Broncos End of Season Mailbag

Now that the Broncos 2019 season is over, there are a lot of thoughts and questions related to the season and the upcoming offseason. Here is my take on those topics with an End of Season Mailbag....

Did this Broncos team live up to your expectations for this season?
-I had the Broncos finishing 8-8 and out of the playoffs this year, so I was pretty close. I wasn't too optimistic about the Joe Flacco situation at QB, and that turned out to be correct. I didn't think Denver would start out 0-4 under Vic Fangio. That surprised me. The fact that they got close to .500 was great considering they were staring at a 4-12 type season after the first month of the year. Overall, the Broncos pretty much finished where I thought they would.

How did you like Vic Fangio in his first year as Broncos head coach?
-If I had to give Fangio a grade for his first year as Broncos coach, I would go with C+. The team finished under .500 at 7-9, so you can't give him a high grade, but I was impressed with him in a few areas. He did a good job with the defense, but they just couldn't close out a few games. The team constantly played hard for him and went 7-5 after an 0-4 start. That was a good sign. I liked how he handled the team and handled the media in his first year. I would be a little worried about his game management and clock management strategy. I know he gets a little of a pass since it is his first time as a head coach, but I thought the game management area was a little sketchy. He has to clean that up in 2020. I do think he is a WAY better head coach that Vance Joseph, so I am pleased with him and the future looks good under Vic at this point.

How do you feel about Drew Lock after he started the last five games and went 4-1?
I have been a fan of Lock since his days at Missouri, so I was looking forward to watching him play this season. I thought he played really well, and I think he can be the franchise guy for this team going forward. He has a charisma and moxie around him, and you can tell his teammates rally around him. He also has a canon of an arm, and he can move around the pocket, and those attributes are something that he needs to use going into next year. It was so much fun watching Lock the last five games, and it made it exciting down the stretch. I look forward to watching him next year as our starter.

What other Broncos stood out to you this season?
-Philip Lindsay was great once again. He rushed for over 1,000 yards and scored 7 TDs. Courtland Sutton had a great season with 72 catches, 1,112 yards and 6 TDs. I thought Kareem Jackson was awesome on defense for us this year. Justin Simmons was also great on defense and had an All-Pro year. I thought the emergence of Al Johnson at LB was great, and Shelby Harris and Derek Wolfe both had good years on the defensive line. Although he only had 8 sacks, Von Miller was still a force and still played at a high level.

What can be taken from this season that will bring optimism to next season?
-The Broncos young core of players and their emergence gives Broncos Country hope that next season will be a big year. On offense, Drew Lock, Philip Lindsay, Courtland Sutton, Noah Fant, Dalton Risner, and Andy Janovich are all really good and really young. Defensively, we still have Von Miller, Bradley Chubb (Coming back from injury), Justin Simmons, Kareem Jackson, Bryce Callahan (Coming back from injury), Dremont Jones, Al Johnson, and Malik Reed. This team has a chance to be really good next year with that group.

Which was the best game of the season?
-This one is easy: The Broncos 38-24 dismantling of the AFC South Champion Houston Texans in December. Drew Lock and that offense rolled into Houston and torched the Texans defense. They built a 31-3 halftime lead and Lock completed 22-27 passes for 309 yards and 3 TDs. That is the game you will want to watch all offseason if you are a Broncos fan.

Who are the Broncos 2020 opponents?
-The Broncos host the Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, LA Chargers, Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Denver travels to Kansas City, Las Vegas, LA Chargers, New England Patriots, NY Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons, and Carolina Panthers.

Who are the Broncos Free Agents this offseason?
Here is a list of the major Unrestricted Free Agents for the Broncos:
Chris Harris, Derek Wolfe, Shelby Harris, Casey Krieter, Adam Gotsis, Justin Simmons, Connor McGovern, Will Parks, Devontae Booker, Corey Nelson, and Jeremiah Attaochu

Their Restricted Free Agent list includes:
DeVante Bausby, Elijah Wilkinson, Joe Jones, Mike Purcell, and Tim Patrick.

Out of the Unrestricted Free Agents, I think Denver will let Chris Harris, Shelby Harris, Adam Gotsis, and Will Parks all go. I also think that Booker and Nelson will go, but no one will really care. I think they will sign Simmons to a long-term deal or Franchise Tag him. I think they will try to sign Wolfe to a short term deal, and it might actually happen. I think they will try to re-sign McGovern and that will happen too. I think they will re-sign Kreiter and Attaochu to team-friendly deals. I think they will also tender deals with all of their restricted free agents except for Joe Jones.