The Denver Broncos have struggled to establish an offensive identity ever since Peyton Manning rode off into the sunset. They've shuffled through quarterbacks like crazy. When Drew Lock arrived in 2019, the Broncos hoped that they had finally found their new signal caller. He showed a lot of promise and talent in his 5 starts, winning 4 of them. The Broncos decided to do what any smart team would do: give their quarterback all the tools he would need.
They drafted two stud wide receivers in Alabama product, Jerry Jeudy, and Penn State track star, KJ Hamler. They also got him a highly touted center in Lloyd Cushenberry III out of LSU, and his old college teammate, tight end Albert Okwuebugnam. In free agency, they got a veteran guard in Graham Glasgow and another running back in Melvin Gordon III. With explosive players like Courtland Sutton, Philip Lindsay, and Dalton Risner already on the roster, the Broncos offense had a gluttony of talent.
But they weren't done. They felt they needed someone else to guide this young unit. They hired former head coach, Pat Shurmur to be the offensive coordinator. Shurmur's system is known for being very quarterback friendly and has helped a lot of young QBs grow. He even made Case Keenum into a gunslinger for a year in Minnesota and even convinced Giants fans that Daniel Jones wasn't a bad pick in the first place. Everything looked to be in place for a revival of the Broncos offense. With a ton of weapons, talent abound, a rebuilt offensive line, and of course, a hot gunslinger at quarterback, there was reason to be excited for 2020.
But by Week 9, the Broncos are sitting at 3-5, and frustrations are still abound on the offense. It's nowhere near what we expected or wanted. But why? On paper, this should be at least a decent offense. Yet they're average. But it's not to say that the potential to be a good offense isn't there. The Broncos have shown the ability to march the ball down the field and score. Drew Lock has shown the potential to be a dynamite QB to lead the Broncos for years. So why has the offense yet to put it together? Well there are a few reasons why.
One is the lack of experience. The only veterans on this team, at least in terms of age and years in the league, are Melvin Gordon III, Demar Dotson, and Graham Glasgow. The average age of a player on the Broncos offense is 24 years old. Now while age can't be used as the biggest excuse, it does show that this team still has a lot of growing up to do. But their talent has been able to shine through. Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler have shown why the Broncos spent their first two picks on them. So there's reason to be hopeful for the future. Another is the long list of injuries plaguing the team. It all started when the face of the franchise, Von Miller went down. Then went Courtland Sutton, their best offensive player. Soon followed Jurrell Casey, Mike Purcell, Elijah Wilkerson, Justin Strnad, Diontae Spencer, and Albert O. The Broncos most recently felt the hurt when losing both corners AJ Bouye and Bryce Callahan. Then losing Graham Glasgow and Demar Dotson led to Drew Lock being under constant pressure. So that's a legitimate reason. Injuries are a part of a game like football, but it doesn't mean they hurt any less. Just ask the 49ers.
But by far, the biggest reason for their struggles is the disconnect between Pat Shurmur and Drew Lock. It's clear that an offseason was needed. Drew Lock has not had a stable offensive coordinator since high school. He started all four years at Missouri and they changed coordinators every season. Now he's encountering the same problem in the NFL. It's obvious that Shurmur's system is clashing with Drew Lock and the talent on the offense. But against the Chargers and Falcons, the Broncos elected to run the offense how Drew Lock liked it in the second half. And it's worked to exciting proportions. And that seems to be the key to success for them going forward. Any good playcaller should cater their system to the QB's strengths and it's what Pat Shurmur needs to do for Drew Lock. Instead of having the mentality of 'my playbook, you run it,' Shurmur needs to let Drew Lock have his input on what they run. After all, he's the one conducting the offense. The key to success is there. All they need to do is embrace it.
This Broncos offense, despite its frustrations, has more promise than it's ever had in the past five years. They have the talent and potential to compete with any team they step on the field against. They just need the system to accommodate their strengths. And, being as young as they are, they need two things: patience and time. But they need to figure it out sooner rather than later.
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