5 Mistakes Denver Broncos Can't Repeat in 2015 Offseason
Following a very disappointing end to the 2014 season, the Denver Broncos enter the offseason facing a high degree of uncertainty.
They have plenty of questions that need to be answered, such as the playing status of quarterback Peyton Manning and how the team will respond to new head coach Gary Kubiak.
Of course, the biggest question will be how will the team recover from another incredibly disappointing postseason loss?
But the best way to bounce back from disappointment is to learn from your mistakes—and not repeat them.
A new season starts when the previous season ends and though two other teams will be playing in the Super Bowl, the Broncos are already looking towards next year.
What mistakes did the Broncos make last offseason? How can they avoid repeating them?
Place More Focus on Special Teams
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The Denver Broncos' special teams were a comedy of errors in 2014, but the team should have seen it coming.
Though the Broncos had their issues at the kicker position during the season, the mistake they made during the offseason was not coming up with a suitable kick returner.
Trindon Holliday left via free agency following the 2014 season and that wasn't seen as a huge loss. But the one thing Holliday could do was provide a spark in the return game.
The Broncos went nearly all of the 2014 season without that, save for a couple nice returns by Omar Bolden.
Joe DeCamillis, a very experienced special teams coach, has been hired by the Broncos, as reported by Mike Klis of The Denver Post.
DeCamillis has coached special teams for six NFL teams and he should get the Broncos turned around. His hiring shows the team knows the special teams unit needed an upgrade.
Bolden may have found a role on the team as a return specialist, but the Broncos need to settle on a player for that role early in training camp. Bolden's performance in 2014 was basically by accident, as the team used Andre Caldwell to return kicks to begin with.
In addition, Wes Welker should not be returning punts. Sure, he might be able to field kicks, but he won't do much with them. Towards the end of the season, it almost seemed like the coaching staff was happy just to catch the punt.
Isaiah Burse deserves another look, but the Broncos can't be testing out different players during the season, hoping to find something that works.
Address Linebacker Position Early in Draft
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On paper, the trio of Von Miller, Danny Trevathan and Brandon Marshall looks like it could be very promising for the Broncos in 2015.
But can those three players stay healthy?
Over the course of the last two seasons, Miller and Trevathan have missed a combined 20 games. The team hasn't been all that prepared for these injuries.
Do you recall Paris Lenon starting in the Super Bowl?
The team was fortunate Marshall played so well in the absence of Trevathan in 2014, but the two players they selected in the draft, Lamin Barrow and Corey Nelson, were all but irrelevant.
Together, Barrow, a fifth-round pick and Nelson, the team's seventh-round pick, had 26 tackles.
In fact, Todd Davis, an undrafted linebacker the Broncos picked up off waivers from New Orleans, had more tackles than either of them and seemed to have more trust from the coaching staff when Marshall had to miss time with injury.
The Broncos need to find a linebacker to fit their system within the first three rounds of the draft and pick with confidence.
John Elway needs to recognize the linebacker position has been a weak spot of the team for years, and bolstering the position with quality depth is the way to go.
"If JDR gets a say on personnel in Oakland, of course Pot Roast will be on his radar but so will Nate Irving & Brandon Marshall
— Brandon Krisztal (@BKDenverSports) January 14, 2015"
He'll also need to decide if Nate Irving and Marshall are worth being brought back, as they are scheduled to be unrestricted free agents.
Develop the Quarterback of the Future
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In previous seasons, John Fox and his coaching staff felt like having Peyton Manning was enough to win the Super Bowl. It wasn't.
As a result, no one in the organization can say with any certainty what they have behind Manning.
Depending on which direction Manning decides to go with the remainder of his career, this is something the Broncos may be forced to find out even sooner than they may have originally planned.
Regardless, the Broncos need to figure out what to do once Manning moves on from the game.
Though he has been in the league for three full seasons, we still have yet to see what Brock Osweiler can really do. After all, he has thrown just 30 regular-season pass attempts in his career.
But with Gary Kubiak aboard, developing Osweiler should become a much higher priority than it has been in the previous three seasons.
Even if Manning decides to return for an 18th season, it could very well be his last. Manning will now have to take his career on a year-by-year approach. He'll have to show he can still play at a high level as well. The Manning we saw towards the end of the 2014 season isn't going to get it done anymore.
For these reasons, the Broncos need to invest the time to find out exactly what they have in Osweiler.
"I feel like a Gary Kubiak offense would be awesome for Brock Osweiler. For Peyton Manning? Eh....
— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) January 16, 2015"
He should get as many reps in training camp as he possibly can as well as extended time in the preseason. Whenever a game is out of reach in the regular season, Manning needs to take a seat on the bench.
That's if Manning returns. If he doesn't, they'll just have to hope Osweiler can get the job done, since they don't really know whether he can or not.
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Draft Players Who Can Contribute Immediately
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Though Elway has been as good as anyone in free agency, he has made several questionable draft picks.
On top of drafting Osweiler in the second round in 2012, Elway made several selections in the 2014 draft that have yet to pan out.
Cody Latimer, Michael Schofield and Matthew Paradis were all but invisible this past season while the jury is still out on linebackers Lamin Barrow and Corey Nelson.
Only Bradley Roby was a regular contributor.
Whether Elway had tunnel vision and had all his eggs in one basket, hoping for a Super Bowl victory, his 2014 draft seemed like a bit of a waste.
Elway needs to be able to straddle a thin line in the 2015 draft, finding players that can not only help the team win now, but can help the team build for the future at the same time.
That won't be easy, but Elway needs to be able to pull it off.
He didn't need to draft a wide receiver in the second round last year but he chose to, and then the team never used him. This year, he needs to work on finding players who can help out right away.
B.J. Kinney, a center from Kansas State, would be a good example of a player who could do that and the Broncos could get him on the third day of the draft.
Have an Open Competition at Running Back
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The Broncos need to wipe the slate completely clean at the running back position.
Last offseason, the team made no effort to re-sign free-agent running back Knowshon Moreno, despite his very productive 2013 season.
Instead, they decided to anoint Montee Ball as the running back of the future, and to say that didn't work out would be a slight understatement.
The Broncos had already handed the job to Ball and as a result, C.J. Anderson, Ronnie Hillman and Juwan Thompson were all battling for backup spots.
In the end, Ball had the worst season of those four players, though most of that was due to injury.
Still, the Broncos need to learn from that mistake and open up the running back position to all possibilities, rather than just hand it to an unproven player just because he was a high draft choice.
"If C.J. Anderson was third on depth chart to begin the season, yet played like that, it’s an indication coaches didn’t see talent. #Broncos
— Rich Kurtzman (@RichKurtzman) January 14, 2015"
While Ball only appeared in five games, Anderson will be playing in the Pro Bowl. But that doesn't mean Anderson should just be handed the starting job either.
Kubiak was able to help resurrect the career of Justin Forsett in Baltimore, as he ran for 1,266 yards in 2014.
Kubiak and his staff need to keep an open mind concerning each of the Denver running backs and figure out how they can help the team going forward.
None of them should be written off or handed anything until they have all been given the same opportunity.
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