Mile High Sports

Denver Broncos Stock Up/Stock Down: Russell Wilson plays the role of coal this Christmas

Zach Segars
Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson (3) is sacked by Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Michael Hoecht (97) during the second half at SoFi Stadium.

Dec 25, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson (3) is sacked by Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Michael Hoecht (97) during the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

This year, it didn’t matter whether you were a good Denver Broncos fan or a bad Broncos fan.

No matter your positive or negative impact on the world, you were treated to a lump of coal this holiday season, and it came in the form of Russell Wilson.

Even worse, it cost $250 million, two top-10 draft picks, and a bundle of players.

What morsels of good were there to cling to, and where do the Denver Broncos go from here? Let’s take a look in this latest edition of the Broncos stock report.

Denver Broncos Stock Up

Dec 25, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Denver Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (10) carries the ball against Los Angeles Rams linebacker Bobby Wagner (45) in the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Alex Singleton

No one has been consistently underrated in this column more than Alex Singleton, and it’s time to right that wrong.

In an NFL season where seemingly every aspect of the Denver Broncos has failed to live up to expectations, Singleton has greatly outperformed what was expected of him.

Singleton was signed to a hyper-cheap deal that made it seem likely that the team could move on from him before the season even started. He was viewed as a liability backup player, who could at least contribute on special teams.

That image of him couldn’t have been more wrong.

Singleton quickly earned a starting role on the Broncos’ defense and has been a heat-seeking missile ever since.

Earlier this season, Ejiro Evero said that Singleton was the most reactive player he had ever been around, and it’s hard to disagree after what he’s put on tape this season.

He had 20 tackles today through 46 minutes, which is good for his second 20-tackle performance of the season. He was also one of just two Denver Broncos with a hit on the quarterback today. Plus, he did it all with his family in attendance.

He now has 144 tackles on the season, 28 more than Denver’s next leading tackler.

Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton & Greg Dulcich

The Denver Broncos have boatloads of problems on offense, but this trio is part of the solution.

In recent weeks, Jerry Jeudy has solidified his spot as the Denver Broncos’ top target.

Tony Romo gushed about his route-running and uncoverable nature all broadcast long, despite Jeudy’s team getting throttled for almost the entire affair.

Despite taking a nasty shot to the ankle on his first reception, Jeudy hauled in six passes for 117 yards.

His most impressive moment of the day came on that first reception, where he seemed to hit some sort of fake spin move, which left All-Pro superstar Jalen Ramsey perplexed and frozen long enough for Jeudy to escape and make the unlikely conversion on 2nd and 19. As a result of that magic, the Broncos came away with points on that drive.

Courtland Sutton also had a good day, in his return from injury, which was important for Broncos Country to see. In Sutton’s absence, Jeudy has blossomed into the Denver Broncos’ X receiver, taking that role away from Sutton. It was a lingering mystery how those two would fit in their new roles, and today was a promising sign that it should work.

Sutton finished the game with five receptions on seven targets and gained 64 yards. Plus, both of those two incompletions came on horrific throws from Russell Wilson, neither of which Sutton had much of a chance at.

The highlight of his day came on a ridiculous toe-tapping snag on the sidelines.

Lastly was Dulcich, who may have been hurt by Wilson the most today, but still managed to score the team’s lone touchdown.

Denver Broncos Stock Down

Dec 25, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson (3) is sacked by Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Michael Hoecht (97) during the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Russell Wilson

This has gone from a dumpster fire, to a tire fire, to a raging inferno that’s scorching the countryside and consuming every life in its wake.

The level of quarterbacking the Denver Broncos are getting from Russell Wilson would maybe be acceptable from Brock Purdy — the very last pick of the draft, who was thrust into the starting lineup as a rookie unexpectedly due to a rash of injuries — but not from an individual that is costing the franchise so much.

Now, his surroundings are troubling. The offensive line is beaten down and the coaching staff is moribund, but how do you blame either of those units for Wilson deciding to target Courtland Sutton in double or triple coverage, with a moonball that goes yards over his head?

