Broncos at Vikings Depth Chart Preview 2019
Nov 15, 2019 20:49:41 GMT -6
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Post by Danchat on Nov 15, 2019 20:49:41 GMT -6
The 3-6 Broncos will take a visit to the 7-3 Vikings. The two teams are going in different directions, so here's hoping the Vikings will be able to take care of business against Denver. Let's see who they've got on their roster:
* My thoughts *
The Broncos season has been a tale of two halves. The first half they went 0-4 with poor offense and defense, but they've been able to win 3 of their past 5. HC Vic Fangio has begun to figure out how to get this defense to work, as they've held the last 4 of 5 opponents to less than 20 points. They will have to win with their defense, since their offense has been awful thus far. Even with the inept Joe Flacco out of the picture, practice squad-caliber QB Brandon Allen will be the starter. Allen's calling card is his strong arm, and that's about all the former 6th round pick has. He's played subpar to bad every preseason, so I have a hard time imagining he will be able to get a win against a Vikings defense on the road. He doesn't have much to throw to, as the only above-average weapon he has is Courtland Sutton. Sutton was my favorite WR prospect of the 2018 draft, and he's having a phenomenal year despite poor QB play. He has great hands, good size, and surprising quick moves. The Vikings don't have a CB who can keep up with him. The Vikings could safely double-team him, as rookie Noah Fant has been flat-out bad so far this year. He's been a drop machine. With Emmanuel Sanders traded, Daeshon Hamilton has been among the league's worst WRs and the rest of the crew is made up of former UDFAs who haven't accomplished much.
The O-line has been a big reason why this offense has scored over 20 points just twice. RT Ja'Wuan James was paid the big money, but has been healthy for a total of 32 snaps. Danielle Hunter should tear apart Elijah Wilkinson, who isn't a very good replacement. Garrett Bolles has received average ratings from PFF, but Denver fans will tell you he's a major bust. He gets whipped more frequently than he should. RG Ron Leary is having a very poor season despite having a really strong track record. The center, Connor McGovern, is a below average run blocker but fine in the passing game. LG Dalton Risner has been the best player, as he's been a great pass protector. The running game has been decent despite the mediocre O-line - Phillip Lindsay is a shifty player, but he's only getting about 55% of the workload. The rest is goig to the inferior Royce Freeman, who isn't bad, but just not as dynamic as Lindsay. The Broncos will likely waste a good 10 touches giving him the ball, just to be stuffed by the Vikings' run defense.
The Denver defense has some really good players, but also a handful of question marks. Shelby Harris is the best on the D-line according to PFF, working as a solid pass rusher and run stopper. Derek Wolfe is the more heralded player, but he's declined to being an average player. Mike Purcell, who hadn't started a game since 2016 before this year, has been a solid run defender. Walker, Jones, and Gotsis will all rotate in and play a handful of snaps. You will usually see Gotsis on running downs and Jones on passing downs.
The outside linebackers used to boast having Von Miller and Bradley Chubb, but Chubb tore his ACL earlier this year. Miller is also having the first non-elite season in his career according to PFF (that's 8 straight years of elite football!!) and hasn't gotten after the QB quite as well as he used to. Malik Reed is a UDFA who is plaing far better than anyone expected, and is surprisingly good when he has to drop back and play in coverage. The inside LBs are fine enough, with Todd Davis being the only every-down LB. He's a good run stopper, but not as great in coverage. Alexander Johnson has begun to take snaps away from Josey Jewell, and Johnson is currently rated the #1 ILB in the NFL by PFF. He's only played a small sample size, and I can say that I've never heard of the guy.
Finally, the DBs have been sound and teams have found it difficult to pass on Denver. The safeties have been devastating this year - Justin Simmons is having an elite season, and Kareem Jackson has been almost as good. Both are great run defenders, and Simmons has been equally as good in coverage. Jackson will drop down and play CB in nickel and dime situations, allowing for Will Parks to almost play some reps at safety, but he's a big step down. At CB, they have the reliable Chris Harris Jr. who is known for erasing slot receivers. He'll likely shadow Stefon Diggs. The CBs behind him are rather suspect, which includes Duke Dawson and Devontae Harris. Dawson, a failed Patriots 2nd rounder who never played a snap in NE, has been below average in coverage, but tackles very well. Harris, a former Bengals 5th rounder, has graded out very poorly thus far. If the Vikings can find situations where they get one of these two 1-on-1 with the likes of Bisi Johnson and Irv Smith, they should take their chances here.
Prediction: Vikings 24, Broncos 16
The Broncos defense is good, but they haven't played the likes of Dalvin Cook, who just recently wrecked an even better Dallas defense. Their offense also has been punchless lately, and I think the Vikings defense will have a rebound against him. Allen hasn't played in an environment like in US Bank Stadium, and with Hunter & Griffen likely winning their battles against the Denver O-line, I could see him turning the ball over multiple times and kicking FGs instead of scoring TDs. The Broncos need to keep losing in order to get a better draft pick, and the Vikings need every win they can get to challenge the Packers for the NFC North.
Any thoughts?
