Evans: The fortunes of the Denver Broncos are not improving
Mar 23, 2017, 6:00 AM | Updated: 8:59 am
Here are some random hot sports opinions regarding the Denver Broncos and free agency:
1. I’m sure guard Ronald Leary and tackle Menelik Watson are good guys and decent football players, but you’ll have to excuse me if I’m not convinced the Broncos have fixed its offensive line woes.
I remember similar optimism following the signings of tackles Donald Stephenson and Russell Okung.
How’d that turn out?
2. The simple reality of offensive linemen in today’s NFL is you better be able to draft and develop your own guys. The state of o-line play is so bad right now, I tend to cast a very leery eye at any free agent offensive lineman.
Why are they out there on the market in the first place?
3. So, with that said, the development of guys like Ty Sambraillo, Connor McGovern, Max Garcia, and Michael Schofield, along with whomever else the Broncos draft, will be of the utmost importance to ultimately fixing this line.
4. Ah, yes, the draft. I do believe the Broncos have boxed themselves into being forced to draft a tackle. I know that will drive TBPA (the best player available) crowd crazy, but let’s cut through the sham, shall we?
All teams draft for need. Some do it more blatantly than others, but everyone to some degree is taking the best player available — at a position of need.
The Broncos biggest need is a tackle. Draft a tackle. See, was that so hard?
5. If they do that, it will upset the legion of Christian McCaffery fans out there. I wonder if those same fans would be as fired up for Christian if his last name was Edwards?
I get the hometown angle makes this an almost-too-good-to-be-true story, but I’m not interested in the best story. I’m interested in getting the best football players to Denver.
The problem with drafting McCaffery at No. 20 is you’re picking the type of player history tells us you can get in the middle rounds. The Darren Sproles, Tevin Coleman, James White, Deion Lewis types all went in the fourth and fifth round. Danny Woodhead was undrafted.
Unless the Broncos envision Christian carrying the ball 20-25 times a game, it doesn’t make sense taking him there.
6. The other thing about Christian that gives me pause was his more than 800 touches while at Stanford. That’s a lot of tread on the tires that will have been left back in Palo Alto.
7. I hear the clamoring for more offensive weapons. I don’t agree. The Broncos had two of the highest paid receivers in football last year, and what did that get them?
It still comes down to having the right quarterback. If you do, suddenly having enough weapons isn’t an issue.
8. Which brings us to the $11-, $12-, $14-, or maybe $20-million-dollar question. What to do at quarterback?
My stance hasn’t changed from several months ago, when I wrote the idea of Tony Romo in Denver was considered folly. I advocated for it then, and I still do today.
This defense, while still elite, has an expiration date on it. In order to maximize the defense this offense has to improve dramatically at the quarterback position.
I believe a healthy Romo gives you that chance. I understand all of the risks. But I also recognize the upside if by chance Romo can stay healthy. And for all of the Romo critics out there, realize this: Romo can still be elite. If healthy, he is a better option than Trevor Siemian right now.
And right now is all I’m interested in.
9. Why are so many Broncos fans determined to find their “quarterback of the future?” Why so interested in what could happen 5-7 years from now?
In today’s NFL, the next three years is all that matters to me. This defense should be great for the next three years, so find a way to win now. Don’t worry about the future, especially when quarterback development for the future is sketchy at best.
So many teams have hitched their “futures” to guys who never panned out. Who wants to go through that?
10. Don’t take all of this as a slam against Siemian. I like the guy. I stood up for him during the mindless calls for Paxton Lynch.
I believe Siemian can be a good quarterback in this league for a long time. The problem is his time isn’t here yet. He still has growing to do. Patience needs to be shown, which is something the Broncos don’t possess right now.
There should be an urgency to win now. That makes landing Romo a must.
