In what is expected to be the highest point total of the week, the undefeated Ravens head into the meth capital of the world to take on the undefeated Chiefs. Vegas has the point total for this game at 52, so we should be in for a shootout.
With no child beater since early in week 1, the Chiefs offense hasn’t skipped a beat and I don’t see that changing this week. In what will be their toughest test of the season so far, I don’t see them struggling to put points on the board and ultimately come away victorious. BAL with LJ, and Hollywood can hang in to keep it somewhat close with a late score.
My predicktion – KC 32, BAL 27
Raiders at Vikings:
After a big MNF victory vs. the Broncos in week 1, the Raiders laid a fat fucking egg week 2 vs. the Chiefs. So what team will we see this week on the road vs. a decent Vikings squad? Probably the team they are, which is below average at best.
The Raiders are in trouble here. Trent Brown is banged up and hasn’t practiced all week. The significance of that is that his backup, Brandon Parker, is a big piece of shit. Offensively, Carr and the Raiders are going to struggle, while his counterpart finally opens up that passing attack with Diggs and Thielen, not to mention Cooks on the ground, and it’s just a recipe for disaster for the Raiders. Sorry folks, but I just don’t feel good about this one.
My predicktion – MIN 31, OAK 17
Broncos at Packers:
Not looking good so far for the Broncos. 0-2 and heading into GB to face Rodgers. We all expected a good Broncos defense this year led by new HC Vic Fangio, but haven’t seen that so far. Vonn and Chubb combine for 0 sacks and that’s just flat fucking unacceptable.
GB’s defense looks improved and DEN’s offense isn’t, to say the least. On the other side of the ball, expect shadow coverage from Harris on Adams, but Rodgers will just take advantage of the matchups on the other side of the field. He’s too good. Here’s to Manny Sanders tho. WTF did he take to heal so damn quickly?
My predicktion – GB 24, DEN 10
Texans “at” Chargers:
The Chargers currently look like one of the more overrated teams heading into the season. Eeked out a W vs. a Luck-less Colts in week 1 and lose on the road to the Lions in week 2. Now face a tough Texans team at “home” for week 3, can they regain their 2018 form?
No. JJ Watt has a huge mismatch with whoever the shitty tackle is infront of him, which will limit Rivers ability to make his progressions that he’s so damn good at. On the other side of the ball, look for Watson and Hopkins to continue to dominate, and they’ve been surprisingly productive on the ground too. I do think this one is close and will come down to the final whistle.
Fresh off of re-signing the biggest piece of shit in the league, the Chiefs will head into Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars. Mahomes and Co. vs. one of the league’s premier defenses. Word on the street is that child beater will be shadowed by Jalen Ramsey, so we’ll see if he can take advantage of a matchup vs a grown man as opposed to a 3 y/o child.
This should be a high scoring contest that will ultimately come down to the Jags offense not being able to keep up. Despite adding Nick Foles at QB, a healthy Fournette, the Jags just don’t have the weapons on the outside to win this one.
Predicktion: Chiefs 34, Jaguars 23
COLTS AT CHARGERS
What a schedule break for the Chargers. Andrew Luck retires 2 weeks ago, and who’s sitting atop the Chargers schedule? Of course, it’s the Colts. I probably would’ve predicted an L here for our resident Clippers fans, but I haven’t really seen anything from Brissett to think he can lead this team anywhere near how well Luck did.
No Melvin Gordon, no problem. The Chargers were 4-0 w/out him last season, and will remain undefeated w/out him this year. Despite an improved Colts defense, Rivers will dink and dunk his way down the field in his normal boring fashion enough times to effectively control the clock and come out with a Chargers W.
Predicktion: Chargers 24, Colts 17
BRONCOS AT RAIDERS
Are you ready for some football? Perhaps a Monday Night party? I know the AFCW is. The only divisional matchup of the weekend and of course it has to be Broncos/Raiders on MNF. I really have no clue WTF to expect from either of these teams. Broncos have a new HC and a rookie OC, while the Raiders are in year 2 w/Gruden but have new starters at multiple positions on both sides of the ball. And oh yeah, something something Antonio Brown.
