The Denver Broncos are 6-5 as they prepare for Week 12’s showdown against the Las Vegas Raiders. Broncos Country sent in their mailbag questions for Week 12 of the season.
Denver Broncos Mailbag: Week 12
If you want to send in your Broncos mailbag questions, be sure to do so every Monday via email: cody@milehighsports.com or on social media @CodyRoarkNFL.
With Josh Reynolds returning, do you think him coming back takes away from the chemistry Bo Nix is building with the current receivers? – Rashawn and Broncos Bar in NYC on Twitter.
Great question, Rashawn. Reynolds’ return has created questions about how the wide receiver rotation is going to work, especially with the emergence of Devaughn Vele and Troy Franklin. Reynolds was the No. 2 receiver before his injury, but now it feels like Vele has become that guy next to Courtland Sutton. I think if Reynolds’ return has an impact on anybody, it may impact Lil’Jordan Humphrey more instead of Franklin and Vele.
Humphrey’s been solid all season long and has been a good perimeter blocker in the run game, but Vele’s become a good blocker outside as well. Denver has more of a long-term vision for Franklin, and now Vele and I imagine that vision will be something they want to develop further.
We could very well see Sutton, Vele, Reynolds, Franklin, and Mims as the five active receivers on gameday going forward.
What position group do you think the Broncos can most improve on offensively or defensively after 11 weeks of evaluation for the team? – Michael on Twitter.
I feel like the answer to this question is still tight end. But the optics have changed a bit because Denver’s gotten impactful contributions from Nate Adkins, Lucas Krull, and Adam Trautman in this recent timeframe. Tight end will likely be an offseason priority for the front office, but if we had to take a look at this roster as it stands today, that would be the first one that comes to mind, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing either, considering this team’s growth.
Has the use of Marvin Mims lately, opened things up for the offense? – Greg on Twitter.
I think it’s added a bit of a wildcard to the Denver Broncos offense. Instead of trying to put Marvin solely at wide receiver, Sean Payton has gotten creative with presenting the threat of his speed to opposing defenses in a way that impacts the short passing game.
Running back wheels have been a valuable weapon to quarterbacks for a while now, and while Denver has a speedy back like Jaleel McLaughlin, Marvin Mims has a more expansive route tree that the team can use out of the backfield, which makes it harder for some of the edge rushers and inside linebackers to cover. That threat alone creates opportunities for other players like Lil’Jordan Humphrey on his 41-yard touchdown against the Falcons on Sunday.
Marvin motioned from one side of the field to the other out of the backfield and ran a wheel route initially, and then turned it into an out-route, forcing A.J. Terrell Jr. to play him tightly, taking away his vision on Humphrey coming free across the field.
It feels like Payton is building Marvin into the ‘Joker’ role.
Would you like to see more Dondrea Tillman reps going forward? He made a couple of good plays in the run game. – Colt on Twitter.
I think we’ll see a variety of different reps from Tillman. I’m not sure if Denver is planning on bringing back Drew Sanders fully this season, but that’s something we’re still monitoring. I know the Broncos like Tillman’s traits, especially against the run and as a pass rusher.
Right now, he’s the only option opposite of Jonah Elliss until we know for sure whether or not the team brings Sanders off of IR and onto the active roster. If they do, I imagine that would impact Tillman’s potential snaps, but I’ve liked what I’ve seen from him.
What are your thoughts on Nik Bonitto’s impact and what his ceiling could be? – DMarq on Twitter.
Bonitto’s been a special player to watch evolve over the last season and a half. I’m not surprised at the rise and impact he’s certainly had defensively. Last season, he became an entirely different player; he’s taken another step forward this season.
He has superstar pass rusher traits, and I think that’s exactly what he will become. His get-off, ability to time the snap and his pass rush arsenal are special, and he still has plenty of room to grow. Bonitto is going to be around for a long time in Broncos Country.
The Broncos already hit the 2024 season expectation of 5.5 wins. Based on the current trajectory of the team, what do you think the over/under will be next year? Also, based on Bo Nix’s potential, how many primetime games do you think they’ll have next year? – Nate on Twitter.
Great question, Nate. I think next year’s projected win totals are going to be a bit higher than this year, and I feel like the line will be around 8.5. So much of this will be contingent upon how they finish the season. In terms of primetime games next year, I think three will be the spot we see Denver have, which isn’t too much and isn’t too little. Bo Nix could elevate that to four or five if he wins the NFL’s Rookie of the Year award.
Should the Denver Broncos run the table and win all six remaining games, including the rematch against Kansas City? – Ed on Twitter.
I’m always a big believer in taking things one game at a time. Unfortunately, in this industry, my job requires me to look ahead sometimes, but even I feel like these next six games are too far ahead. These next two are big against the Las Vegas Raiders and Cleveland Browns, and if Denver wins both of them and heads into the bye week at 8-5, I’ll feel a little more confident after it. The Colts are beatable as are the Chargers and the Bengals, but Denver’s remaining schedule isn’t as easy as most people think.
If they run the table, that would be a huge achievement, but I don’t expect that to be the case because that’s incredibly hard to do in today’s NFL.