Will injuries torpedo the Broncos’ strong start?

Injuries happen in the NFL. That’s a norm and it is why it is so important for your GM to draft well so that there are talented backups able to step in and pick up the slack.

We’re about to find out just how well-stocked the Broncos cupboard is in the next few weeks.

Down four starters and a solid backup, will the Broncos be able to keep churning out wins? Here’s how I see each scenario for the team and how much each injury worries me:

Jerry Jeudy

Losing Jeudy is significant. He’s an ankle-breaking route runner who has both speed and quickness. His healthy presence takes this offense to a different level.

Tim Patrick has been stepping in for a few years though and while he’s not the same talent level, the offense is still able to create with him in on plays. He’s got great size and the ability to high point passes at every level of the field.

Michael Ojemudia

I’ve been loving this young corner since last year’s training camp. He’s got solid talent and looks like a player on a trajectory to be a starting cornerback. This injury will set that back a bit, but the good thing is that, unlike last year, he wasn’t playing starting snaps for us.

This cornerback room was overfilled with talent to make sure this kind of loss wouldn’t impact the defense. The Broncos can use a safety to cover the sub package snaps that Ojemudia would have been in on.

Ronald Darby

This is the more significant loss at cornerback for the Broncos. Darby looked like the best corner on the playing field in week 1.

His loss means Patrick Surtain II is having to step into a starting role. While he’s a rookie corner and is making mistakes here and there, he looks every bit the part of a starting corner. He’s able to shake off bad plays and come back to deliver highlight-reel interceptions.

Bradley Chubb

When Chubb is healthy, he’s a monster on the edge. The problem is that he’s on the field quite irregularly and is flirting with getting the “Mr. Glass” moniker with how often he’s injured.

Given that by what I’ve seen he was pushing too hard to play and wasn’t ready, his loss shouldn’t be that big of a deal for the Broncos. Malik Reed belongs on the field and can handle the edge just fine. He’s not wowing out there, but the defense doesn’t have a huge hole in either the pass or rush game with Reed on the field.

Josey Jewell

In the past, I have been a pretty vocal critic about Jewell’s pass coverage, but the guy was killing it this year. He was always ahead of plays against both the pass and run and was killing it on the field. As the quarterback of the defense, his presence is going to have me a bit worried until we see who steps up and fills the void.

Hit up the poll below and let us know which injury is the biggest loss for the Broncos going into week 3 and let me know what you think in the comments.

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