I’m taking the under on this one, and it’ll ultimately come down to the ol’ cliché, this game will be won in the trenches. Your guess is as good as mine, and Vegas’ apparently, with the line set as a pick‘em.
Get your DVR’s ready, because the Raiiiidaaaas, are on Hard Knocks. Jon Gruden, aka Chucky, leads this cornucopia of has beens, misfits, and never beens on the NFL’s biggest preseason stage. In what is probably the most anticipated Hard Knocks edition in the history of the show, at least for us MS aficionados, the Raiders are surely to not disappoint.
What makes them interesting:
What doesn’t make them interesting? It’s the fucking Raiders. Not only for their storied past, but for the long list of characters currently employed. Starting at the top with Gruden. Who most are familiar with from his stint with the MNF broadcast, where he seemingly gushed over just about every player. That is not the real Gruden. Antonio Brown, the flashy diva WR who forced his way out of Pittsburgh and into Oakland is sure to perform for the cameras. And let’s not forget Mr. Incognito. We’ll set the over/under on N-bombs at 8. About 1 per episode. Throw in the team’s final year in Napa for TC, and final year in Oakland before a move to the bright lights of Las Vegas, and you have a recipe for success. At least for the show that is…
Star of the show:
This one is easy. It’s Gruden. He’s loud, foul mouthed, and doesn’t hold back. He never shuts up and will have already put in 5 hours of work before the camera’s start rolling at 8am. He talks a lot of shit, and is always riding his players. Like mentioned above, completely different than his on-air persona on MNF. Here’s a drinking game for you, take a shot for every time he says man, man. Good luck with that.
Best character you’ve never heard of:
Jalen Richard. Ok, you’ve probably heard of him, but you don’t know anything about him other than he’s Carr’s preferred check down target and a decent PPR option for fantasy. Jalen is a funny, outgoing guy, and the exact type of character the camera crew will enjoy following. Not to mention he’s an anti-vaxxer. So yeah, there’s that.
All the name calling y’all hurting my feelings 😔☹️
I love my boy DC, but it’s him. He’s like if you were to combine Philip Rivers with a frat boy. Good, wholesome dude, family man, everyone loves him, but the amount of bro’s out of his mouth will exceed the acceptable limit 5 minutes into the show. He’s annoying AF. I can see a downgrade in his likability following the show.
First on-air fight:
Incognito vs. Eddie Vanderdoes. Incognito is obvious, and Vanderdoes will be competing for a roster spot. Those are the type of guys who usually put out the type of effort to piss someone off enough to throw down. And Eddie is big and physical. A perfect opponent for Richie.
Football is in the air, dickheads. The show is set to debut on August 6th. And no way better to kick off the season than a behind the scenes look at the Oakland Raiders. Get your popcorn ready.
It’s inevitable. Change. You can grab the onrushing train and try to hold on, jump out of the way, or be flattened.
In 1979, the National Basketball Association introduced the 3 point shot some 22-23 feet away from the basket. I will not bore the shit out of you with statistics of how the game has evolved (or devolved) since then, but scoring changes in sports can affect the game fundamentally, the two point conversion in football being the other obvious case.
I will however flash my big man bias and tell you that there is nothing more frustrating than running up and down the court, posting up with great position, hoisting my hand in the air, and watching as the point guard jacks up another three. Oh wait, there is something more frustrating. Setting a high screen and roll, having a clear path to the basket, then watching the point guard jack a three over TWO defenders as I shoot an air layup showing where my path would have been.
