Disregarding the QB position, what players have the most to prove to you?

[Agent of Orange]

We've beaten QB discussion to death. I thought that I'd mix it up a bit and see what players need to you show something.

I'm going with Zane Beadles, JD Walton, DJ Williams, Robert Ayers, and Marcus Thomas.

Im curious about the real Ryan Clady being back but I'm more confident that Clady can play.

[SOCALORADO.]

The entire defense.

[vandammage13]

The entire defense.

^^^I second that...

Also I would throw Knowshon in there. To me, he has a lot to prove given his draft position and the chances he's already had.

[Grover]

Our Middle Linebacker - both first team and second team. That's a key position and the effectiveness will tell whether we're a good defense or not.

Andre Goodman - Can he stay healthy all season? When he was out last year, our cornerback play suffered.

The Offensive Line - progress of Walton and Beadles. Pass protection of Franklin. 2nd string talent. Those are all big question marks.

[SOCALORADO.]

^^^I second that...

Also I would throw Knowshon in there. To me, he has a lot to prove given his draft position and the chances he's already had.

Yeah, Knowshow too.

[nevcraw]

Champ and Clady

[DenBronx]

Robert Ayers.

So far he looks to be a bust and with a better defense he will have run out of excuses. It's this year or die for him.

[Buff]

I think Knowshon is Mike Bell bad. I'd love for him to prove me wrong.

I agree with OP about Beadles and Walton. They showed me absolutely nothing last year. Especially Walton, who, for whatever reason, seems to be more highly thought of than Beadles.

Then I am interested to see how the DL performs outside of Elvis, who I have confidence in. The rest of them are a bunch of question marks.

[BroncoStud]

Robert Ayers.

So far he looks to be a bust and with a better defense he will have run out of excuses. It's this year or die for him.

Yep, Robert Ayers and Marcus Thomas have a lot to prove. They haven't even come CLOSE to living up to their draft status.

[SoCalImport]

Yep, Robert Ayers and Marcus Thomas have a lot to prove. They haven't even come CLOSE to living up to their draft status.

Ayers, sure. Thomas was a 4th round pick so he's pretty much already lived up to the draft position.
He's always had that "1st round talent" tag though so in that regard, yeah.

[DenBronx]

Yep, Robert Ayers and Marcus Thomas have a lot to prove. They haven't even come CLOSE to living up to their draft status.

I'd be happy if at least one of those two begin to play better.

Switching to the 4-3 should be an interesting year for them both.


Also, Larsen at FB hasnt been all that special either. He has hyped up alot but I dont see him as a true FB.

[TXBRONC]

Yep, Robert Ayers and Marcus Thomas have a lot to prove. They haven't even come CLOSE to living up to their draft status.

Marcus Thomas was a 4th round pick.

[BigDaddyBronco]

:behindsofa:

Eddie Royal.

[DenBronx]

And now that Tebow is switching to HB I think he will have alot to prove.





What?






You said to disregard the QB position. :D

[DenBronx]

Marcus Thomas was a 4th round pick.

I dont think as much heat is on him as Ayers, who was a wasted 1st round pick. I say wasted when guys like Orakpo were there.


But if Thomas doesnt play better then we will all know what he is. A good rotational guy. Not saying he will be gone or anything.

[Canmore]

The run defense, first and foremost. Oakland is our first test. :defense:

[Slick]

Royal and Moreno on offense. Defensively I'll say DJ. I'm going to give ayers a bit of a pass because i think his main job will be run stopping and tying up guys to free up Miller in pass rushing situations.

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[TXBRONC]

I dont think as much heat is on him as Ayers, who was a wasted 1st round pick. I say wasted when guys like Orakpo were there.


But if Thomas doesnt play better then we will all know what he is. A good rotational guy. Not saying he will be gone or anything.


Agreed.

[DenBronx]

The run defense, first and foremost. Oakland is our first test. :defense:

Oh wow....yeah I still have raider friends that heckle me about that game. One is coming over now in fact and asked if my address was still 5914.

I think I'm going to let the air out of his tires.

[rationalfan]

:behindsofa:

Eddie Royal.

royal's been pretty good, with starter-quality numbers for a receiver. his problem is that his first game suggested he was going to be a hall of famer. more and more i'm thinking that was the raiders making him look good.

as for the rest of the roster; i really want see knowshon produce like a first round pick. ditto for miller. he's the key of the defense.

[DenBronx]

royal's been pretty good, with starter-quality numbers for a receiver. his problem is that his first game suggested he was going to be a hall of famer. more and more i'm thinking that was the raiders making him look good.

as for the rest of the roster; i really want see knowshon produce like a first round pick. ditto for miller. he's the key of the defense.

eddie royal now doesnt have gaffney in his way and has been playing on the outside alot. back to what he was before mcd moved him to the slot.

[Nomad]

The run defense, first and foremost. Oakland is our first test. :defense:

IMO, this is a must-win game for the new regime. And a must-stop-the-run game for the defense, if not, wtf's will be said around BRONCO nation.

[sneakers]

Probably Ayers, time for him to step up!

