After previewing 7 (!!!) straight rotten teams in a row, I need a palate cleanser. Onward to the Sean Payton lead Denver Broncos, who last season had the highest number of White players for both overall roster and starters. This year should be even better.
Total White Athletes on Roster (Starters in bold)
22 or 24* Whites total, with 11 starters. Grade: C+
QB - Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham, Zach Wilson
TE - Adam Trautman, Greg Dulcich, Lucas Krull, Nate Adkins
T - Garett Bolles, Mike McGlinchey, Frank Crum
G - Quinn Meinerz, Ben Powers, Alex Palczewski
C - Luke Wattenberg, Alex Forsyth
DL - Zach Allen
ILB - Alex Singleton, Cody Barton, Kristian Welch
OLB - Jonah Elliss* (not fully White like other Elliss brothers, but looks it)
CB - Riley Moss
K - Will Lutz
P - Riley Dixon
LS - Mitchell Fraboni *(looks a bit "off")
IR - Drew Sanders (ILB), Quinn Bailey (T)
PS - Michael Bandy (WR), David Sills (WR), Michael Burton (FB), Nick Gargiulo (G), Brock Throckmorton (G), Matt Henningsen (DE), Thomas Yassmin (TE)
Bravo Sean Payton! The Broncos have hit the forbidden number of 50% White starters with 11. If you give Elliss and Fraboni White status, then they are creeping toward a half White team in total (24 and would need 27 to tip the scale). With a couple guys on IR to return and 7 more White athletes on the practice squad, it will be interesting to see if they go higher. I think the last team to fly this close to the sun was the Chip Kelly lead Eagles between 2013 and 2015.
The failed Russell Wilson experiment is over, as the team is paying him to be gone. In steps rookie 1st round pick Bo Nix. Nix had a great college career, leading some very good Auburn and Oregon teams. He's a great pocket passer with plenty of athleticism to extend a play and run if needed. He looked great in preseason and with his college experience, is a guy who could perform well at the NFL level right away. Let's hope so! Jarrett Stidham was brought in as a highly paid backup and will serve as such. Zach Wilson escapes the mess of the Jets organization looking for a fresh start. The Broncos front office is apparently high on him and at only 25 years young, has plenty of football ahead of him. A very good preseason showing hopefully means he's in the right place to learn and be developed without the pressure of starting immediately. Blocking for Nix will be a Snow Plow. 4/5ths of the line is from last year, with Wattenberg stepping in at center to complete the unit. They graded out as a good to middle of the road unit last year. McGlinchey and Bolles are considered a strong starting tackle duo. Quinn Meinerz graded out as the 3rd best guard in football last year by Crissy's company. Powers is a serviceable guard and the depth is all-White too except one player. At tight end, the Broncos have 3 talented players with "upside" in Trautman, Dulcich and Krull. None have put it together yet for various reasons but I'm hoping one of them breaks out this year and emerges as a valuable weapon for Nix. Or maybe all 3 will get opportunities, and produce as a unit.
Alex Singleton was finally allowed to be an unquestioned starter with the Broncos and responded with a fantastic 177 total tackles! Total beast, yet he's accused by the media of being poor in coverage. I question the legitimacy of this claim. Cody Barton is another tackling machine and all around good linebacker who replaces Josey Jewell. Barton excelled for Seattle and Washington after serving a racial apprenticeship in his early years. I hope he's found a home in Denver. Drew Sanders starts the season on IR but will return and has future star potential. Kristian Welch is a solid LB who looked like GB's top LB in preseason but was cut anyway. Better that he's here now. Zach Allen is a top 3-4 defensive end who manages to get a ton of tackles and a good number of sacks as well. He somehow manages this each year with a lunch pail in one hand. Perhaps the biggest news is 2nd year stud CB out of Iowa, Riley Moss, who is slated to start as the 2nd CB! If he established himself as a long-term starter, then he would be the 1st since Jason Sehorn 22 years ago! This will be a streak to celebrate if its finally broken!
Looking over the practice squad, there is potential for this team to get even better. Bandy and Sills are both receivers who have spent some time on a 53 before and hopefully one of them gets a chance sooner than later. Henningsen was on the active roster in recent years, so he could step in easily. I can imagine Burton getting a call up if and when they feel they need a FB.
A CS favorite, let hope this team plays well so there is no reason to break up what Payton is building here. Go Broncos!
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