Denver Broncos Week 11 Stock Report

After losing to the Colts in Week 9, the Denver Broncos dropped back-to-back games with a humiliating 29-13 defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 10. We saw Peyton Manning become the all-time passing yardage leader in the NFL and get benched in the same game. The Broncos defense, normally a suffocating unit, couldn’t stop a Chiefs team that had 14 offensive drives that started on its own 47.5-yard line on average.

This week, the Broncos travel to Chicago to take on former head coach John Fox and the Bears. In addition to seeing Fox on the opposite sideline, the Broncos will also face former offensive coordinator Adam Gase and former quarterback Jay Cutler. They’ll take on these familiar foes with a new quarterback, as Brock Osweiler takes over for an injured Manning.

Needless to say, there are several storylines heading into this game.

Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak talked about the team being at a crossroads: "I think, in this league there is always going to be some struggles. This is a tough league. There’s nothing smooth about an NFL season. Yeah, it’s been a rough couple of weeks for our football team."

Kubiak revealed: "I can tell you this, everything that we want to accomplish and everything that we want to do as a football team is right there in front of us. Nothing has changed from that standpoint, but we know we have to play better if we want to accomplish those goals."

Here is the stock report for the Broncos as they head into Week 11.

Stock Up: WR Cody Latimer

Brennan Linsley/Associated Press

The Broncos moved up in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft in order to select wide receiver Cody Latimer. As a rookie, he barely saw the field as he made the transition from college to the pros. This season, there was a plan for Latimer to play as the third receiver behind Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders.

Instead of stepping into a larger role, Latimer struggled to impress during the preseason and fell down the depth chart. Entering the game on Sunday, he had only one target and no catches in 2015. He was targeted once by Manning (on a pass that was intercepted), but when Osweiler took over, Latimer saw the rock tossed his way five times. He ended up with three catches for 30 yards against the Chiefs.

Latimer felt good about getting more playing time against the Chiefs.

"Just being able to get my feet wet was good," he said. "I just want to have the opportunity to make plays when called on. I just tried to make the best of it."

To this point in his pro career, Latimer hasn’t made the impact many expected from a premium pick. He doesn’t seem to have strong chemistry with Manning, but Latimer and Osweiler have a connection from their time practicing together.

Kubiak believes in the young receiver.

"He has not been a disappointment with me," the head coach said. "I've been with him now for eight weeks. I think it's a matter of time before something good happens for Cody. He's played well when he's had his opportunities to play.

"I think that good things are going to happen for this young man before this year's out."

As one of Osweiler’s favorite targets, we could see more from Latimer while Manning is out.

Stock Down: RB C.J. Anderson

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For some unknown reason, Broncos running back C.J. Anderson isn’t getting used enough. He has been dealing with an ankle injury he suffered in Week 1, but he was a full participant in practice all last week and listed as probable for the Chiefs game. Anderson played 27 snaps again for the third week in a row, but he had a season-low two carries for nine yards Sunday.

Starting left guard Evan Mathis believes it’s important to get the running game going. 

"Absolutely it is," Mathis said. "It's the same thing: technique, hat placement, hand placement, a step here, a step there. Those are things that we're going to work very diligently to improve on."

With Ronnie Hillman as the starter over the last three weeks, it looks like Anderson is locked in as the backup. Moving forward, the size of his role is unknown.

Just two weeks ago against the Green Bay Packers, Anderson had a 100-yard game and looked like the player who had led the league in rushing over the final six games of the 2014 season.

Anderson could easily be the lead back for this team, and he has a better all-around skill set than Hillman does. For now, he’s going to have to wait for his next opportunity to shine with a larger role.

Stock Up: TE Vernon Davis

Jack Dempsey/Associated Press

With a couple of weeks under his belt in Denver, we could start seeing more snaps, targets and production from tight end Vernon Davis. After the Broncos traded for Davis, we could see him take over as the top player at his position.

Kubiak likes what he’s seen from Davis so far.

"He's been good," the coach said. "He's ready to go. [I've] been watching him work out here some extra. He'll continue to get more involved."

With the change at quarterback, the Kubiak system should run more true to form than the hybrid offense we saw with Manning at the helm. A hallmark of the Kubiak system is using tight ends early and often. Simply put, Davis could become a favorite target of the young quarterback—by design.

Davis believes in Osweiler.

"There's tons of confidence from the defensive side, offensive side and special teams," David said. "We all feel that Brock can come in and get the job done. I stay out after practice and worked with the guy. Even last week, we stayed out and probably threw about 20 balls."

Davis concluded: "I feel like he can get it done. I believe in him."

Stock Down: QB Peyton Manning

Jack Dempsey/Associated Press

We saw the low point in Peyton Manning’s illustrious career on Sunday. Playing with a rib and foot injury, he threw four interceptions against the Chiefs and was benched for the first time in his career.

It was revealed Monday that Manning had a partially-torn plantar fascia in his left foot. He didn’t look good playing with this injury, and Kubiak believes it was his mistake to let the veteran quarterback play.

“When I go back and review the week, just didn’t [like what I was seeing] in general as it went," Kubiak said. "Not listening to my opinion and not listening to some things that were going on [hurt us]. Obviously, we come out of the game and I just know that we have to step back here and we have to take the time and make sure that he takes care of himself and we get him back to himself and feeling good.”

The injury is going to keep Manning out of the lineup against the Bears in Week 11. In fact, he isn’t even going to suit up, as rookie Trevor Siemian will serve as the backup to Osweiler.

Manning wants to heal quickly so he can get back to the starting lineup.

“I sure hope so," Manning said. "Like I said, I think that I need to use this week and use the time. I'm not going to be on the practice field, so I can dedicate the time to being in the training room and active rest, if you will. Hopefully, it helps me out."

Until he’s fully healthy, we could see Manning on the sidelines. If Osweiler plays well as the starter, then Manning should get plenty of time to properly heal.

Stock Up: QB Brock Osweiler

Jack Dempsey/Associated Press

With Manning banged up, the Broncos are turning to fourth-year pro Brock Osweiler as their starting quarterback. His strong arm is going to stretch the field more than Manning was capable of. Osweiler’s athleticism means that he’s capable of evading oncoming pass-rushers, unlike the statuesque Manning.

We’re going to see an offense more true to the Kubiak design. Osweiler is capable of executing bootlegs and rollouts effectively. His athleticism should also draw back-side defenders away from the running backs. This could open up cutback lanes for the backs and help jump-start the rushing attack.

The Bears coaches know Osweiler well. They’ve helped in his development from a second-round pick to a more seasoned pro. Fox and Gase know what makes him tick. They know his strengths, and they’re all too familiar with his weaknesses.

Osweiler doesn’t think there’s an added challenge in facing his former head coach.

“I wouldn't look at it like that," he said. "I do know that our football team has a great challenge ahead of us. Chicago is a great football team. Yeah, [Bears head] Coach [John] Fox knows a lot about us, but we also know a lot about him."

Osweiler emphasized, “I think it's going to be a great football game that's going to take the entire team to go into Chicago and get a win this weekend.”

Osweiler could be the first quarterback drafted by the Broncos to win his first start since Gary Kubiak in 1983.

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.