The first handful of moves made by new general manager George Paton have been praised by many, and the latest to do so is top NFL Network analyst, Gregg Rosenthal.
“I think this defense could be a top-three defense,” Rosenthal said on NFL Network’s ‘NFL Now’. “I love [Head Coach Vic] Fangio. They know what they’re doing. They went, they spent, and they didn’t spend too much.”
The lack of spending has been one of the wildest aspects of Paton’s fantastic free agency period. The new GM has added boatloads of talent to the roster while still remaining one of the top teams in available cap space. According to OverTheCap, the Broncos rank third in effective cap space and are less than five-million dollars behind the Jaguars, who rank first.
“I love [their moves on defense],” Rosenthal elaborated. “I haven’t heard a lot about the Broncos nationally, but you look at this team bringing in Ronald Darby — a cornerback who’s long been one of my favorites, had a lot of one-year deals but finally cashes in with a three-year deal — and then everything else they did. Kyle Fuller, again you know the fit, he played for Vic Fangio in [Chicago], really underrated.
“And those two guys help out a secondary where they signed Justin Simmons, where they bring back Kareem Jackson at a lower-rate, and you think, ‘this might be the best secondary in the league.’ And oh, wait, you bring back one of my favorite players — Shelby Harris — at a good value, you bring back Von Miller, this time has an identity.”
The Broncos have been lost souls wandering the woods for the past five seasons in search of an identity, and it comes as a huge relief that they’ve finally found one, even if it is on defense.
Though the offense isn’t a lost cause either as Rosenthal pointed out in his conclusion.
“They need a quarterback, but they’ve got weapons on offense.”
Yes they do, Rosenthal.