The temptation of a possible three points seems to alter the thinking of players, coaches, and fans. Is the big man a thing of the past? Not really. Now you just have big men working on shooting threes. Dirk Nowitzki was the pioneer of this shift, and for a while it was a novelty to the point that he was the only one doing it. Now there’s a handful of guys approaching or exceeding seven feet tall who can shoot a three pointer with enough accuracy that it needs to be addressed by the defense as something more than just a novelty. Brook Lopez, Marc Gasol, Nikola Jokic, and Joel Embiid are just some examples of the paradigm shifting from the lumbering big man setting up shop on the low block to the “stretch” big man setting a pick, then setting up shop behind the three point line.
It is still my assertion that the best big men can do both. And that is what I try to do now when I play in rec leagues and pickup. Am I an effective three point shooter? I’ll call myself streaky; I’ve had games where I’ve hit two or three threes in a row and then others where I haven’t even come close. But by no means have I abandoned my post game. Some dinosaurs will never be extinct, but they definitely will have to be agile enough to grab that three point train.
Album of the Month: Coldplay “A Rush of Blood to the Head”
I acknowledge that Chris Martin, lead singer of the band Coldplay, is a douche. So much so that he can be rightfully called the archetype of the new millennium male douche. Sensitive, angst-ridden, cause-supporting, earnest, sappy, hipster, whatever adjective you use, he planted the flag firmly and claimed a new planet of adult alternative contemporary pop-rock with the 2000 anthem “Yellow” (from their major label debut “Parachutes”) soon to be crowed at karaoke by college bros deeply in touch with feelings they never knew they had. Millions of album sales, and the inevitable backlash, came swiftly.
The next album would, rightly or wrongly, determine Coldplay’s fate and direction. In 2002, they released “A Rush of Blood to the Head” and it became clear from the outset: Coldplay came to play. Martin’s angst remains ever present throughout his lyrics and yes, he overreaches at the heartstrings plenty of times.
But the real power of this album is the band.
Whereas “Parachutes” can be so ethereal and atmospheric to the point of disappearing, Rush of Blood maintains a constant rock presence and feel. Piano, guitar, drums, bass all come together in plenty of soaring choruses and memorable hooks. The opening song “Politik” is a globalist call from Martin to “open up your eyes” and “don’t forget the rest of us” over a two chord power punch. He does keep bringing it back to love and doubt and fractured relationships throughout the record, and as his depression increases, the record becomes deeper and more compelling. Even when the lyrical sappiness is turned up to 10 on “The Scientist”, the gorgeous melody carries the song. By the end of the record, the next to the last song is the title track, and Martin is ready to watch the house of broken promises burn to the ground. Easily the highlight of the album. The final song “Amsterdam” finds Martin completely adrift and ready to end it all, but before hope is lost, salvation is found: “Stood on the edge/Tied to a noose/But you came along and cut me loose”.
(editor’s opinion)
FINAL CUT: This album is full of soft piano leading to soaring chords and melodies. Coldplay probably peaked with this album but it remains their finest work top to bottom. Martin never quite gets to where he wants to be, but his confusion, depression and anger make for some great moments. If you’re a fan, this is in your top 2 Coldplay albums. If you’re not, start with this one.
Some teams fared better than others in the 2019 NFL Draft, and that is especially the case in the AFC West. Now, that is to be expected when a team like the Raiders with needs all over the place head into the draft with 4 top 35 picks, and end up making 9 selections overall while a team like the Chiefs head into the draft with fewer picks including zero 1st round picks, and needs at few positions.
Lets start wit the Los Angeles Chargers.
Needs entering draft in order: DT, OG, OT, ILB, S, WR Draft Selections: DT Jerry Tillery, S Nasir Adderley, OT Trey Pipkins, LB Drue Tranquill, QB Easton Stick, DE Emeke Egbule, DT Cortez Broughton
Best Pick: S Nasir Adderley – DT was a bigger need, and they got a good one in round 1 with Jerry Tillery so this was hard, but I think the pick of Nasir Adderley in Rd 2 was the Chargers’ best pick. I just love his game, and the versatility he bring to an already pretty loaded secondary. It will be a tall task to throw on the Chargers in 2020.
