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If you listen to major media, the Denver Broncos defense is due for a massive regression after losing Malik Jackson, Danny Trevathan, David Bruton Jr. and Omar Bolden to free agency. Such an argument overlooks the fact that this defense is still quite loaded at nearly every position heading into 2016.
Taking a look at last season's snap counts, this defense lost two major contributors and one stellar backup to free agency.
| Player | Pos | Snaps | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Harris | CB | 1063 | 96.99% |
| Aqib Talib | CB | 977 | 89.14% |
| Brandon Marshall | LB | 915 | 83.49% |
| Darian Stewart | FS | 848 | 77.37% |
| Von Miller | LB | 835 | 76.19% |
| Malik Jackson | DE | 824 | 75.18% |
| Danny Trevathan | LB | 736 | 67.15% |
| T.J. Ward | SS | 703 | 64.14% |
| Derek Wolfe | DE | 649 | 59.22% |
| Bradley Roby | CB | 623 | 56.84% |
| Sylvester Williams | NT | 534 | 48.72% |
| Shaquil Barrett | LB | 497 | 45.35% |
| David Bruton | SS | 482 | 43.98% |
| DeMarcus Ware | LB | 399 | 36.41% |
| Vance Walker | DE | 381 | 34.76% |
| Antonio Smith | DE | 363 | 33.12% |
| Shane Ray | LB | 341 | 31.11% |
| Josh Bush | SS | 249 | 22.72% |
| Todd Davis | LB | 129 | 11.77% |
| Lerentee McCray | LB | 118 | 10.77% |
| Darius Kilgo | NT | 113 | 10.31% |
| Shiloh Keo | SS | 87 | 7.94% |
| Kayvon Webster | CB | 69 | 6.30% |
| Corey Nelson | LB | 64 | 5.84% |
| Omar Bolden | FS | 48 | 4.38% |
| Kenny Anunike | DE | 5 | 0.46% |
| Lorenzo Doss | CB | 3 | 0.27% |
The defense is going to be just fine.
It's the offense people should be talking about. The 2015 Broncos offense was, historically, the worst offense ever to make a Super Bowl appearance in modern history. That's how good and how special that defense was.
Eric Goodman and Les Shapiro from The Afternoon Drive shared this view as well. All the Broncos need in 2016 to win another twelve games is for the offense to start holding its own against teams.
This defense may not be as good overall as it was in 2015, but it will still be the best defense in the NFL. They will just need the offense to stop turning the ball over on the wrong side of the field and start putting up more than zero touchdowns per game.
Bonus Listen
Eric and Les chat with Chad Brown who believes the Broncos have to be careful when getting Paxton Lynch ready to start. Frankly, I disagree with that sentiment. When Lynch is ready, it will be fairly evident to everyone. From the coaching staff to the players and to the fans. The talent is already there, so once the mental game begins to click there will be nothing Mark Sanchez can do to keep the starting job.