[NightTerror218]

I would have to say the rookies and 2nd yr players. Von looks solid, and Moore is fighting off McCarthy for 1st defense. I want to see what out corners and safeties can do.

[BigDaddyBronco]

royal's been pretty good, with starter-quality numbers for a receiver. his problem is that his first game suggested he was going to be a hall of famer. more and more i'm thinking that was the raiders making him look good.

as for the rest of the roster; i really want see knowshon produce like a first round pick. ditto for miller. he's the key of the defense.

He is a #2 WR now. Can he put up numbers like one? If he doesn't have to return kicks, can he have 70 catches 800 yrds receiving and 6 TD's? I love Eddie, but is he a solid #2 or a #3? Is he growing and getting better or has he hit a ceiling?

[BigDaddyBronco]

All of McDaniels draft picks. They all look mediocre. Was it coaching or terrible drafting?

[NightTerror218]

He is a #2 WR now. Can he put up numbers like one? If he doesn't have to return kicks, can he have 70 catches 800 yrds receiving and 6 TD's? I love Eddie, but is he a solid #2 or a #3? Is he growing and getting better or has he hit a ceiling?

HE has a lot of work if he wants to be #2 WR with Decker on a roll.

[NightTerror218]

All of McDaniels draft picks. They all look mediocre. Was it coaching or terrible drafting?

Decker, Walton, Beadles mediocre? Moreno and Ayers will have this year to prove it.

[BigDaddyBronco]

Decker, Walton, Beadles mediocre? Moreno and Ayers will have this year to prove it.

Walton and Beadles started, but did they jump of the screen or did they look like rookies?

Decker didn't do much last year, but has looked good in pre-season.

Moreno and Ayers are in their 3rd year, time to show if you are going to stick around or not.

McBath - cut, Bruton - maybe cut, Dick Quinn - getting hurt buys him another chance.

Tebow- can't talk about him, D. Thomas - I would love to see him on the field, maybe next year, Seth Olsen - who cares

Squid and Cox look good, but Cox might be in prison

[Grover]

Oh wow....yeah I still have raider friends that heckle me about that game. One is coming over now in fact and asked if my address was still 5914.

I think I'm going to let the air out of his tires.

Now that shat is clever funny! Must have been the only Raider fan to graduate high school.

[BroncoStud]

Marcus Thomas was a 4th round pick.

He has performed like an UDFA. Plus he has more talent than that, he needs to step up.

[Ravage!!!]

Decker, Walton, Beadles mediocre? Moreno and Ayers will have this year to prove it.

I think mediocre is about right for this time of their career. They certainly can't be labeled as something better. Decker has hardly seen the field, and walton wasn't all-world last year.

Personally I want to see Ayers and Moreno. We already know what DJ is and he's been in the league for long enough for us to not expect anything else/different. He's fine.

I actually have to see something from any of the WRs... the DL.. the corners.. the OL... :tsk:

[NightTerror218]

Walton and Beadles started, but did they jump of the screen or did they look like rookies?

Decker didn't do much last year, but has looked good in pre-season.

Moreno and Ayers are in their 3rd year, time to show if you are going to stick around or not.

McBath - cut, Bruton - maybe cut, Dick Quinn - getting hurt buys him another chance.

Tebow- can't talk about him, D. Thomas - I would love to see him on the field, maybe next year, Seth Olsen - who cares

Squid and Cox look good, but Cox might be in prison


McBath and Burton are both good ST players.

Walton and Beadles looked like starters, but had their rookie moments of course. But doesn't help when each the line changed its look about 10 times last season.

[NightTerror218]

I think mediocre is about right for this time of their career. They certainly can't be labeled as something better. Decker has hardly seen the field, and walton wasn't all-world last year.

Personally I want to see Ayers and Moreno. We already know what DJ is and he's been in the league for long enough for us to not expect anything else/different. He's fine.

I actually have to see something from any of the WRs... the DL.. the corners.. the OL... :tsk:

Sucks having lots of new faces and an all around new look.

[Dzone]

Von Miller...

[jlarsiii]

Defense. Defense. Defense.

We can all rant and rave about anything else regarding this team, but if the D stays around the 32nd ranking again this year it will not matter what anyone else on the team does or doesn't do cause we will suck ass just like last year.

[Lancane]

Beadles should be fine, but I wouldn't say his position is dire and only because the level of talent around him on the line. If he continues to be sub-par then Denver will look to replace him possibly after the season.

One area for a cause of concern is Tight End, our current starter, Fells only has a one year contract, Gronkowski and Rosario are two and three on the chart, but we know the team is high on Thomas and Green. It's not so much a lack of talent, just a very deep position with some talent, so to accommodate the depth we're likely to keep at least four but I would be surprised if they decided to keep all five on the active roster - so we're going to thin our roster somewhere else.

Moreno and McGahee should compliment each other just fine, but the depth behind them has proven inadequate at best, but I see Minor getting that third slot right now, let's just hope an injury bug doesn't hit the stable this season. Our fullbacks are not stellar, but should be alright, I wouldn't be surprised if we added someone via the wire to compete sometime in the near future.

