The Denver Broncos are in a good place right now for a variety of reasons.
First of all, being 3-0 after a pretty tough schedule to start the year is huge. Yes, talk all you want about the records of the Ravens, Chiefs and Lions, but if Peyton Manning won’t apologize for those wins than neither should you.
Second, they’re getting contributions from a ton of different guys. Each week someone different is making a huge play. Each week it feels like a new star is born. Each week there’s a different guys jersey you want to go buy.
That’s what made today’s Power Rankings so tough. Originally, this was going to be the team’s 10 best players, but narrowing it past 12 was nearly impossible. Still, we probably left some very worthy guys off.
With that in mind, here’s our best stab at Power Ranking the Denver Broncos 12 best players so far in 2015:
12. Brandon McManus – The Broncos kicker remains perfect on the season, hitting all six of his field goals and all eight of his extra points
11. Chris Harris Jr. – He has an interception to his name, but the reality is Harris Jr. just hasn’t had the ball thrown his way much — a sign of a great player
10. Demaryius Thomas – Thomas has had two monster moments; the fourth quarter drive in KC and the fourth down play in Detroit. Still, drops are a big concern
9. Brandon Marshall – Marshall’s signature moment was the strip of Jamaal Charles at Arrowhead; he also leads the team in tackles with 24
8. Von Miller – Miller’s stats haven’t been great so far, but Pro Football Focus backs up the fact he’s in the backfield disrupting things all the time
7. Bradley Roby – Roby’s scoop and score in Kansas City as well as his physics-defying interception in Detroit were both awesome — he’s a special kid
6. Peyton Manning – The Sheriff has been clutch when the Broncos have needed him in all three games (long drive, game tying TD, game icing TD)
5. David Bruton – Bruton helped save the game against Baltimore and Detroit, getting a huge deflection against the Ravens and huge pick against the Lions
4. Emmanuel Sanders – Sanders is playing with a ridiculous amount of fire in him right now and has the stats to back it up — 22 catches, 239 yards and a pair of TDs
3. Darian Stewart – If Stewart doesn’t make the pick against Joe Flacco the Broncos are no better than 2-1, he’s also been apart of three other big turnover plays
2. Aqib Talib – Talib’s pick-six against the Ravens was the team’s only TD that day; he also had a big pick in KC and did a very nice job on Megatron
1. DeMarcus Ware – Ware looks like he jumped in a time machine this offseason and went back about 10 years; he’s been the best linebacker in football thus far