Worst Pick: OT Trey Pipkins – Listen, I’m as big of supporter as any in drafting a bit a project in that 3 rd range, but Pipkins could be had so much later. This was a pretty awful use of a good resource.
Under the Radar Pick: QB Easton Stick – Another player that was picked a little earler than most expected, but I loved it. Having a good backup QB is underrated in this league, even when you have an ironman in Philip Rivers. Stick doesn’t present a lot of upside in terms of a future starter, so I think you could do a lot worse than using a 5th rd pick on a career backup that can come in and pull out gritty wins when called upon for the next 8-10 years.
Overall: This was a great draft for the Chargers at the top, but fizzled soon after. Stick was a sneaky good pick in the 5th, but other than that after Adderley in round 2 I don’t see much upside in terms of future starter in the bunch. The 2 picks at the top are good enough to earn a solid grade.
Raiders #4 Overall: QB. The Raiders are in position with 3 picks in the first round to add much needed impact players on both sides of the ball. A QB at 4 would most likely not start right away. They’d keep Carr and he’ll be playing while also looking over his shoulder. Not ideal. With the #4 pick, the Raiders need someone to make an immediate impact. This means guys like Quinnen Williams, Josh Allen, Ed Oliver. I could even live with Devin White. But not a fucking QB. Don’t do it, Jon, you fuck.
Broncos #10 Overall: Interior OL. Sure, your offensive line sucks ass, but reaching for one at 10 wouldn’t be in Elway’s best interest. TGF isn’t in this draft and there will be an elite defensive talent on the board that old man Fangio will be banging the table for. Not to mention the possible QB (Lock), who they can sit for a year and learn how to suck behind Flacco’s sorry ass. Pick an interior OLman and the rest of us AFCW’ers will be cheering.
Chargers #28 Overall: I’m trying to think of a worst-case scenario for the Chargers, but with All Pros at every single position, I can’t see a realistic pick that would suck. TT can pretty much pick whoever falls in his lap again this year.
Chiefs #29 Overall: WR. Sure, it’s a need because Sammy Watkins can’t stay healthy, and Tyreek Hill is a child abuser, but Fat Andy can navigate an offense better than he can a pulled pork sandwich. And that says a lot because he’s fat. And likes BBQ. Anyway, your defense is fucking terrible and lost 2 of its best players. Other than Chris Jones, not an impact player anywhere. BPA on defense should be the pick, not a WR.
1st Pick – Raiders – Balls – QB Kyler Murray – Jon Gruden loves Kyler Murray, that much we know. How much would it take to move up to #1 to draft him? Potentially, the #4 and #27 picks in the 1st round, as well as their 2nd round pick #35 overall. They pull the trigger on this, and hope to get some draft capital back by making Derek Carr available for trade.
The Raiders have made worse #1 overall picks…
2nd Pick – 49ers – Dude – EDGE Nick Bosa – The 49ers don’t have a bad defense they just have a terrible turnover margin with a league worst -25, while only creating 7 turnovers. They need playmakers and Bosa fits that bill.
3rd Pick – Jets – McNutty – EDGE Josh Allen – Easiest pick in the draft. Team need meets BPA.
4th Pick – Cardinals – Balls – DL Quinnen Williams – The Cardinals need help up and down the squad. They take the one of the best players in the draft after trading out of the #1 pick.
5th Pick – Buccaneers – Dude – CB Greedy Williams – They could go pass rusher here but with Grimes not expected back and not having any other viable #1 CB Greedy Williams is shut down corner ready for the pass happy NFC S.
6th Pick – Giants – McNutty – QB Dwayne Haskins – The time to replace Eli is now. Giants choose a highly productive one year starter. Haskins’ live arm and consistent accuracy make him Pat Shurmur’s first pick.
