NFL Team Preview: Denver Broncos

Team --> Denver Broncos
Division --> AFC West
A Look Back --> 7-9 (Second in division, didn't make playoffs)
Head Coach --> Mike Shanahan (14th year as Broncos head coach)

Key Players
Champ Bailey
Jay Cutler
John Lynch

Draft (First Three Picks)
Ryan Clady - First round (12th overall) - OT - Boise State
Eddie Royal - Second round (42nd overall) - WR - Virginia Tech
Kory Lichtensteiger - Fourth round (108th overall) - OG - Bowling Green

2008 Schedule
Week - Opponent
1 - at Oakland Raiders
2 - San Diego Chargers
3 - New Orleans Saints
4 - at Kansas City Chiefs
5 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
6 - Jacksonville Jaguars
7 - at New England Patriots
8 - BYE
9 - Miami Dolphins
10 - at Cleveland Browns
11 - at Atlanta Falcons
12 - Oakland Raiders
13 - at New York Jets
14 - Kansas City Chiefs
15 - at Carolina Panthers
16 - Buffalo Bills
17 - at San Diego Chargers

Fantasy Picks
The Broncos have a solid defense that played miserably last year. The secondary was really good, but other than that, the defense made you cringe nearly every game. The Broncos finished 28th in points allowed per game, 19th in yards allowed per game and a dreadful 30th in rushing yards allowed per game. The secondary on the other hand was the 6th best in passing yards allowed. With all of this said, the Broncos didn't do too much to improve their defense. They drafted some defensive players, but the first of which was 119th so you can't really expect him to contribute immediately. I would stay away from this defense.

On the offensive side there's Jay Cutler calling the plays. I like Cutler and I think he's going to be a solid Jeff Garcia type quality quarterback, but don't take him as your number one. The troubles of wide receiver Brandon Marshall - a very good wide receiver at that - hurt Cutler's fantasy value tremendously in my mind. Marshall caught 102 passes for 1,325 yards last season so you have to think that Cutler's numbers will only go down if the NFL decides to Adam Jones him--errrr--suspend him. If Marshall isn't suspended then definitely take Cutler as your backup and take Marshall as your number two wide receiver. In reality, Marshall could be a number one, but with that troubled history, you don't want your top receiver sitting in prison midway through the year instead of in the endzone. As far as running backs go the Broncos are typically your number one team to choose from for production - typically. Travis Henry was an animal last year but with him gone there are fresh new faces receiving hand offs in the Mile High City. Your running back options in order of most likely to start are: Selvin Young, Michael Pittman and rookie 5th round draft choice Ryan Torain from Arizona State University. I wouldn't draft any of these backs but I would keep an eye on all of them to see how they produce after the first few weeks.

Outlook
The outlook doesn't look so bright for the Denver Broncos coming from my crystal ball. Mike Shanahan is one of the best coaches in the NFL and knows what he's doing, but this team just doesn't have that many stars. I feel that the defense will be improved this year, if for no other reason than the fact that they didn't play to their potential in '07. The offense, on the other hand, may not be as good as they were last year. What that boils down to is whether Marshall will be allowed to play or not. If so, this offense could be a solid squad, especially with Shanahan's ability to produce great running backs year in and year out. The AFC West won't exactly be stellar this year, in fact, other than the San Diego Chargers, the Broncos should be able to handle their own from the rest of the division. I see another 7 or 8 win campaign in store for the Broncos and a third straight year of sitting at home for the playoffs.