Broncos 2020 NFL Draft top three team needs
By Jason Truitt
The Denver Broncos have plenty of needs in the 2020 offseason, but what positions should they prioritize in the 2020 NFL Draft?
The Denver Broncos have seen better days than the 2019 season. The team suffered through much adversity, and finished the season 7-9 under first-year coach Vic Fangio.
Denver has a lot of position holes to fill as they continue to steadily improve from their 2017 record of 5-11. This offseason is their chance to truly rebuild a competitive team, whether it comes from free agency or the 2020 NFL Draft.
These are the top three positions the Denver Broncos should prioritize:
1. Offensive Line
The Denver Broncos offensive line had their share of faults last year with penalties being the most distinct issue. Free agent right tackle Ja’Wuan James, who the team signed toa four-year, $52 million deal nearly a year ago, played only 63 snaps all season after injuring his knee. Offensive line coach Mike Munchak had to make adjustment after adjustment.
However, the unit vastly improved towards the end of the season, earning Pro Football Focus‘ (PFF) 12th-best offensive line after they ranked 29th through the first nine games.
The unit’s athletic display was decent, but the mental discipline was non-existent. Prime examples of this are both guard Ron Leary and tackle Garrett Bolles. Leary only gave up one sack all season but was responsible for eight penalties — third among guards in NFL. Bolles was even worse. The first round pick of the 2017 NFL Draft granted opposing defenses four sacks and an atrocious 17 penalties. Now that’s a boat load of yellow for one player. Many argue that the overload of flags cost the Denver Broncos a win on multiple games.
Depth was also a huge issue last season. Ja’Wuan James’ replacement, Elijah Wilkinson, did not present himself as a valuable “next man up.” He allowed a league-worst nine sacks entering the team’s week 10 bye week. Wilkinson finished the season with a lousy PFF grade of 59.6. But just as the rest of the core did, Wilkinson improved and allowed just once sack after the from weeks 10-17.
Addressing this need in the first round is seeming more and more inevitable.