I'm a little concerned about our receiver corps. we have Lloyd returning as the number one, and Decker is really starting to separate himself as a valued target and quite possibly a unique slot, but Royal is struggling as the number two, we could well see Decker take the two spot and someone else at the slot, maybe Royal or Willis. We have way too many bodies at the receiver position, one of which is Thomas and he's still on the active list but has done next to nothing, I expect them to try and put him on the unable to perform/injured reserve list if they can. I think Denver will have five active receivers come the start of the season, this could be where the tight end situation hurts us... We know that Lloyd, Decker and Royal are the top three likely followed by Willis and it's up to Riley, Davis or Anderson to step it up and take the fifth slot, and maybe get them to figure a sixth slot for one of the other two. I don't expect Thomas to be a Bronco come next off-season.

The middle linebacker position is a minor cause of concern because we really don't seem to have a largely talented pool there, but I think we're sufficient at least, we could see another body added off waivers to compete, luckily the other two positions are filled with talented defenders.

People will point to defensive tackle, but I don't see it as such a big concern since Fox runs a Tampa-2 'Bend Don't Break' defense. Bunkley has stepped it up, Vickerson will get a spot as will Thomas who should return soon, I would say that it's likely that Warren will have a fifth slot kept open, so expect Unrein and McBean, possibly Pressley to fight for that fourth slot, I also wouldn't be surprised if none of the three got it and Denver also filled the need via the wire.

Defensive end is not really an area for concern, it's just a little packed, same with the safety spots, this is actually the first time that I have some major optimism that we're getting back to the right place regarding the safety positions, Dawkins is probably gone after the season, but McCartny has stepped up big time as has Moore, we still have McBath and Carter, followed by Bruton. Corner will be a slight area of concern after the season because we'll need to start getting some talented youth, but we're capable right now.

[Stargazer]

Von Miller

[Ziggy]

I'm a little concerned about our receiver corps. we have Lloyd returning as the number one, and Decker is really starting to separate himself as a valued target and quite possibly a unique slot, but Royal is struggling as the number two, we could well see Decker take the two spot and someone else at the slot, maybe Royal or Willis. We have way too many bodies at the receiver position, one of which is Thomas and he's still on the active list but has done next to nothing, I expect them to try and put him on the unable to perform/injured reserve list if they can. I think Denver will have five active receivers come the start of the season, this could be where the tight end situation hurts us... We know that Lloyd, Decker and Royal are the top three likely followed by Willis and it's up to Riley, Davis or Anderson to step it up and take the fifth slot, and maybe get them to figure a sixth slot for one of the other two. I don't expect Thomas to be a Bronco come next off-season.




Anderson is a lock to make this team. He's already running 2nd behind Royal as the punt returner. He has great hands and knows how to get open. That's why the Broncos brought him in. Willis may be fighting for a spot on this roster despite being a training camp phenom last year.

[NightTerror218]

Anderson is a lock to make this team. He's already running 2nd behind Royal as the punt returner. He has great hands and knows how to get open. That's why the Broncos brought him in. Willis may be fighting for a spot on this roster despite being a training camp phenom last year.

Willis will make it, he has been great.

[HORSEPOWER 56]

Robert Ayers.

So far he looks to be a bust and with a better defense he will have run out of excuses. It's this year or die for him.

^^^ This. He's my #1.

[Northman]

To be honest, we have young guys and guys who are proven. For me, its about staying healthy. But a lot of that is on the medical staff that ive had problems with for a while now. But we have no depth so its imperative that the starters stay as healthy as possible.

[Elevation inc]

ayers, mays, Thomas, vickerson, walton

[tomjonesrocks]

Moreno
Franklin
Ayers
Beadles
Vickerson
Demarius Thomas
Moore
All the TEs
Larsen

[ogplife]

Walton and Beadles started, but did they jump of the screen or did they look like rookies?

Decker didn't do much last year, but has looked good in pre-season.

Moreno and Ayers are in their 3rd year, time to show if you are going to stick around or not.

McBath - cut, Bruton - maybe cut, Dick Quinn - getting hurt buys him another chance.

Tebow- can't talk about him, D. Thomas - I would love to see him on the field, maybe next year, Seth Olsen - who cares

Squid and Cox look good, but Cox might be in prison

I really hope we dont cut Mcbath... To me it is Moreno. He was a number one pick and has been a average/slightly above average running back.

I am hearing Ayers, Walton, Beadles a lot. Ayers skills is not getting to the QB. He is a quality starter and his skill is using his strength to disrupt the flow of the offense (not a first round pick skill, but the guy that drafted him is gone). Thats not a skill that will endear itself to fans. I thought he was rounding into a very good 3-4 OLB before the broken foot. Walton was third round pick. You can find good centers in the third round, but it is no guarantee. Pouncey wasn't taken in the third round right? Beadles has a lot to prove, but I don't have any expectations. He and Quinn were equally bad picks. One second rounder is a "blocking tight end" (hasn't even done that well) and another is a 6th offensive lineman.

[dogfish]

the guys not named champ or elvis. . .