The Denver Broncos player that will make or break their season is obviously Case Keenum, but who are some of the other potential big time impact players for this team heading into the season?
Brandon Perna of That’s Good Broncos put forth his list and it’s pretty good. Without spoiling his reasoning, he has an eye on red zone production and pass defense. Both of which need to see significant improvement over last season.
For me, my Top 5 would be as follows:
5. Demaryius Thomas: Keenum lived off the jump ball with the Minnesota Vikings, which means DT is going to have to rediscover his ability to win those contested catches this season.
4. Jared Veldheer: If Veldheer goes down, the Broncos are basically screwed again at right tackle. They need him to remain healthy for every single snap for every single game. It’s that tight on depth.
3. Bradley Roby: Replacing Aqib Talib’s production isn’t going to be easy. Talib was a lockdown cornerback who had a whooping six interceptions returned for touchdowns in four seasons. What people may not realize is that Roby, despite being the teams #3 cornerback his entire career, has two pick sixes and a fumble return for touchdown in his career. His time is now.
2. Jake Butt: Keenum will need a security blanket on third downs and a legitimate tight end threat in the red zone. Butt has a lot of hype surrounding him right now and for good reason, he is the only player at the position with the raw talent to become both that security blanket and red zone weapon for the Broncos.
1. Su’a Cravens: The Broncos defense was obliterated by running backs and tight ends throughout last season and were even weak against those position groups during that 2015 Super Bowl run. Cravens could solve all of those problems.
Who are your Top 5 impact players for the Broncos this season?