Some Clarification is in Order: Roster Trouble In Denver

We all know about some the of the issues facing Denver right now: the quarterback situation, a struggling secondary, questions about the run game, and others. But one issue that I've found seems to be something that is forgotten, the Broncos are a team about to lose a massive chunk of it's roster.

"What!?" You may ask, "teams lose players every year" and while that is true, I don't think fans realize the coming collapse, roster edition. So let's take a look at the Broncos roster, how it will be affected over the next two years, and what areas are of immediate concern. Let's jump.

One thing fans rarely pay attention to is the long term, especially when it comes to contracts and team depth, so that is why I wanted to bring this to the focus today. So when it comes to long term planning, coaches and GM's look at roster depth and contracts and when they end to plan who to draft and who to pick up in free agency. We are going to sit down and put our general manager hats on and look at the Broncos roster. Let's start with the 2011 Broncos roster:

2011 Roster:

* Names in Bold are in their last contract year *

OFFENSE
QB	RB	FB	WR1	WR2	TE
Kyle Orton	Willis McGahee	Spencer Larsen	Brandon Lloyd	Eric Decker	Daniel Fells
Brady Quinn	Knowshon Moreno		Matt Willis	Eddie Royal	Julius Thomas
Tim Tebow	Lance Ball		Demaryius Thomas	Quan Cosby	Virgil Green
					Dante Rosario
66% Roster Lost	33% Lost	100% Lost	50% Lost		25% Lost
Starter Lost	No Starter Lost	Starter Lost	1 Starter Lost		Starter Lost
LT	LG	C	RG	RT	K
Ryan Clady	Zane Beadles	J.D. Walton	Chris Kuper	Orlando Franklin	Matt Prater
Chris Clark	Russ Hochstein	Manny Ramirez		Tony Hills
		Lonnie Paxton
50% Lost	50% Lost	0% Lost	0% Lost	0% Lost	100% Lost
No Starter Lost	No Starter Lost	No Starter Lost	No Starter Lost	No Starter Lost	Starter Lost
DEFENSE
DE	DT	MLB	WLB	SLB
Elvis Dumervil	Brodrick Bunkley	Joe Mays	D.J. Williams	Von Miller
Robert Ayers	Kevin Vickerson	Nate Irving	Wesley Woodyard	Mario Haggan
Jason Hunter	Marcus Thomas
Derrick Harvey	Ryan McBean
	Mitch Unrein
50% Lost	60% Lost	50% Lost	50% Lost	50% Lost
	Starter Lost	Starter Lost	No Starter Lost	No Starter Lost
CB	FS	SS	P
Champ Bailey	Rahim Moore	Brian Dawkins	Britton Colquitt
Andre' Goodman	David Bruton	Quinton Carter
Cassius Vaughn
Jonathan Wilhite
Chris Harris
0% Lost	50% Lost	0% Lost	100% Lost
No Starter Lost	No Starter Lost	No Starter Lost	No Starter Lost

 

Notes:

• We lose 8 starters:
  - Kyle Orton
  - Spencer Larseon
  - Brandon Lloyd
  - Daniel Fells
  - Matt Prater
  - Brodrick Bunkley
  - Joe Mays
  - Britton Colquitt
• We lose 12 backups/rotational players:
  - Brady Quinn
  - Lance Ball
  - Matt Willis
  - Eddie Royal
  - Chris Clark
  - Russ Hochstein
  - Jason Hunter
  - Derrick Harvey
  - Marcus Thomas
  - Ryan McBean
  - Wesley Woodyard
  - Mario Haggan
  
• We lose 100% of our starting special teams guys in Prater and Colquitt.
• We lose 50% of all out linebackers.
• We lose 56% of all our defensive lineman.
• We lose 50% of all our wide receivers.
• Our secondary and offensive line remain in good conditions, losing no starters.
• Going into the 2012 draft and FA, there is an immediate need, just in terms of roster spots, for these positions:
  - linebacker
  - defensive tackle
  - defensive end
  - wide receiver
  - quarterback
  - fullback
  - kicker
  - punter

2012 Roster:

* Names in Bold are in their last contract year *
* - signify a roster spot that lost a player *