7th Pick – Jaguars – Balls – OT Jawaan Taylor – Assuming the Jaguars address the QB position in free agency, they badly need to protect whoever they get. Jawaan Taylor is a really, really good OT prospect.
8th Pick – Lions – Dude – EDGE Montez Sweat – With Ansah hitting the market the Lions need pass rush help. Montez is fast as fuck and the Lions won’t Sweat his poor technique. The combine and senior bowl solidify his top 10 placement.
9th Pick – Bills – McNutty – EDGE Rashaan Gary – One of the more interesting prospects in the draft goes to Buffalo. DT probably isn’t the Bills’ biggest concern, but Gary’s potential is worth the gamble.
10th Pick – Broncos – Balls – QB Drew Lock – I like Lock, John Elway is rumored to like Lock. The Broncos need a long term plan at QB, and Lock falls in their lap.
“Go out there and grind.”
11th Pick – Bengals – Dude – LB Devin White – The Bengals breathe a sigh of relief that Denver didn’t take their player. Devin White is a 3 down ILB that will captain a defense for his career.
12th Pick – Packers – McNutty – OL Jonah Williams – Athletic and experienced, Williams is the best lineman on the board. The Packers get a smart, versatile Day 1 starter.
13th Pick – Dolphins – Balls – DL Ed Oliver – Similar to the Cardinals, the Dolphins need help everywhere. Just take whoever falls to you, in this case Ed Oliver.
14th Pick – Falcons – Dude – DL Christian Wilkins – The Falcons are terrible against the run. I thought about Bush here but Wilkins steps in immediately next to franchise tagged Grady Jarrett to improve this issue.
15th Pick – Redskins – McNutty – QB Daniel Jones – This pick was made before the Redskins traded for Case Keenum. I’m not sure that Keenum coming to town changes this pick. Not a Jones fan, but I think a team overdrafts him.
16th Pick – Panthers – Balls – WR DK Metcalf – Pairing a receiver with the size, speed, and catch radius as DK Metcalf with what the Panthers already have going on in their offense just seems too good to pass up.
17th Pick – Browns – Dude – WR Marquise Brown – Baker Mayfield + Hollywood Brown = Oklahoma magic. That same magic should transfer to the NFL while giving Cleveland a real X Factor in their air raid style offense.
(McNutty note on the 17th pick: I could tell Dude had a boner as he wrote that. Gross.)
18th Pick – Chiefs – McNutty – CB Byron Murphy – Fat Andy trades up to take arguably the best cover CB in the draft. Murphy is a tough and aggressive, and KC will need all the help they can get in the passing game.
19th Pick – Titans – Balls – TE TJ Hockensen – The Titans were a tough team to mock, as they could go several different ways with this pick. I have them selecting TE TJ Hockensen since Delanie Walker is getting up there in age.
20th Pick – Steelers – Dude – LB Devin Bush – Not to be heartless, but I think it’s safe to say that while he is a model of positivity, Shazier isn’t coming back. Bush gives the Steelers defense an identity again and can captain that defense for years to come.
21st Pick – Seahawks – McNutty – EDGE Clelin Ferrell – The talented DE from Clemson falls to my favorite team Uncle Pete’s squad. Ferrell played on a DL filled with NFL prospects, but he was productive and displayed ability against the run and pass.
22nd Pick – Ravens – Balls – WR N’Keal Harry – This is a popular selection around the mock draft community, and it’s easy to see why. WR N’Keal Harry is a do it all receiver, who should be a huge target for 2nd year QB Lamar Jackson.
23rd Pick – Texans – Dude – OT Andre Dillard – O’Brien saw more sacks last season than Sandusky did in his career at Penn State. Watson has proven he needs more time and Dillard is a plug and play OT that can provide that.
24th Pick – Raiders – McNutty – EDGE Brian Burns – Fun fact: Brian is the great grandson of Montgomery Burns! I really like Burns’ potential as an edge rusher. His first step is a killer and he is a top tier athlete, but he’s a bit of a one-trick pony for now.
