? Should we be concerned about Mims getting one snap with starters? – KB on Twitter.
Marvin seeing 12 total snaps was a bit of a surprise, especially not seeing him get as much run with the ones. Payton has talked about how he values size for his offense, and that could very well be what we’ll primarily see in the regular season. Tim Patrick, Courtland Sutton, and Josh Reynolds are a fun trio to have out there. Franklin played 20 snaps of offense against the Packers and saw five snaps on special teams. Denver is in a position right now where they don’t need Franklin to be a number one, two, or three receiver right now. He’ll continue to develop. I am curious however to see how Mims usage works this year. Maybe Payton is hiding him in the preseason?