OFFENSE
QB	RB	FB	WR1	WR2	TE
-	Willis McGahee	-	-	Eric Decker	-
-	Knowshon Moreno		-	-	Julius Thomas
Tim Tebow	-		Demaryius Thomas	Quan Cosby	Virgil Green
					Dante Rosario
0% Roster Lost	0% Lost		0% Lost		0% Lost
No Starter Lost	No Starter Lost		No Stater Lost		No Starter Lost
LT	LG	C	RG	RT	K
Ryan Clady	Zane Beadles	J.D. Walton	Chris Kuper	Orlando Franklin	-
-	-	Manny Ramirez		Tony Hills
		Lonnie Paxton
100% Lost	50% Lost	0% Lost	0% Lost	50% Lost
Starter Lost	No Starter Lost	No Starter Lost	No Starter Lost	No Starter Lost
DEFENSE
DE	DT	MLB	WLB	SLB
Elvis Dumervil	Ty Warren	-	D.J. Williams	Von Miller
Robert Ayers	Kevin Vickerson	Nate Irving	-	-
-	-
-	-
	Mitch Unrein
0% Lost	66% Lost	0% Lost	0% Lost	0% Lost
No Starter Lost	2 Starters Lost	No Starter Lost	No Starter Lost	No Starter Lost
CB	FS	SS	P
Champ Bailey	Rahim Moore	Brian Dawkins	-
Andre' Goodman	David Bruton	Quinton Carter
Cassius Vaughn
Jonathan Wilhite
Chris Harris
20% Lost	50% Lost	0% Lost
No Starter Lost	No Starter Lost	No Starter Lost

 

Notes:

• We lose 3 starters:
  - Ryan Clady
  - Kevin Vickerson
  - Ty Warren (who returns from IR after this season)
• We lose 3 backups/rotational players:
  - Tony Hills
  - Cassius Vaughn
  - David Bruton
• At this point we are thin on the offensive line, losing a starter and a backup this season. We also have no starting left tackle.
• We lose 2 of our remaining 3 defensive tackles.
• Secondary and running back are about the only positions that remain somewhat solid, but at this point, both Goodman, Dawkins and Champ will be near the end of their careers.
• Going into the 2013 draft and FA, there is an immediate need, just in terms of roster spots, for these positions:
  - linebacker
  - defensive tackle
  - defensive end
  - wide receiver
  - quarterback
  - kicker
  - punter
  - offensive lineman (both tackles and guards)
  - fullback

2013 Roster:

* Now I won't include who will be leaving in 2013, just the state of the roster *

Offense:

Quarterback:
- Tim Tebow
- 66% lost

Running Back:
- Knowshon Moreno
- Willis McGahee
- 33% lost

Fullback:
- None
- 100% lost

Wide Receiver:
- Eric Decker
- Demaryius Thomas
- Quan Crosby

Tight End:
- Julius Thomas
- Virgil Green
- Dante Rosario
- 25% lost

Offensive Tackle:
-Orlando Franklin
- 75% lost

Offensive Guard:
- Zane Beadles
- Chris Kuper
- 33% lost

Center:
- J.D. Walton
- Manny Ramerez
- Lonnie Paxton
- 0% lost

Kicker:
- None
- 100% lost

Defense:

Defensive End:
- Elvis Dumervil
- Rober Ayers
- 50% lost

Defensive Tackle:
- Mitch Urein
- 80% lost

Linebacker:
- Von Miller
- Nate Irving
- D.J. Williams
- 50% lost

Cornerback:
- Champ Bailey
- Andre Goodman
- Jonathan Wilhite
- Chris Harris
- 20% lost

Safety:
- Brian Dawkins
- Quinton Carter
- Rahim Moore
- 25% lost

Punter:
- None
- 100% lost

Notes:

• Over two off seasons we lose 11 starters and 15 backups/rotational players for a total of 26 players, or about half the roster.
• We are 4th in total roster loss in the next two years.
• We lose 50% or more of these roster spots:
  - quarterback
  - fullback
  - wide receiver
  - offensive tackle
  - kicker
  - defensive end
  - defensive tackle
  - linebacker
  - punter
• Over these two years we lose most of our Pro Bowl talent.

Review:

So let's just conclude this quickly, while the Broncos quarterback situation is on the forefront of everyone's minds, the Broncos actually have much bigger problems on the horizon, and unless EFX are very active this up coming off season, we could be in for some major struggles. Add in the aging of key players like Brian Dawkins, DJ Williams, Champ Bailey, Andre Goodman, and Willis McGahee the Broncos may cut ties with any of these players before their contracts are up.

My suggestions for the Broncos FO this off season would include this:

- Draft at least one defensive tackle very high
- Draft a corner very high
- Draft a mid round quarterback
- Resign Brandon Lloyd and Eddie Royal
- Resign Matt Prater and Britton Colquitt
- Resign Jason Hunter and Brodrick Bunkley (or find replacements in FA or the draft)
- Resign Wesley Woodyard and Mario Haggan (or find replacements in FA or the draft)

All I know is that I'm scared right now, not because of who will play QB next week, but because we are going to go through one of the biggest upheavals in the NFL this off season the the off season of 2013. Let's hear some of your suggestions on what the Broncos should do this off season.