When you have 160 starts under your belt, you shouldn’t need a Bill Walsh-type figure to tell you not to throw that ball. It should go without saying. That’s dramatic mental regression.

Later in the game, Sutton is wide open past the first down marker, for a completion that would extend Denver’s drive into scoring range. Does Wilson throw it to him then? No. Does Wilson take the wide-open running lane to convert the third down? No. Does Wilson get baited into a downfield interception by Jalen Ramsey? Yes.

Sutton’s frustration with that decision was clear.

The same goes for Wilson’s second interception, which came between the two aforementioned blunders. On the play, Wilson seemingly ignored Bobby Wagner’s presence, and threw a pass that was effortlessly plucked away by Wagner, and returned it into scoring position.

To add insult to injury, that interception was announced by Spongebob character Patrick Star.

Ultimately Russell Wilson finished the day with 35 dropbacks, and on those dropbacks, he generated 191 yards, one touchdown, and turned the ball over three times. That’s a miserable level of efficiency.

The big problem is that now the cracks are really starting to show.

A few weeks ago, Mike Purcell got in Russell Wilson’s face and shouted at him.

Today, that continued.

Courtland Sutton was clearly frustrated with Wilson’s decision to not throw him the ball on the Dulcich interception; Dalton Risner and Wilson had a dust-up, which led to Risner and Rypien having a more intense back-and-forth on the sidelines; and Jerry Jeudy looked dead inside while sitting next to Wilson on the bench.

Think about how this Denver Broncos locker room must feel about Russell Wilson leading them into battle next season. Imagine if one of your coworkers was set to make ten times what you were set to make over the course of your career, and is getting special treatment, despite obviously having a dramatically negative effect on the company.

You would be furious, and rightfully so.

So, where do the Denver Broncos go from here?

Simple. Cut Wilson, move on from Nathaniel Hackett and start fresh.

The Broncos already have $107 million in future money committed to Wilson, and that number will only climb as time goes on. In order to minimize the damage that Wilson can do to this franchise, they have to cut him now.

It’s been accepted as fact that moving on from Wilson this offseason is impossible, but that’s not true. It’ll be painful, and likely sink the 2023 season, but the 2023 season already feels sunk with Wilson at the helm. For the price of tanking in 2023, the Broncos can return to being fun as soon as 2024, and it’s hard to imagine a quicker timeline with Wilson at the helm.

Denver Broncos defense

The Denver Broncos’ defense was arguably the NFL’s best defense entering today, and they got demolished by a Baker Mayfield and Cam Akers-led attack, which possesses arguably the worst offensive line in the league.

On paper, the Denver defense should’ve rolled. Instead, they got rolled.

It started early, as Akers gobbled up more than seven yards per carry on the Rams’ opening scoring drive, and that trend would continue throughout the game.

Ultimately, the Rams finished the day with 33 carries for 158 yards, from their running backs. No matter who was back there, they were slicing through the Broncos, as a hot knife would butter.

Baker Mayfield also diced them up through the air though, as he was a near-perfect 24-for-28 for 230 yards and two touchdowns, good for an 124.7 passer rating.

That was in large part due to the fact that the Denver Broncos barely managed to pressure Mayfield. They hit him just twice and didn’t sack him even a single time.

From top to bottom, it was a terrifying display of what losing Dre’Mont Jones — who was absent with injury — could do to multiple facets of this proud squad.

Nathaniel Hackett

The argument for Nathaniel Hackett getting a second season in Denver was always, ‘well, the team is still playing hard for him.’

It’s safe to say that ended today, as the Denver Broncos’ 37-point defeat was loud in its ugliness. There’s only been one other game this season decided by a wider margin.

The lack of effort on defense was notable, and while you could debate whether or not that’s the team quitting on Hackett or Wilson, it was ugly either way and likely the final nail in Coach Hackett’s coffin.

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