Stokley: For Broncos, ‘nothing’s off the table,’ including Von trade
Nov 16, 2017, 12:00 AM | Updated: 9:30 am
During his second stint with the Denver Broncos, Brandon Stokley shared the field with a budding young Von Miller, a teammate he “loved” and called a “great guy.”
“I love Von. I was teammates with Von. He’s awesome,” the “Stokley & Zach” co-host said on Wednesday. “He’s a great guy. He’s great in that locker room. He’s great in the community.”
But, Stokley said, it’s time for Broncos Country to “face reality,” that this Denver team needs a roster rebuild, and if you can move Miller for a “top-notch quarterback, then you have to do that.”
“You have to be willing to make those moves, as unpopular as it may be,” Stokley said.
“Schlereth & Evans” co-host Mark Schlereth echoed a similar sentiment Wednesday, saying he’d “hate to see Von move,” but if the Broncos could parlay a trade into a nice haul in return, it’d be worth looking at.
“I’m saying what is the best for this football team to get back to a level of prominence? Because they certainly aren’t there right now,” Schlereth said.
Bottom line, Stokley said, it’s about “winning championships.”
“If you can get premium assets and great value for Von Miller … Look, nothing is off the table,” Stokley said. “You’ve got to find a quarterback.”
In all but two seasons during his tenure in the NFL Von Miller has been ranked as the Broncos top player in term of approximate value, according to ProFootballReference.com.
The only two times Miller has not been Denver’s top player in AV was 2013, when guard Louis Vasquez led the league in approximate value, and 2014, when it went to Peyton Manning.
Vasquez’s 2013 campaign is among only a handful of years in which a non-quarterback earned the league’s highest AV and his team at least earned a Super Bowl berth since 2000. The others include Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison in 2008, Indianapolis Colts running back Edgerrin James in 2004, St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk in 2001, and Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis in 2000.
In that same time span, four quarterbacks earned top AV honors, per ProFootballReference.com, with two leading teams to the Super Bowl — Tom Brady in 2007 with the New England Patriots and Matt Ryan last season with the Atlanta Falcons.
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.