Injuries
Vikings
DT Linval Joseph Out
WR Adam Thielen Out
RG Josh Kline Out
SS Andrew Sendejo Questionable
SS Anthony Harris Out
Broncos
TE Jeff Heuerman Doubtful
RT Ja'Wuan James Doubtful
WR DaeShon Hamilton Questionable
Vikings
DT Linval Joseph Out
WR Adam Thielen Out
RG Josh Kline Out
SS Andrew Sendejo Questionable
SS Anthony Harris Out
Broncos
TE Jeff Heuerman Doubtful
RT Ja'Wuan James Doubtful
WR DaeShon Hamilton Questionable
* My thoughts *
The Broncos season has been a tale of two halves. The first half they went 0-4 with poor offense and defense, but they've been able to win 3 of their past 5. HC Vic Fangio has begun to figure out how to get this defense to work, as they've held the last 4 of 5 opponents to less than 20 points. They will have to win with their defense, since their offense has been awful thus far. Even with the inept Joe Flacco out of the picture, practice squad-caliber QB Brandon Allen will be the starter. Allen's calling card is his strong arm, and that's about all the former 6th round pick has. He's played subpar to bad every preseason, so I have a hard time imagining he will be able to get a win against a Vikings defense on the road. He doesn't have much to throw to, as the only above-average weapon he has is Courtland Sutton. Sutton was my favorite WR prospect of the 2018 draft, and he's having a phenomenal year despite poor QB play. He has great hands, good size, and surprising quick moves. The Vikings don't have a CB who can keep up with him. The Vikings could safely double-team him, as rookie Noah Fant has been flat-out bad so far this year. He's been a drop machine. With Emmanuel Sanders traded, Daeshon Hamilton has been among the league's worst WRs and the rest of the crew is made up of former UDFAs who haven't accomplished much.
The O-line has been a big reason why this offense has scored over 20 points just twice. RT Ja'Wuan James was paid the big money, but has been healthy for a total of 32 snaps. Danielle Hunter should tear apart Elijah Wilkinson, who isn't a very good replacement. Garrett Bolles has received average ratings from PFF, but Denver fans will tell you he's a major bust. He gets whipped more frequently than he should. RG Ron Leary is having a very poor season despite having a really strong track record. The center, Connor McGovern, is a below average run blocker but fine in the passing game. LG Dalton Risner has been the best player, as he's been a great pass protector. The running game has been decent despite the mediocre O-line - Phillip Lindsay is a shifty player, but he's only getting about 55% of the workload. The rest is goig to the inferior Royce Freeman, who isn't bad, but just not as dynamic as Lindsay. The Broncos will likely waste a good 10 touches giving him the ball, just to be stuffed by the Vikings' run defense.
The Denver defense has some really good players, but also a handful of question marks. Shelby Harris is the best on the D-line according to PFF, working as a solid pass rusher and run stopper. Derek Wolfe is the more heralded player, but he's declined to being an average player. Mike Purcell, who hadn't started a game since 2016 before this year, has been a solid run defender. Walker, Jones, and Gotsis will all rotate in and play a handful of snaps. You will usually see Gotsis on running downs and Jones on passing downs.
The outside linebackers used to boast having Von Miller and Bradley Chubb, but Chubb tore his ACL earlier this year. Miller is also having the first non-elite season in his career according to PFF (that's 8 straight years of elite football!!) and hasn't gotten after the QB quite as well as he used to. Malik Reed is a UDFA who is plaing far better than anyone expected, and is surprisingly good when he has to drop back and play in coverage. The inside LBs are fine enough, with Todd Davis being the only every-down LB. He's a good run stopper, but not as great in coverage. Alexander Johnson has begun to take snaps away from Josey Jewell, and Johnson is currently rated the #1 ILB in the NFL by PFF. He's only played a small sample size, and I can say that I've never heard of the guy.
Finally, the DBs have been sound and teams have found it difficult to pass on Denver. The safeties have been devastating this year - Justin Simmons is having an elite season, and Kareem Jackson has been almost as good. Both are great run defenders, and Simmons has been equally as good in coverage. Jackson will drop down and play CB in nickel and dime situations, allowing for Will Parks to almost play some reps at safety, but he's a big step down. At CB, they have the reliable Chris Harris Jr. who is known for erasing slot receivers. He'll likely shadow Stefon Diggs. The CBs behind him are rather suspect, which includes Duke Dawson and Devontae Harris. Dawson, a failed Patriots 2nd rounder who never played a snap in NE, has been below average in coverage, but tackles very well. Harris, a former Bengals 5th rounder, has graded out very poorly thus far. If the Vikings can find situations where they get one of these two 1-on-1 with the likes of Bisi Johnson and Irv Smith, they should take their chances here.
Prediction: Vikings 24, Broncos 16
The Broncos defense is good, but they haven't played the likes of Dalvin Cook, who just recently wrecked an even better Dallas defense. Their offense also has been punchless lately, and I think the Vikings defense will have a rebound against him. Allen hasn't played in an environment like in US Bank Stadium, and with Hunter & Griffen likely winning their battles against the Denver O-line, I could see him turning the ball over multiple times and kicking FGs instead of scoring TDs. The Broncos need to keep losing in order to get a better draft pick, and the Vikings need every win they can get to challenge the Packers for the NFC North.
Any thoughts?
... and neither is this Chris guy.