When it comes to giving credit for Denver’s Super Bowl 50 victory, everyone knows where to start – Von Miller.
Miller dominated not only in Santa Clara but also throughout the 2015-16 NFL Playoffs. He deserved MVP honors and the Broncos should be backing up the Brinks truck up to “Club 58.”
While Miller is the gas that fuels the car, football is a team sport and his performances wouldn’t have been possible without his teammates. The Broncos had key draft picks who realized their potential and helped unleash the beast that was Miller last season.
Derek Wolfe had his best year as a pro, accounting for 5.5 sacks and 49 tackles, as did Malik Jackson who had five sacks and 45 tackles. David Bruton proved he was more than a special teams standout. Omar Bolden finally proved he could be a special teams standout as well as a key backup.
Denver counted on their role players to make plays, not merely avoid critical mistakes all season long. That was one of their biggest strengths. Those underrated performances allowed the likes of Miller, Chris Harris, Bradley Roby, Brandon Marshall and DeMarcus Ware to be ball hawks on the field.
This offseason the Broncos roster was plundered of a handful of role players and they’ll need young players to step up. They can’t expect those gaps to be filled immediately by players drafted this weekend. Those players need time to develop into the likes of Wolfe and Jackson. Luckily for Denver fans, this has been John Elway’s forte in the draft. Here are four recent draft picks that’ll need to develop and take a step up this season.
With the departure of Bruton and Bolden, the Tulane product will be looked upon to take a much more active role. Doss is no stranger to making plays. He grabbed 15 interceptions during his three-year college career. As an undersized fifth-round pick, Broncos fans are hoping Doss has the pit bull mentality that’s served Denver’s late-round picks so well.
Jeff Heuerman
Fact: Virgil Green is the only tight end that caught a ball last season for the Denver Broncos left on the roster.
Fact: Denver was starved for production from tight ends all season long.
Owen Daniels was big for Denver in the playoffs, but the Broncos are in desperate need of a big, consistent tight end threat. Heuerman plays at 6-foot-5, 255-pounds, so … big? Check. Consistency is going to be the big question for Heuerman who, after tearing his ACL in rookie mini-camp, is essentially still a rookie.
Kilgo didn’t play much as a rookie but that should change this season. Sylvester Williams is in the last year of his four-year entry-level contract and will be looking for a big payday at the end of the season. Williams had a good season but he isn’t irreplaceable. Before contract negations with Williams start, Denver should figure out if they have a replacement in Kilgo.
Who hasn’t passed Latimer on the depth chart? Last season the journeymen Jordan Norwood and undrafted rookie Bennie Fowler both outplayed Latimer, badly. This is a make-or-break season for the 2014 second-round pick. At this point in his career, Latimer is carrying the label of a bust rather than a key member of the deepest wide receiver draft class in recent memory.
Denver is going to need Latimer to not only produce on offense but, with the departures of Bolden and Bruton, special teams as well. On the bright side, there seems to be something about Denver’s locker room that pushes those ‘busts’ to thrive. Wolfe, Jackson and Bolden all had to fight against that label at one point in their careers. Latimer is a physical specimen and this has to be the season he steps up.
Great NFL teams have always been defined by their superstars but they’re built on their role players. This offseason John Elway was forced to let multiple role players walk for big paydays. If the Broncos want to repeat as champions they need key draft picks of late to grow into their own.
The NFL is cyclical; every two or three seasons veterans are going to chase big dollar contracts. When that happens you need to hope the scouting department has done a good job because you’re going to need the new wave of young talent to pan out.
This is where the Broncos find themselves. Everyone knows who the superstars are, the Broncos need to figure out who fills in the gaps.