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Denver Post Broncos writer Parker Gabriel posts his Broncos Mailbag weekly during the season. Submit questions to Parker here.
Hi Parker, the Broncos can’t really be considering trading Bradley Chubb, right? It feels like that outstanding defense would collapse without him due to the depth of the edge position. Would be a different story if Randy Gregory and Baron Browning were healthy. Who would you consider trading, if anyone? Thanks.
— Brandon Brown, Rogers, Minn.
Hey Brandon, by the time this gets posted online, the deadline is going to be getting close. Chubb has reaffirmed the kind of talent he is now that he’s fully healthy, there’s no question about it. I don’t think it’s the kind of move George Paton will make because of the health status of other players, though. It’s going to be tempting to take a first-round pick if one is on the table. However, signing Chubb to a long-term deal – or at least franchise tagging him and seeing if a deal comes together down the road – also must be enticing. The long-term potential of a group featuring Chubb, Gregory, Browning and Nik Bonitto is not one many teams in the NFL have at their fingertips.
Not to get too long on the answer, here, but this is part of where the new ownership group is going to get put to work on the football learning curve very quickly. Denver’s got cap room this year still – quite a bit of it, in fact – and the best way to get a couple of potential high-dollar deals done like, hypothetically, Chubb and defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones, is to include big signing bonuses that can be spread out over the life of the contracts to control the cap numbers. Owners willing to commit to big cash outlays can use this “cap over cash” approach and, obviously, the Walton Penner Family Ownership Group has the cash. They’ve given a bunch to Russell Wilson already. Now let’s see, whether it’s around the deadline or in the offseason, how aggressively they deploy it across the roster.
Why can’t the Waltons just write a check and hire Sean Payton? Also I think our record would be 5-2 if Drew Lock was our QB.
— Tim Monroe, Kingston, Idaho
Hey Tim, thanks for reading. Not sure I agree with your Lock take, but Geno Smith? OK, we don’t need to go down that rabbit hole.
The answer to your first question is a simple one: The Saints still own Payton’s rights through 2023, so any team that wants to hire him is going to have to trade with New Orleans for him. And as we know, the Broncos only have five picks in 2023 and no first- or second-rounders. Are you trading Chubb and others to stash picks to trade for Payton? Or mortgaging more premium picks in the future for him?
In baseball, when the ball clunks off an infielder’s glove it is often called a hit. In football if the ball clunks off a receiver’s hands into the hands of a defender, it is called an interception. How logical is that?
— Dave Smedstad, Thornton
A logical question, Dave. As a baseball nut myself, I sort of like that we still struggle to find ways to accurately measure defensive value. It leaves some mystery in the game and allows you to form opinions with your eyes. And I wish MLB weren’t ditching the shift, but I get why it’s happening. OK, that’s my baseball soapbox for this week.
In the NFL, I do wish standard stats included a little bit more nuance on picks, like those that are tipped by defenders and, oftentimes even worse, by receivers. There are some advanced stats like turnover-worthy plays and interceptable or risky throws that are always interesting to look at.
I find it hard to understand why the offensive line that is the foundation for both the running and passing games is not completely overhauled. This has been the problem all along. Anyone who watches the play of the line and is critical can see the missed blocks, the missed assignments, and the overall poor play. They cannot run inside or outside, the QB gets no time to make a play and go through progressions, it is a broken machine. Why has the OL not been the primary focus in rebuilding this offense?
— Jon, Edwards
Totally understand the frustration, Jon. They haven’t looked fully comfortable with their approach to the run game for most of the season – though, it’s fair to point out there’s more to running the ball efficiently than the five offensive linemen – and pass protection has been good at times and poor at others.
Tackle was the one spot that looked like a clear need in the draft this spring that Paton and the Broncos did not address. He said, essentially, that their pick positions just didn’t align value-wise with what was available. Whether via free agency or the 2023 draft, I do agree with you that they need to add competition at, ideally, multiple spots. They also need Billy Turner to continue to settle in and play well at right tackle and to hope Garett Bolles comes back strong from a broken leg in 2023.
All right, Parker. Where do the Broncos stand now? Are we sellers? We’re 3-5 with a monster defense and an offense that’s slowly coming out of slumber. I see this as a 7-10 team unless our offense miraculously clicks. Bolstering our offensive line would be huge. What say you?
— Mark, Arvada
As mentioned above, I think it’ll be very interesting to see how Paton advises CEO Greg Penner on approach – shell out the cash for Chubb, Jones and others or perhaps prioritize Jones and maximize draft capital in return for Chubb. I’d be reluctant to trade a player as talented as Chubb, but if you don’t, you plan on having him around long-term.
More tactical selling isn’t going to get you premium picks, but it can give you flexibility come the draft. If they can get anything for tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, they should take it – and hope a couple teams are in the mix to push the price up a bit – since Greg Dulcich has clearly taken his roster spot and he’s been inactive the past three weeks. Wonder, in a contract year for Dalton Risner, how big Denver thinks the gap is between its left guard and, say, practice squad-er Netane Muti. Moves like that won’t entirely replenish your draft stash, but they can help and allow you to keep your core together. Big decisions coming up very quickly.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team as penalty-prone as the 2022 Broncos. And this includes the early days of Garett Bolles. Where’s the discipline? Is this a direct result of a young coaching staff?
— Ron, Parker
Good one to end on, Ron. For the most part, yeah, penalties are a reflection of coaching. There’s just not much of a way around it. I triple-checked the stats when Denver got to 10 infractions by the two-minute warning of the first half Sunday in London.
There’s always a mix. Rookie Damarri Mathis getting 87 yards worth of pass interference calls in his first start was tough, but, you know, it’s not likely to happen most weeks. Four penalties in one drive for the Denver defense Sunday was uncharacteristic. But you can explain away anything you want in football, it doesn’t change the fact that the Broncos are penalized way too often. On Sunday alone they had delay-of-game penalties on a punt and a kickoff – not sure I’ve ever seen the latter before – for goodness sake. I’m not sure how that gets rectified quickly, but if I were Nathaniel Hackett, I’d spend at least a little time on the bye week asking around for suggestions.
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