Horse Tracks and a No Bull thoughts on Norwood

We got some more good news in Broncos Country yesterday as Jordan Norwood re-signed with the Broncos. What does this mean? What does he bring to the table? You know I love talking about the guys we watch through a year and giving some old fashioned No Bull thoughts and why not kick of HT with that today?

Upside

First and foremost, let's talk about the positives with this move.  Norwood is an experienced WR in our system. That's a big plus for a team with a "new" coaching staff that is still acclimating the team to a new system. Keep in mind when we talk about this that the offense was highly tailored last year to fit Manning and it was constantly being adjusted to try to find good answers.

As a player, what skills does he have? Well first of all he has flashed in the Super Bowl as a returner. We'll want to see how much more he can do in that area as Denver doesn't have a real answer at returner. Norwood appears to have the quicks and eyes needed to make returns happen though his is the type of player who needs to avoid contact and use his speed to do so.

The final thing I'll point out about Norwood is his quickness. He's got really quick steps changing direction laterally and in his route running. This makes him a good option in the slot where he can create separation.

What he doesn't appear to be

As far as playing WR in a significant manner, he doesn't have the consistency to really be a No. 2 guy at WR. So in this system where Kubiak doesn't run a ton of 11 in (if he has the kind of personnel he likes anyway), this is a depth guy who's ceiling is a poor-man's Wes Welker.

What makes me say this? First of all the body-type. He doesn't have a durable build. Being 5'11" he also doesn't bring that "climb the ladder" type of play to the WR position. Finally, he's not a serious deep threat. He's a kind of athlete like CHJ: quickness more than speed.

Summary

I do think this is a positive move for the team. Norwood is a really solid player who can help  your team at the NFL level. He's good as depth. His ceiling is probably at best your #3 WR slot guy. The big thing I think Denver is looking at with Norwood is sharpening up his return skills. There's some ability there and with Bolden not likely sticking around this year, we'll need a guy to handle the return duties.

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