Broncos Vs Vikings: The No Bull Preseason Review

I always dread the final preseason game of each season. We get decent backups for less than a half, typically, then it is just a bunch of dudes who won’t make the team passing the time by and large.

I will say that I sure do prefer seeing the good guys drop a 30-burger on the opponents while the defense holds them to under 10 points.

The Broncos gave their roster a lot of great chances to make a showing for the coaching staff. That’s going to sadly be muddied a bit by the Vikings’ depth not playing well enough to do the same.

I’m going to switch up the format here and talk about each group collectively instead of deep dives on players other than the players who really stood out. This will allow us to talk about cut downs and what roster decisions need to be made, which seems more apropos for reviewing this game.

Offense

Davis Webb ran the offense through a lot of really basic concepts for the Broncos offense. Most of it worked. Blown coverages led to big scores. This game offensively should really help the team make final decisions on their roster depth. There were some question marks at running back and wide receivers that got some quality snaps for the coaching staff to look at and see if they want to, as Sean Payton put it, “turn their chairs.”

Quarterbacks

Jarret Stidham has the backup quarterback position on lock. The only question for the quarterback room is whether or not the team needs to keep a roster spot for Sam Ehlinger. 

While Ehlinger did stand out on paper, I’d put a big asterisk by his stat line. Two of his touchdowns were on completely busted coverages, which are looks that he wouldn’t see against a normal quality NFL defense.

So while those of Broncos Country in the stands may get hyped for him, my take is the same. He’s a decent enough backup guy, but solidly behind Stidham in my mind. I’d still not save a roster spot for him. Let him go through waivers and come back to the practice squad. If another team takes him, so be it. We can pick up another practice squad #3 QB and get them trained up.

Line

What I liked about the offensive line in this game was that they blocked well in both the passing game and running game throughout the game. That allowed me to focus on the interesting battles (because I didn’t think there was any real battle happening on the line anyway). 

I think the only interesting question for our line is what the center’s health looks like going into week 1 of the season. What we all want to see is both Alex Forsyth and Luke Wattenburg healthy. That we got to see snaps from Wattenburg has me feeling good about being ready for the Chiefs in week 1.

Running Backs

This is where things get interesting to me. Of the guys I’m thinking are not set heading into the season, we got to see a battle between Tyler Badie, Jaleel McLaughlin, and Cody Schrader. While all three of them saw plenty of snaps, we got a show put on by Cody Schrader.

Schrader finished the game with 13 runs for 42 yards, including a long of 12. He caught 6 passes for 90 yards and a touchdown as well. He also got some work in the blocking game and really impressed. 

The question becomes: is one game of wow enough? I think it may be when it comes to the decision between him and Jaleel McLaughlin. McLaughlin did have 6 runs for 24 yards and got 6 catches for 35 yards with a long of 20 and a touchdown. That’s very comparable, but the difference is that we already know that McLaughlin doesn’t pass block as well. He also doesn’t contribute to special teams.

I think Tyler Badie is a lock because of how good he is as a blocker out of the backfield and his versatility to be consistent if they ask him to run or pass as a depth back. 

I think McLaughlin is a candidate for trade. He’s a very good runner who can produce if you can block up holes for him. In other schemes, I think he might be a very decent #2 RB on a team.

I think Schrader is a lock on the team as a practice squad player. I believe you can chance the waiver wire with him; if some other team claims him, they probably were mesmerized by one game vs scrubs.

Receivers

From the WR room, Troy Franklin got a couple of forced targets early and didn’t complete either (though to be fair to him, the first one was a bad throw by Stidham). Michael Bandy had a few targets and will likely be available for the practice squad again. Dane Key had a very good catch down the sideline for 26 yards. Cameron Ross only had one catch for 6 yards, but I honestly love what I’ve seen from him so far in preseason action and training camp and think he makes the practice squad as well.

Our tight ends got some work as well. Nate Adkins got a 26-yard reception on a crossing route off bootleg play action and a 10-yard catch in the red zone. Justin Joly had an 88-yard catch for a touchdown alone on one half of the field deep. 

Defense

Vance Joseph lit a fire under the defense this week. They were far more dialed in than what we saw last week vs the Packers. I thought the scheme just looked tighter than what we saw last week. Most catches that were made were just really good throws and not uncontested. 

The run game was also well defended outside of a handful of runs later in the game. We saw the team rallying well to the ball and keeping things fairly contained.

Front 7

I liked what we saw for the future of the inside linebacker position. There were a lot of competitive snaps from Karene Reid (led the team in tackles), Red Murdock (forced a fumble), Jordan Turner (got a quarterback hit on a pressure), and Taurean York. We’re going to see Reid and Murdock on the roster week one.

Que Robinson has the Broncos willing and able to miss Jonathan Cooper in week 1. He created pressure to force throwaways and consistently is able to get up the field from the outside. Cooper, per usual, is a bull rush monster. The Broncos will likely use Jonah Ellis if he misses time, who has shown better ability to set the edge vs the rush.

Secondary

The biggest points I’ve got to make in the secondary were that Kris Abrams-Draine didn’t get beat like a drum this week and J.L. Skinner looks like our backup safety at the moment (barring the Broncos bringing back Taylor Rapp).

Parker Robinson did get a ton of work and accounted well for himself in this game. He had 4 tackles on the day with a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery. I’d love to see the young safety stick around on the practice squad.

Special Teams

Colby Katsis has flashed multiple times in the preseason in the return game. He had a 49-yard return off a great cut to find daylight that had everyone hyped. This guy may be the insurance policy the Broncos have in case Marvin Mims pops off this year and gets lost to free agency next offseason.

Devon Key got absolutely ole’d at the sideline, whiffing on a tackle. That’s not the kind of film you want to put out there as a depth guy on special teams.

Final Thoughts

We’ll be watching cuts happen as the roster gets finalized. This game doesn’t represent much of any meaning for what the Broncos will look like in Week 1. The players playing that week, by and large, didn’t even play in this game.

Given the state of this team, it is very hard for young players to be relied on for a team that is in the running for a deep playoff run. This is a veteran team. Sean Payton needs players on the roster who can consistently contribute to winning football games. 

Good luck to all the young players who played in this game and wore the orange and blue for the Broncos. We’ll be cheering for you and hoping for success for all of you in your future!

Newly released for a limited run, my partner at Homage has this killer Broncos Starter Jacket. I actually owned one back in the 90’s that was very similar to this with the classic logo. They have a limited stock available, so be sure to snag one soon if you want to rep the Broncos in style.