The Afternoon Drive with Eric Goodman and Les Shapiro had Michael Pritchard on the show Monday to discuss the Denver Broncos. Pritchard felt there were just too many questions marks on the roster right now, so I decided to delve into the topic myself.
Looking at the big picture, I see a couple of major holes on the roster and several minor ones. In a way, that would represent quite a few question marks heading into the second week of free agency.
Must Reads
1. Offensive Tackle
Sure the lone free agent signing to date was a tackle, but if anyone thinks Donald Stephenson solves the Broncos problem at the position, you are deluding yourself. He might be good enough at right tackle, but there is definitely depth issues.
The question marks surrounding this unit will decrease significantly if the Broncos are able to restructure Ryan Clady to come back at the left tackle position. That will go a long way to solidifying the unit - at least for 2016.
2. Malik Jackson
Of all the free agent losses, the toughest to replace will be the stuff Malik Jackson did along the interior of the defensive line. The Broncos had no chance of signing him back anyway, though, as his $86 million deal was well above what the Broncos could have offered given their current cap situation.
Currently, there is no player on the roster that will be as effective as Jackson and it is highly unlikely they will find someone in the NFL Draft either. Fortunately, the Broncos have an embarrassment of riches at every other position on defense.
3. Quarterback
Brock Osweiler apparently played John Elway and the Broncos well in his drive for a $72 million contract offer from the Houston Texans. The Broncos traded for Mark Sanchez and are in a standoff with the San Francisco 49ers over compensation for quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Outside of that and the NFL Draft, several Broncos players have also offered up their quarterbacking skills to the team.
What else?
Those are the three biggest question marks the Broncos have right now, but they may also need to find a way to replace C.J. Anderson as he could be moving on to the Miami Dolphins on Tuesday if the Broncos do not match their offer. With the cap issues the Broncos have, they may be forced to let him walk as well.
Add Danny Trevathan signing with the Chicago Bears into the mix and you can see why many around the league are wondering how Elway will navigate these losses and maintain the defending Super Bowl champion roster.
So yeah, that is a lot of questions marks for the Broncos to address already.
Bonus Listen
Eric and Les talk with Ross Tucker about the Broncos dire quarterback situation.