Broncos still need help stopping tight ends

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When the Denver Broncos came away from Week one with a victory, there was a mixed bag of good and bad. The offense was able to overcome turnover issues. The defense struggled to stop a no name tight end, but still harassed Russell Wilson incessantly. Perhaps a surprising omission from the Broncos game plan though, was Shaquil Barrett.

On the Mile High Report Radio podcast, That’s Good Broncos’ Brandon Perna joined Ian St. Clair and I to discuss the Broncos win over the Seahawks, and preview Raider Hater Week. One of the most interesting aspects of the Broncos win was the lack of Barrett on the field. With only four snaps to his credit, he still registered two tackles and one sack. That is a pretty good stat line.

Moving forward, a glaring issue facing the Broncos defense is their ability to cover the tight end. Seahawks tight end Will Dissly looked like a future Hall of Famer against Denver. Whatever scheme Joe Woods is drawing up for Jared Cook, it might need to include Barrett. He may be the key to solving the problem.

After Dissly caught three balls for 105 yards and a touchdown, the Broncos watched Cook catch nine for 180 on Monday night. The scouting report probably says something about stopping the tight end. Von Miller and Chris Harris Jr. will have major roles in the game, but whichever defensive player draws tight end duty will have a big job on their hands.

After the first week of the season, it is clear that the Broncos are a better team than Oakland. However, Denver’s weakness is covering the tight end. If Barrett can factor in more in the Broncos defensive scheme, it could be a boost to preventing Cook from having another huge game. There is no reason to think Denver will falter against the Raiders, but this will be the most important factor in preventing an early slip.

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