These Four Things Could Fix Denver’s Sluggish Offense

The Denver Broncos are struggling, and the fan base and media are panicking. This was supposed to be a team that could contend for the Super Bowl, and instead they’re in third place in the AFC West at 2-2. 

The problems is with the offense, mostly, and everyone has answers. Columnist Sean Keeler of the Denver Post came up with his, which divide the fixes into four different steps and parts. 

Speed up quarterback Bo Nix

The Broncos talked about this a lot in the offseason, but it hasn’t translated to performance so far. Nix looks tentative and hesitant, and as Keeler noted, it often looks like he’s playing in slow motion.

Nix also isn’t seeing receivers who are getting open, especially in the middle. His accuracy on throws over the middle has been close to non-existent, and this is the worst his timing has looked since he came into the league as a rookie. 

Nix is at his best when he’s moving and attacking, and Keeler noted that his passer rating when he’s operating out of the no huddle. The Broncos haven’t tried this so far, and at this point there’s nothing to be lost given how badly they’re playing right now. 

Replace J.K. Dobbins with RJ Harvey on first down

Yeah, this one comes with a “wow.” Teams are looking for that handoff to Dobbins on first down, and he’s got a lot of folks waiting for him at the line of scrimmage. Sometimes they’re not waiting, either, which is even worse. 

But what if Denver flipped the script? Using Harvey on first down would change the mix, and this is another one of those suggestions that makes sense simply because the Broncos have no answers right now. 

Throw to the middle of the field

This is something else the Broncos have talked about a lot, but they actually haven’t done it. But coach Sean Payton noted that there were throws available underneath the two-safety looks the Broncos are seeing, and they need to take them. Sometimes the simplest solution is the one that’s the most obvious, which is to take what opponents are giving the Broncos. 

Eliminate the drops

This is something else the Broncos have talked about doing, and it’s a problem that’s affecting Waddle, too. Keeler mentioned Waddle giving fans what he called “Jerry Jeudy vibes with his shaky hands, which isn’t good for a receiver who was expected to make big plays and help Denver take the next step to a Super Bowl season.