What Vernon Davis Acquisition Means for Peyton Manning, Broncos Offense

The Denver Broncos are undefeated, but that doesn’t mean they’re not looking for any way to improve. On Monday, the Broncos made a trade with the San Francisco 49ers for veteran tight end Vernon Davis.

Davis was selected by the 49ers in the first round (sixth overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft out of the University of Maryland. He has started at least 14 games in eight of his nine NFL seasons while playing in all but five contests since 2007.

Broncos general manager John Elway was elated to add such a talent to the roster.

"We're excited to add TE Vernon Davis to the roster. I think that he's a guy that brings great experience, great speed. [He is] a guy that's been a team leader for the [San Francisco 49ers] for a long time. He will be a great addition.”

We haven’t heard from him yet, but quarterback Peyton Manning has to be thrilled with this news as well. Manning has struggled at times this year as a passer, but things seemed to have turned around after the win over the Green Bay Packers in Week 8. Adding a talent like Davis could only help the offense be more dangerous moving forward.

What does the acquisition of Davis mean for Manning and the Broncos offense? Let’s take a look.

The Deal

The Broncos didn’t have to give up much to add Davis to the roster. There was a bit of confusion about exactly what the deal was, but that was cleared up quickly.

"

So just to be clear in Vernon Davis trade: SF and Denver swapping 6th and 7th round picks in 2016, and 49ers get Denver's 6th in 2017.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 2, 2015"

Elway clarified what the deal was as well. “[In the 2016 NFL draft] we swapped [sixth-and seventh-round draft picks] and then we'll give a sixth in '17.”

Swapping late-round picks and throwing in another late-round pick in the following draft is not a hefty price for a player with the upside of Davis. Whether or not Davis is in the long-term plans for this team is up in the air at this time.

Davis is in the final year of his contract and is set to be a free agent in 2016. The Broncos had to absorb a cap hit of $2.47 million when they picked up Davis. That, too, is not much of a price to pay for Davis, so long as he can be an effective player for the Broncos offense.

The Plan

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Things change quickly in the NFL, and the Broncos have had to change their plans at tight end more than once this season. With the addition of Davis, things are changing once again.

In free agency, the Broncos chose to let Julius Thomas leave while also keeping Virgil Green and adding Owen Daniels from the open market. In the draft, the Broncos spent a third-round pick on Ohio State tight end Jeff Heuerman—a player the Broncos had a larger plan for. That idea was eliminated when Heuerman went down with a season-ending knee injury in rookie minicamp.

Elway talked about losing the rookie.

“You never know. Obviously, with losing Heuerman, it was a tough one because we had high hopes for him this year that he was going to be a big contributor. When we lost him, I think there was a bit of a void there that we were trying to fill. I think we have that filled now.”

The Broncos held joint practices earlier this year with the 49ers at UC Health Training Center. Having the 49ers at Dove Valley before their preseason game allowed the team to see Davis up close.

Elway liked what he saw from Davis during that time.

“I've always liked Vernon. He's always been a guy that's—maybe two or three years ago he had 13 touchdown [catches] and is a guy that can really stretch the field, has tremendous speed and athletic ability. He's one of those guys at tight end that really catches your eye all the time. Especially when they were here this fall, he hadn't slowed down a bit. It made us even feel better about the fact that when we did get to see him and here was here this fall.”

The team began the year with Daniels as the top tight end. While he’s had some flashes here and there, Daniels does not look quite like the player he used to be. In Week 8, Daniels was splitting more time with Green than earlier this season.

Green is an underrated receiver, but he is also a good blocker and has been staying in to block on most plays. In Week 8, Green showed what he could do as a receiver, with three catches for 61 yards and a season-high 12 routes run.

After both Daniels and Green coming through in Week 8, the team has to find a way to fit Davis in—or perhaps even use him as the top tight end (eventually) in the offense.

Elway believes Davis could play in Week 9 against the Indianapolis Colts.

"Yeah, he should be. We'll see. He'll be here tomorrow, so we'll see how it goes. Obviously it's going to take him a little bit of time to get used to what we're doing. We'd like to get him in there as soon as we can."

The Fit

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Davis has incredible natural talent, and his addition gives this offense yet another weapon to attack defenses with. He has an intriguing size/speed combination, and Davis can create mismatches every time he is on the field. Linebackers who try to cover Davis usually aren’t fast enough to stay with him through the route. Safeties who are tasked with covering him are not big enough to get around Davis if he boxes out and squares up to the line of scrimmage.

Elway gave some clues about how Davis can help the offense.

“I think he's a big weapon for us because of the speed that he has. [He] will add to that with [TE] Virgil [Green] and [TE] Owen [Daniels], as well as [TE] Richard [Gordon]. We've been battling with two tight ends. With Richard, we added a couple weeks ago, and now with Vernon coming aboard, we've got four tight ends. It will give us ability to do a lot of different things. It's another weapon for us offensively.”

Elway believes that Davis can run seam routes and also help the team in the red zone.

"Yeah, but I mean I think, also, he's got great speed. I think he's a great mix with the tight ends that we already have. I think the addition was not a subtraction or were worried because of the performance of the tight ends. We just thought with the opportunity to add Vernon, to be able to add him to our roster and as a weapon on the offensive side was an opportunity that we couldn't pass up."

Not only does he have to fit on the field, but Davis has to fit in the locker room as well. Elway took that into account when considering the trade.

“Yeah. I think what we know of Vernon and all the stuff that we've heard of him being a leader with the [49ers] and qualities that he has as a person, I think that he's going to fit perfectly. That was definitely something that we worked on and was important to us.”

Summary

The Broncos are “all in” to win a championship this year. With a world-class defense, the Broncos have what it takes to win it all.

Elway made sure to emphasize the direction of the team under his guidance.

“I think that we're always trying to get better. If we have any opportunities to get better and we think that the compensation is fair, then we're going to do everything that we can to do that. I think that we're not going to mortgage the future to do it, but if we can add to our football team now and feel like it makes us better, we're going to look at all opportunities like that.”

Elway continued, “I know that everyone looks at it as we're trying to win it now and we're all in for now—Vernon is definitely going to come in and help us. As I said, the compensation, we thought, was fair and we'll go from there. We're trying to win from now on, but this will be a big step for us to win this season.”

Is Davis going to be the starting tight end and the top target at the position? He certainly has the talent to do so.

We should see the Broncos ease Davis into the lineup with the hope that he could take over at the position. Davis has been a dominant force in this league before, but he seemed to lose his way in a bad offense this year. Now, Davis is playing with a high-quality quarterback who can get him the ball often.

Playing with Manning should help rejuvenate Davis, with the Broncos being the primary beneficiary.

All quotes and injury/practice observations obtained firsthand. Record/statistical information provided via the Broncos media department unless otherwise noted. Advanced stats via ESPN's employees-only database.

Contract and salary-cap information provided by Spotrac. Transaction history provided by Pro Sports Transactions.