Stretch needs to hit the gym.
25th Pick – Eagles – Balls – RB Josh Jacobs – The Eagles have some talent at the running back position, by way of a RBC approach. However, I like the idea of getting a 3 down back and playmaker in Josh Jacobs and flipping their existing RB’s for picks.
26th Pick – Colts – Dude – WR Perris Campbell – Why not give Luck more weapons? Campbell’s combine earned him a spot in the first round with his workout.
27th Pick – Cardinals – McNutty – OG Cody Ford – I was doing the draft by dictating texts to Siri. Ford was the only one I could think of for the Cards. Meh.
28th Pick – Chargers – Balls – DT Dexter Lawrence – Chargers need help on the interior defensive line, badly. Dexter Lawrence is a top 15 player in this draft, and fell right into their lap.
29th Pick – Vikings – Dude – C Garrett Bradbury – The middle of the Vikings OL is terrible and Elflein took major steps back after his rookie year. Bradbury is an instant upgrade.
30th Pick – Saints – McNutty – TE Noah Fant – This almost isn’t fair giving Sean Payton an athlete like this to exploit matchups. Madden-type offense.
31st Pick – Rams – Balls – CB Trayvon Mullen – With both Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters scheduled to hit free agency in 2020, Rams elect to draft Trayvon Mullen in hopes he can fill a void at the CB position.
32nd Pick – Patriots – Dude – TE Irv Smith, Jr. – Gronkowski is almost done. And the Patriots are much more dynamic with two capable TEs. Smith is a solid blocking TE who is still athletic enough to stretch the field. He could be the Gronkowski of the future.
Ahhhh… nothing says offseason quite like a little sense of optimism from a fanbase of what should be pretty commonly known as one of the most incompetent franchises in all of sports… but here we are. Raiders are entering year 2 of the Jon Gruden 2.0 era, the slate has been wiped clean and Gruden has brought in friend and draft guru Mike Mayock to help build this team up the way he’d like it.
I’d like to say I know what direction Gruden and Mayock could go this offseason with over $70 Million in cap space, 10 draft picks with 4 coming in the first 35 picks, and many, many needs, but nobody really has a clue at this rate. So let’s not act like anyone really knows what the Raiders could do, I’m just going to focus on what the Raiders should do in my humble opinion.
Re-Sign – Jared Cook, Marshawn Lynch
Free Agent Targets
EDGE – Ziggy Ansah, Trey Flowers, Za’Darius Smith, Cameron Wake
MLB/WLB/SLB – Jordan Hicks, Kwon Alexander, Mark Barron, Anthony Barr, Shaq Barrett
WR – Tyrell Williams, John Brown, Golden Tate
S – There’s so many good ones, just get one.
At the end of free agency, I think the Raiders should come away with a starting S, LB, and either DE, DT or WR. They can fill out some depth with other additions, but these should be priorities. Now on to the draft.
The Raiders will approach the draft one of two ways. One with Derek Carr being their QB of the future, and one without. Lets start with the one without since that is pretty cut and dry. They will either trade enough compensation to move up to 1.1, or sit tight and see if Murray, Haskins or Lock fall to them at 1.4. Then they fill in roster needs with whatever picks they have left.
Now for the draft approach assuming they really do believe Derek Carr is the franchise QB. While the Raiders can certainly add some talent in free agency, I think they should still attack this with a BPA approach since there is so little talent to speak of. So here is a mock draft to see what that may look like through 5 rounds.
There is a million ways to go about this offseason with all the resources the Raiders have and the lack of foundational talent that is on the roster as of now, so it is anyone’s guess. This is just my opinion. Don’t trade for Antonio Brown, don’t sign Le’veon Bell unless either comes fairly reasonable. Find a few upper end starters in free agency with front loaded deals similar to what we did a few years back, and build this thing the right way by utilizing the draft capital we have in what appears to be a very high quality draft class.
