My Mock Offseason Plan for the Broncos:
The Broncos were one of the best teams in football this past season, and should be able to continue that run in 2013. The first and likely most important task this offseason is retaining Ryan Clady. I say 5/42 locks him up in Denver for the foreseeable future. With that out of the way we can move on to the rest of the offseason. The Broncos have some holes to fill, but are in a fairly solid position, especially considered their massive cap space (less after Clady). While this would enable us to chase an elite FA, this team has numerous extension candidates on the horizon, led by Decker next year. With that in mind, let’s begin. As far as I know these are the players we have the rights to:
QB |
Manning |
Osweiler |
Hanie |
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RB |
McGahee |
Moreno |
Hillman |
Ball |
Fannin |
Johnson |
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FB |
Gronkowski |
Hester |
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WR |
Thomas |
Decker |
Stokely |
Willis |
Caldwell |
Holliday |
Orton |
Robinson |
TE |
Tamme |
Dreessen |
Green |
Thomas |
Ingram |
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LT |
Clady |
Clark |
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LG |
Beadles |
Blake |
Edwards |
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C |
Walton |
Koppen |
Saulsbury |
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RG |
Kuper |
Ramirez |
Edwards |
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RT |
Franklin |
Cornick |
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RE |
Dumervil |
Ayers |
Garland |
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DT |
Bannan |
Warren |
Siliga |
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DT |
Vickerson |
Unrein |
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LE |
Wolfe |
Jackson |
Beal |
Hunter |
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ROLB |
Woodyard |
Williams |
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MLB |
Mays |
Irving |
Johnson |
Brooking |
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LOLB |
Miller |
Trevathan |
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CB |
Bailey |
Porter |
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CB |
Carter |
Harris |
Bolden |
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FS |
Moore |
Bruton |
Ihenacho |
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SS |
Adams |
Carter |
Leonhard |
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K |
Prater |
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P |
Colquitt |
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LS |
Brewer |
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Blue-RFA (dark blue is an ERFA)
Green-UFA
Players I would attempt to bring back:
Unrein
Colquitt
Clark
Bruton
Bannan
Koppen
Stokely
I see all of these guys willing to return, and none of them would jeopardize our cap space. Then we get to the rest of Free Agency, where we have to consider cutting some guys to save cap. DJ Williams is my first hit, the only no brainer cut we have. Joe Mays follows, as does Andre Caldwell. That should cover us for free agency, though Hanie, Adams, Kuper and Prater shouldn’t get too comfortable. The Roster would then look like:
QB |
Manning |
Osweiler |
Hanie |
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RB |
McGahee |
Moreno |
Hillman |
Fannin |
Johnson |
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FB |
Hester |
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WR |
Thomas |
Decker |
Stokely |
Holliday |
Orton |
Robinson |
Orton |
Robinson |
TE |
Tamme |
Dreessen |
Green |
Thomas |
Ingram |
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LT |
Clady |
Clark |
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LG |
Beadles |
Blake |
Edwards |
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C |
Walton |
Koppen |
Saulsbury |
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RG |
Kuper |
Ramirez |
Edwards |
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RT |
Franklin |
Cornick |
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RE |
Dumervil |
Ayers |
Garland |
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DT |
Bannan |
Siliga |
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DT |
Unrein |
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LE |
Wolfe |
Jackson |
Beal |
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ROLB |
Woodyard |
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MLB |
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Irving |
Johnson |
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LOLB |
Miller |
Trevathan |
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CB |
Bailey |
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CB |
Carter |
Harris |
Bolden |
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FS |
Moore |
Bruton |
Ihenacho |
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SS |
Adams |
Carter |
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K |
Prater |
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P |
Colquitt |
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LS |
Brewer |
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The needs are fairly obvious but I’ll run through them pretty quickly. Obviously Middle Linebacker is now a massive black hole without Brooking and Mays, and needs to be filled. Defensive Tackle is better, but a major need as well. As the Ravens showed, our secondary is suspect at times, and could use a talent influx. The Ravens also graciously showed us the weakness of our RB corps. A Slot WR to help an aging Stokely, as well as any WR depth would be appreciated. The offensive line will suffice, but it lacks impact talent everywhere but LT, and is short on depth too. Prater and Hanie also both need competition for their roster spots. Defensive End is set in my opinion, but an upgrade would be justifiable.
