Cherry picking from the AFC West shows the Broncos biggest holes
Dec 17, 2019, 6:31 AM
It’s official. The Broncos have been eliminated from the 2019 NFL Playoffs (shocker, right?) and the final two games of the season likely won’t provide us with a ton of information about what’s to come for the organization.
So, instead of wasting your time with a breakdown of the Broncos 23-3 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday or a pointless preview of Sunday’s tilt with the Lions, I figured I’d have a little fun with a hypothetical I found while I was scrolling through my Twitter timeline this weekend.
Shoutout to @HintonBrody for this fun Broncos exercise. He posed the question: If you could take one player off of the other teams in the AFC West and bring them to Denver, who would you pick?
We all know this Broncos roster has plenty of holes, so there’s really no wrong answer to this interesting question. Here’s who I’d steal from the Raiders, Chargers, and Chiefs if I had the opportunity to bring them to Denver right now:
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Oakland Raiders: Rodney Hudson (C)
My options from the Raiders were pretty limited. I considered Clelin Ferrell, the rookie pass rusher out of Clemson, but if there’s one position the Broncos don’t need to focus on right now, it’s defensive end. My other option was Oakland’s left tackle, Kolton Miller, but his first two seasons have been inconsistent at best. I just don’t know how big of an upgrade he would provide, especially in a new system. Hudson would allow Denver to move Connor McGovern to his more natural right guard position and solidify the spot Ron Leary has struggled to hold on to due to a multitude of injuries. The 30-year-old center has missed just one game in his last four seasons with the Raiders and this year, he’s played extremely well. Pro Football Focus credits Hudson as allowing no sacks in 2019 and he’s been penalized just three times total in 13 games played.
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Kansas City Chiefs: Tyreek Hill (WR)
I know what you’re thinking, “Why on earth didn’t you pick the best player in the NFL?” First of all, picking Patrick Mahomes here would be way too easy and it takes all the fun out of things. Secondly, and more importantly, I’m interested to see what Drew Lock can bring to the table. The Chiefs have plenty of other weapons to choose from, and because of that I’m taking a wide receiver that would provide the perfect compliment to Courtland Sutton’s size and skill and give the Broncos new quarterback a dynamic WR 1A to replace the production lost when Emmanuel Sanders was traded away. We’ve seen firsthand how difficult Hill is to cover, no matter the conditions, and he could feasibly return punts for a special teams unit that has been looking for a game breaker on special teams since Trindon Holliday left in 2013.
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Los Angeles Chargers: Casey Heyward Jr. (CB)
I thought long and hard about my pick from the Chargers, who have a dearth of young talent in guys like Joey Bosa, Derwin James and Hunter Henry. Only problem with those guys, the Broncos don’t really have a need at those positions. I already mentioned pass rusher being the team’s deepest position group; safety is a close second. Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson have been the two most-consistent players on the defensive side of the ball in 2019 and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon. With Noah Fant’s selection at No. 20 overall and Jeff Heuerman on a two-year deal, tight end isn’t really a position of need either. With that said, Casey Heyward Jr. makes all the sense in the world. If Chris Harris Jr. is somehow still on the roster next year, you have one of the best defensive backfields in the game. If he’s not, Heyward would step into the No. 1 cornerback role, having intercepted 13 passes in his last four seasons. At 30 years old, he’s still highly productive and would be a great addition to Vic Fangio’s defense.
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Adding Hill, Heyward and Hudson isn’t going to happen, but imagine if it could! Heading into the 2020 season, the Broncos would look completely different. With the addition of a starting left tackle in the first round of the draft and maybe a linebacker a little later on, all the team’s holes would be filled and all would be right in “Broncoland.”
Wouldn’t that be nice?
