The Denver Broncos - Offseason Checklist

Written by John Edward Betancourt

It's been a wild year for the Denver Broncos. A team that was expected to make it to the Super Bowl ended up losing big time at home against the Indianapolis Colts and it didn't end there. Coach John Fox parted ways with the team, opening the door for Gary Kubiak to take his place.  

Now that a new Head Coach is in place, the Broncos are ready to enter the 2015 Offseason and put together another Super Bowl contending team, but there is a lot of work to be done to make that happen. On the plus side, barring a failed physical, Peyton Manning is returning to the Denver Broncos with a new contract that gives the team a little more spending room under the cap. But outside of that, there are still plenty of roster issues to address and here are some of the spots the team will be looking at in the coming weeks. 

1. Offensive Line - In order to keep Manning healthy, the team's biggest need is to get Manning a quality offensive line. Last year's line was purely patchwork in nature, and the results were disastrous. I think we can expect to see Manny Ramirez and Chris Clark released as they rebuild this part of the team with a better Center, Left Guard and Right Tackle. The good news is the draft is deep on offensive linemen, as is free agency this year. 

2. Wide Receiver - Thankfully Demariyus Thomas will back in 2015, just not with a long term deal in hand. The team will continue to work on that, and add some depth as well. After all, it's a forgone conclusion that Wes Welker won't return to the team and I get the feeling Andre Caldwell will be released to provide a little more cap relief for the franchise. The Broncos will definitely need to add a little depth here for just in case.  

3. Tight End - This is a position that is certainly a red flag for the team, since Julius Thomas and Virgil Green and well...just about every other TE on the roster are no longer under contract. Obviously the team will try and re-sign one if not both of their two top tight ends, but it wouldn't hurt to look to the draft or free agency to make sure we have someone on the roster who is a solid blocker in the run game and can make plays with their hands.  

4. Defensive Tackle - Terrance "Pot Roast" Knighton's fate with the team is unclear at this point since he is also heading into free agency without a contract from the Denver Broncos and well...he would certainly be the cog in Wade Philips' 3-4 defensive wheel. But, in the event the team cannot lock him up, this quickly becomes a position of need both depth wise and talent wise. Sylvester Williams may be able to handle the job, but someone solid still needs to relive him from time to time and Mitch Unrein and Marvin Austin are simply not the answer.

---