The Denver Broncos entered their bye week with a little bit of optimism, after a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, but the analysts at Pro Football Focus aren’t buying in yet, largely because of Russell Wilson.
In their midseason roster rankings, Pro Football Focus slid the Broncos down from 14th (the team’s preseason ranking) to 20th, and listed the team’s quarter-billion-dollar quarterback as the biggest weakness on Denver’s roster.
“Wilson got the bye week to rest his banged-up shoulder and quadriceps, which will hopefully get him back on track,” PFF’s Brad Spielberger wrote. “Wilson’s 58.8% completion percentage ranks 38th out of 46 qualifying quarterbacks, and he continues to struggle to take the easy completion in favor of big-game hunting downfield.”
It’s no secret that Russell Wilson’s disappointing play has been a major factor in the Broncos’ struggles this season.
It wasn’t all negative for the Denver Broncos though. PFF also highlighted the team’s dominant defense as Denver’s greatest strength.
“After pulling off a blockbuster trade for quarterback Russell Wilson, the expectation in Denver probably wasn’t that the defense would rank second in expected points added (EPA) allowed per play and the offense would rank second-to-last in EPA per play,” Spielberger wrote. “Denver is getting top-end performances from players along the defensive line, at off-ball linebacker and in the secondary. Even with Bradley Chubb traded to the Miami Dolphins, Denver still has Randy Gregory and Baron Browning among depth options.”
Lastly, PFF highlighted Jerry Jeudy — the Broncos’ offensive MVP through the first half of the season — as an X-factor to watch down the stretch.
“Jeudy has been inconsistent on a week-to-week basis, with the occasional focus drop stalling out a drive when the offense can’t afford any self-inflicted wounds amid the unit’s overall struggles,” Spielberger penned.
While true that Jeudy’s drops have been frustrating, he’s been the team’s best offensive weapon for about a month, and is trending toward finally living up to his draft status.
If Jeudy continues to play at a high level, and Russell Wilson snaps out of his funk, maybe the Broncos could make an unlikely playoff push.