With a new regime in Denver and with some current free agency issues we will take a short dive into players that could be targeted before the 2019 season.
Offense
The offensive side of the ball will surprisingly see the least amount of changes due to the addition of Rick “they call me Mello” Scangarello and Mike Munchak, and here’s why. First off Scangarello will be implementing his form of the Shanny Jr offense which relies greatly on the run game. Denver is already successful on this front with their current offensive line and their crop of running backs. While Munchak typically likes to have larger players on his OL, he still runs a ZBS that can be run with a Shanny sized OL. Food for thought: SF’s OL has multiple players under 300 lbs, including their LT who is built like current Broncos LT Garrett Bolles, who weighs 297 lbs. The heaviest player on their OL is their RT at 315 lbs and current Broncos RT Jared Veldheer weighs 322 lbs. The only question marks on the line will be retaining injury prone Ronald Leary and resigning Matt Paradis.
I believe they keep Leary, due to what I will refer to as the Flacco factor. I believe that trading for Flacco was in the plans way back when they were trying to add Kubiak without Dennison. While Kubiak was coaching Flacco at Baltimore the starting LG was Kelechi Osemele who is built exactly like Leary. Paradis is a maybe in my opinion, who could get top dollar elsewhere. Either way I think last year’s draft pick Sam Jones will see more action in the new zone based system.
Where I could see Denver making some moves in free agency on Offense would be at the TE position and possibly an insurance WR.
At WR I only really see them looking at a guy like Jamison Crowder from Washington, who while didn’t perform to a true #1 WR, has the same build and skill set as Sanders, for whom he would be insurance for. I would expect him to pick up the jet sweeps and quick route duties that aren’t part of Courland Sutton’s game.
At TE I only see 2 names that I would accept. One would be taking a flier on the injury prone Tyler Eiffert who if healthy can dominate in the passing game. The other name is Jared Cook who played well despite being 32. But the draft is deep at TE so Denver could address the issue (yet again) there.
Defense
This is the side of the ball that I expect most of the changes to happen. Between Vic Fangio and Ed “TMNT” Donatell, there will be some extremely different schemes in the passing game. First we need to look at which positions these guys covet which are LB and CB.
With the departure of Marshall into FA (the Denver community will miss him but the playing field may not) you can expect Denver to look there immediately.
The names to consider here are CJ Mosley, Corey Littleton and Jordan Hicks. Mosley is obviously the best of the three, but I don’t see him making it to the open market. But the other two could be great fits as well. Hicks is injury prone, but as a CO native he is extremely versatile as he is a tackling machine and has 7 career INTs. Littleton is coming off a career year which could make him a little more expensive but is also equally versatile. An outside name that could float around would be Kwon Alexander out of TB. Names to stay away from would be Preston Brown and Denzel Perryman.
At CB the pickings are slim in FA. But with the scheme shift away from man to man into an attacking zone, Isaac Yiadom will definitely flourish as he played well in the zone last year.
The name I see them perusing aggressively is Bryce Callahan who had a standout year for Chicago last year and who is obviously familiar with the schemes that Fangio will implement.
The other position I can see them looking into is Safety just because the market is so deep and it could be time to move on from Darian Stewart who is on the wrong side of 30 and is coming off his worst year as a professional.
The names here are Haha Clinton-Dix, Tyrann Matthieu, Landon Collins and Adrian Phillips. HCD and Matthieu are both coming off 1 year prove it deals and will get paid this offseason. Collins would be a sure resign for NYG but Gettleman has proven in the past he doesn’t like to spend top dollar in the secondary. Phillips would just piss off Clipper fans so I approve. (Actually I don’t really want him). But the good part of signing a Safety is that the versatility of Justin Simmons means we can sign either FS or SS and plug Simmons into the opposite role.
I honestly see Denver addressing CB in FA and then drafting Devin White in the first. Then trading back into the first for Lock. Especially if they can land Bryce Callahan.
Broncos free agents to be considered for re-signing:
