Denver Post Broncos writer Ryan O’Halloran posts his Broncos Mailbag periodically during the off-season. Submit questions to Ryan here.
Regarding the quarterback situation, itap not as simple as folks want to make it. If you actually have a chance for Aaron Rodgers, do you really want to mortgage the Broncos’ future for a “real shot” at another Super Bowl? If Davante Adams would be made a part of any such deal, it only makes the potential damage to the out-years even more likely. The question remains: Do they want to cripple the team’s ability to add the quality players needed in other crucial positions to provide for a perennial contender for the possible “instant gratification” of getting Rodgers for a couple of years? As far as I’m concerned that sets the team up for the sort of boom-and-bust cycle that made the Rocky Mountain region famous and the Denver Broncos into a losing team. Hackett’s first task is to somehow assess the value of Drew Lock, now that the Broncos are veering back to the West Coast offense for which Lock was drafted to run. Is his value as trade bait, a backup or as a potential starter?
— Dan Murphy, Kansas City, Mo.
A bunch of points from Dan’s question/comments.
1. Actually, it is very simple: Trade for Aaron Rodgers and become a Super Bowl contender. Period. It must be a vocal minority of question submitters that doesn’t want No. 12 here, right? A player like him is worth mortgaging the future. A player like him is worth trading for because the plan since post-2015 hasn’t done a darn thing for the present or future.
2. I don’t expect Davante Adams to be a part of a Rodgers-to-Broncos trade for three reasons. A) The Broncos would struggle to create the needed cap space for both players. B) The Packers should want to keep Adams to give quarterback Jordan Love a top-flight weapon even if itap for one year. C) The Broncos don’t have enough draft/player assets to acquire Rodgers/Adams … at least I don’t think so.
3. The Broncos haven’t made the playoffs since 2015. They haven’t had a winning record since 2016. That means it is time to make a “boom or bust” swing for the fences.
4. It would be shocking if Lock is the Week 1 starting quarterback even if Hackettap offense is a better fit than Pat Shurmur’s system. I think Lock’s value is equal parts trade bait/back-up.
I really think the Broncos need to think outside the box to address their quarterback situation. Can they catch lightning in a bottle with Aaron Rodgers? Maybe, but then what? Young quarterbacks don’t seem to develop very well in the shadows of giants. Maybe it’s time to take a page out of Andy Reid’s Kansas City book and find the athlete and build the team and system around him. Tired of the Broncos pinning their hopes on finding the next Elway or Peyton Manning with dismal results.
— Larry, Littleton
Well, Rodgers sat behind Brett Favre and that worked out for the Packers. Patrick Mahomes sat behind Alex Smith for a year and that worked out for the Chiefs.
Acquire Rodgers and then what? Win a bunch of games during his 2-3 years, draft a quarterback to start developing and then put sustained success together?
Per Reid’s strategy, here’s the thing about Mahomes: He was a sensational college quarterback at Texas Tech. It wasn’t like he ran the option and needed to be coached up on every aspect of the passing game.
Prediction: If the Broncos acquire Rodgers, the results will not be dismal.
Where is Las Vegas quarterback Marcus Mariota going to end up? He needs to play. Itap a shame he has been on the side for so long.
— Larry Sherwood, Alabama
I believe beyond a shadow of doubt that if Marcus Mariota can stay healthy and get a chance with the right organization, he is a top 15 quarterback for many years to come! Just curious what you think? I’d love to see him with the Broncos!
— Dan L. Shoun, Paisley, Ore.
For some reason, Mariota-to-the-Broncos is gaining momentum in the eyes of the readers.
Larry, as much as it might be a shame, it’s also reality. Mariota was benched at halftime of Tennessee’s October 2019 game at the Broncos, which started the Ryan Tannehill Era. In five years for the Titans, Mariota was 29-32 as the starter with 76 touchdowns and 44 interceptions. He’s basically Teddy Bridgewater, who is 33-30 as a starter with 71 touchdowns and 43 interceptions.
Dan, in Mariota’s four years as the Titans’ starter, he finished 17th, 10th, 27th and 22nd in passer rating, which, combined with a two-season layoff not starting, doesn’t suggest he can be a top-15 passer.
Mariota is a free agent after serving two years as Derek Carr’s back-up with the Raiders and should be looking for a spot where he can at least compete for the starting spot. I don’t think that will be — or should be — the Broncos.
Is the hiring of offensive coordinator Justin Outten a win or a loss? I know nothing of him.
— Chase Stevens, Detroit
Oh, it’s way too early to say one way or the other. Here’s some details about Outten: He is 38 years old and has been in the NFL since 2016, including the last three years as Green Bay’s tight ends coach. Of note is his experience in the “West Coast Offense” that Hackett has his roots. Outten worked under Kyle Shanahan (Atlanta) in 2016 and then the last three years under Matt LaFleur, a former Shanahan assistant. Outten’s knowledge of the system should allow him to carry big planning responsibilities.
Ryan, with so much change happening with the Broncos, from ownership to coaching changes, any news on them having uniform changes for this upcoming season or a redesign at all? With the NFL one-shell rule changing for 2022 sounds like some teams will do a true retro throwback helmet and uniform versus an alternate or color rush like we have used since 2016.
— Benjamin Buerge, Littleton
Haven’t been told anything about the Broncos’ uniform plans and the best guess is they will wait on all of that until the new owner is identified and takes over.
Count me as a vote for bringing back the “D” logo for more games than just the color-rush. Same for wearing blue jerseys and white trousers more often.
Ryan, what do you think of the coaching hires around the league so far? Where does Nathaniel Hackett rate among them. And who has the worst hire?
— Marshall, Parker
Everybody will be able to identify the “worst” hire after the 2022 season, but I’ll change it around and say the most puzzling decision was Houston promoting Lovie Smith, a candidate they didn’t officially interview until Sunday. If the Texans have a plan, I’m not sure what it entails.
The other hires can divided into categories:
- Previous head coaches getting another chance: Jacksonville’s Doug Pederson, Las Vegas’ Josh McDaniels and New Orleans’ Dennis Allen. The Jaguars hired the most established coach after their clumsy search and Pederson will benefit Trevor Lawrence. Unpopular opinion — McDaniels will be great with the Raiders.
- First-time head coaches (offensive division): Hackett, Mike McDaniel (Miami), Brian Daboll (Giants) and Kevin O’Connell (Minnesota). Only Daboll called his team’s plays in 2021, but Hackett has done it previously for Buffalo and Jacksonville. Those two hires top the list.
- First-time head coaches (defensive division): Matt Eberflus (Chicago). Eberflus was previously Indianapolis’ defensive coordinator and has put together a solid staff led by Green Bay quarterbacks coach Luke Getsy as offensive coordinator.
Denver Post Broncos writer Ryan O’Halloran posts his Broncos Mailbag periodically during the off-season. Submit questions to Ryan here.