With that said, let’s get to who I think we should sign. With Manning under center we can’t just let the draft fill our major holes up the middle, as we would squander a window of opportunity. So let’s start at MLB. The popular choices are Ellerbe and Brad Jones. Both are long term solutions, and would require large deals. Especially in the case of Ellerbe, I think both teams are likely to retain them. More realistic options in my opinion are Chase Blackburn from New York, and Brian Urlacher. Both would immediately plug the gap at MLB, while not hindering us long term. Urlacher , recruited by his fellow HOF peers in Manning, Elway and Bailey, comes year at 2yrs 3 mil, with 1 million extra based on performace. At Defensive Tackle I propose the same strategy: Ignore the big names (in this case Melton and Randy Starks) and sign a solid stop-gap, enabling to keep cap space. I suggest we sign Casey Hampton from Pittsburgh, immediately filling the hole on the line. That more or less does it on the defensive side, though I have a few more offensive signings to make. My favorite is the signing of Austin Collie, lured by Manning, who could make one last attempt to return to his place as one of the leagues best slot guys under his old QB. Yeremiah Bell is signed to compete for the Safety job with Mike Adams. Tyler Polumbus is signed for Tackle depth. Greg Jones, without many offers after a weak year with Jacksonville is signed to a one year deal at Fullback. We also bring in Captain Munnerlyn to compete at CB and Matt Leinart to challenge Hanie. I also signed a few extra guys like King Dunlap for depth. To Review:
LB Brian Urlacher
DT Casey Hampton
WR Austin Collie
FB Greg Jones
T Tyler Polumbus
S Yeremiah Bell
CB Captain Munnerlyn
QB Matt Leinart
RB Tashard Choice
OL King Dunlap
DT Amobi Okoye
LB Geno Hayes
Then we come to the draft. Here we have one picks in Rounds 1-6 (Brodrick Bunkley trade). I foresee us trading our Willis McGahee for a 4th Round Pick We have too many running backs, and he is the most valuable of them via trade. We need more RBs for the future, not for now. I would then envision this as our draft:
1st: Jonathan Jenkins, DT, Georgia
2nd: Arthur Brown, LB, Kansas State
3rd: Phillip Thomas, S, Fresno State
4th: Mike Gillisee, RB, Florida
4th: Ryan Swope, WR, Texas A&M
5th: Marcus Lattimore, RB, South Carolina
6th: Traded to move up in the fifth to take Lattimore
UDFA: TE Nick Kasa, Colorado, DE Will Pericak, Colorado, WR Chad Bumphis, Mississippi State, CB Kayvon Webster, Florida State, K Brett Maher, Nebraska
Jenkins is a beat who will solidify the D-Line for years to come. We get our MLB of the future in Arthur Brown, Safety of the future in Phillip Thomas, and set of our future RB group with the best of Hillman-Gillisee-Lattimore. Swope gets to develop under Manning, and provides insurance if we can’t resign Decker/Thomas. The UDFA’s are a combo of need, CU guys I know, and guys we’ve interviewed (Swope and Thomas have interviewed with us as well). So the roster going into camp looks something like this:
QB |
Manning |
Osweiler |
Hanie |
Leinart |
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RB |
Moreno |
Hillman |
Gillisee |
Choice |
Lattimore |
Fannin |
Johnson |
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FB |
Jones |
Hester |
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WR |
Thomas |
Decker |
Stokely |
Collie |
Swope |
Holliday |
Orton |
Robinson |
Bumphis |
Robinson |
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TE |
Tamme |
Dreessen |
Green |
Thomas |
Ingram |
Kasa |
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LT |
Clady |
Dunlap |
Clark |
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LG |
Beadles |
Blake |
Edwards |
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C |
Walton |
Koppen |
Saulsbury |
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RG |
Kuper |
Ramirez |
Edwards |
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RT |
Franklin |
Polumbus |
Cornick |
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RE |
Dumervil |
Ayers |
Garland |
Pericak |
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DT |
Jenkins |
Bannan |
Okoye |
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DT |
Hampton |
Unrein |
Siliga |
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LE |
Wolfe |
Jackson |
Beal |
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ROLB |
Woodyard |
Trevathan |
Irving |
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MLB |
Urlacher |
Brown |
Johnson |
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LOLB |
Miller |
Hayes |
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CB |
Bailey |
Carter |
Harris |
Munnerlyn |
Bolden |
Webster |
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FS |
Moore |
Bell |
Bruton |
Ihenacho |
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SS |
Carter |
Adams |
Thomas |
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K |
Prater |
Maher |
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P |
Colquitt |
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LS |
Brewer |
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This is a Super Bowl Team Right here! It can compete now, and has guys to fill in for its aging stars when the retire (as Elway demonstrated with the Brock Oz pick). Here’s how I view this roster eventually shaking out:
QB |
Manning |
Osweiler |
Leinart |
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RB |
Moreno |
Hillman |
Gillisee |
Hester |
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FB |
Jones |
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WR |
Thomas |
Decker |
Stokely |
Collie |
Swope |
Holliday |
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TE |
Tamme |
Dreessen |
Green |
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LT |
Clady |
Dunlap |
Clark |
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LG |
Beadles |
Blake |
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C |
Walton |
Koppen |
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RG |
Kuper |
Ramirez |
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RT |
Franklin |
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RE |
Dumervil |
Ayers |
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DT |
Jenkins |
Bannan |
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DT |
Hampton |
Unrein |
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LE |
Wolfe |
Jackson |
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ROLB |
Woodyard |
Trevathan |
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MLB |
Urlacher |
Brown |
Johnson |
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LOLB |
Miller |
Irving |
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CB |
Bailey |
Carter |
Harris |
Munnerlyn |
Bolden |
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FS |
Moore |
Bruton |
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SS |
Carter |
Thomas |
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K |
Prater |
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P |
Colquitt |
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LS |
Brewer |
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IR |
Lattimore |
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PS |
Orton |
Robinson |
Kasa |
Saulsbury |
Ihenacho |
Maher |
Siliga |
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Hardest cuts were Bell and Choice getting cut for Bruton and Hester. If you’ve stuck with me congrats! What do you guys think?