The Denver Broncos finished 4-12 last year, which led them to replace their head coach with 56-year old John Fox.  Fox had his issues last year in Carolina as he was fired after finishing 2-14.  Fox has a 73-71 (50.7%) record during the regular season in his first 9 years as a head coach in the NFL.  He is also 5-3 (62.5%) in the post-season.  Fox turned the Panthers around quickly when he took over there and the Broncos are hoping for more of the same.  He will likely stress running the ball and playing good defense in 2011.

With John Fox calling the shots as the new head coach for the Broncos, you can bet that they will be running the ball a lot more in 2011.  24-year old Knowshon Moreno will likely be the Broncos’ top RB at the start of the 2011 season, but he will have to hold off Willis McGahee to keep the job.  Moreno played in 13 games (all starts) for the Broncos last year and he carried the ball 182 times for 779 yards (4.3 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He also caught 37 passes for 372 yards (10.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs last year.  Moreno has the talent to be a good NFL RB and it will be up to Coach Fox to get the best out of him starting in 2011.  Moreno has now played in 29 games (22 starts) in his first two years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 429 times for 1,726 yards (4.0 ypc) with 12 TD carries.  Moreno has also caught 65 passes for 585 yards (9.0 avg) with 5 TD grabs so far in his NFL career.

29-year old Willis McGahee will battle Moreno for carries in 2011.  McGahee played in 15 games (2 starts) for the Ravens last year and he carried the ball 100 times for 380 yards (3.8 ypc) with 5 TD carries.  He also caught 14 passes for 55 yards (3.9 ypc) with 1 TD run last year.  McGahee will likely lead the Broncos in TD runs even if he doesn’t lead the team in rushing yards in 2011.  McGahee has now played in 105 games (66 starts) in his first 7 years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 1,541 times for 6,167 yards (4.0 ypc) with 55 TD runs.  He has also caught 164 passes for 1,047 yards (6.4 avg) with 4 TD grabs in his NFL career.

26-year old Lance Ball will be the Broncos’ likely #3 RB in 2011.  He played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Broncos last year and he carried the ball 41 times for 158 yards (3.9 ypc).  Ball also caught 3 passes for 16 yards (5.3 avg) for the Broncos last year.  Ball won’t move up the depth chart or get much P.T. in 2011 unless Moreno or McGahee get injured.  Ball has played in 11 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 52 times for 241 yards (4.5 ypc).  He has also caught 4 passes for 21 yards (5.3 avg) so far in his career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BRONCOS RBS IN 2011:  C+

The Broncos tried to deal 28-year old Kyle Orton to make room for Tim Tebow as the starting QB for them, but they didn’t find the kind of deal they wanted for him.  With that in mind the Broncos did the right thing in keeping Orton instead of selling low on him.  Orton gives the Broncos the best chance to win right now, so he should be the starting QB if he’s on the roster on September 12th against the Raiders.  Orton played in 13 games (all starts) for the Broncos last year and he completed 293 of 498 passes (58.8%) for 3,653 yards with 20 TD passes and 9 INTs (87.5 QB Rating).  Orton also carried the ball 22 times for 98 yards (4.5 ypc) last year for the Broncos.  Orton has now played in 62 games (61 starts) in his first six years in the NFL and he has completed 1,134 of 1,952 passes (58.1%) for 12,774 yards with 71 TD passes and 48 INTs (79.6 QB Rating).  Orton also carried the ball 99 times for 261 yards (2.6 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  Orton has a 32-29 (52.5%) record as a starting QB so far in his NFL career. 

23-year old Tim Tebow is starting to pout a little bit about not being the starting QB.  He needs to be quiet and bide his time because he’s not a better QB than Kyle Orton is right now.  Tebow played in 9 games (3 starts) for the Broncos last year and he completed 41 of 82 passes (50%) for 654 yards with 5 TD passes and 3 INTs (82.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 43 times for 227 yards (5.3 ypc) with 6 TD runs last year.  Tebow was 1-2 (33.3%) as the Broncos’ starting QB last year.  Tebow is the Broncos’ QB of the future but that might not come in 2011.

26-year old Brady Quinn is going to be back to hold a clipboard in 2011.  Quinn didn’t get into any games for the Broncos last year.  He has played in 14 games (12 starts) in his first four years in the NFL and he completed 184 of 353 passes (52.1%) for 1,902 yards with 10 TD passes and 9 INTs (66.8 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 25 times for 119 yards (4.8 ypc) with 1 TD run so far in his NFL career.  Quinn is 3-9 (25%) as a starting QB so far in his NFL career.

If Kyle Orton is dealt before the season starts, 24-year old undrafted rookie QB Adam Weber will likely make the team as the Broncos’ #3 QB.  Other than that, his best chance to stick with the Broncos will be on the practice squad.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BRONCOS QBS IN 2011:  B-

24-year old WR Eddie Royal is a very solid kickoff returner for the Broncos.  Royal played in 14 games for the Broncos last season and he returned 26 kickoffs for 621 yards (23.9 avg) with 1 TD return.  He has now played in 29 games in his career with the Broncos and he has returned 49 kickoffs for 1,221 yards (24.9 avg) with 1 TD return.  Royal is fast and he has a ton of good moves in the open field as he is a threat to score any time he gets the ball kicked to him.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BRONCOS KICKOFF RETURNERS in 2010:  B+

The Broncos will have training camp battles to determine who starts at LG and C.  LT Ryan Clady hurt himself playing basketball in the off-season tearing a patellar tendon that required surgery.  He looks on track to be ready for opening day and the Broncos are happy about that because he is a solid blind side protector for Kyle Orton.  LG will be a battle between rookie 2nd round pick Zane Beadles out of Utah and veteran Ross Hochenstein.  Beadles appears to have a slight edge heading into training camp.  Seth Olsen will battle rookie 3rd round pick J.D. Walton out of Baylor for the starting center job with Olsen holding an edge right now.  RG Chris Kuper is a very solid run blocker who is a decent pass blocker.  RT Ryan Harris is a very good pass blocker and he’s solid in the running game too.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BRONCOS O-LINE in 2010:  C+

Everyone was hailing 34-year old head coach Josh McDaniels as a new coaching superstar as the Broncos were 6-0 before their bye week.  But the season crumbled after the week off as the Broncos limped to a 2-8 finish to end the year at 8-8.  McDaniels has run talented players like Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler out of town so the pressure is one him to win now.  His my way or the highway mentality might not be inspiring the players as much as most people think.  It will be interesting to see if McDaniels can get his Broncos back on the right path because his job will depend on it.

25-year old kicker Matt Prater had a outstanding season for the Broncos and they hope it’s a sign of things to come.  Prater played in all 16 games for the Broncos last season and he connected on 30 of 35 field goals (85.7%).  He also made all 32 of his extra points to finish with 122 points last year.  Prater has now played in 36 games in his NFL career and he has made 56 of 73 field goals (76.7%) and 72 of 73 extra points good for 240 points. 

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BRONCOS KICKERS in 2010:  A

1st round pick Demaryius Thomas and 3rd round pick Eric Decker could be the top 2 receivers for the Broncos in 2010 and that’s not really a bad thing when you look at the rest of the WR corps.  Head Coach Josh McDaniels got his way once again with the trade of Brandon Marshall to the Dolphins but make no mistake, they are going to miss him big time.  Thomas has a awesome skill set as he’s big and fast but he played at Georgia Tech which wasn’t a passing team.  Eric Decker has outstanding hands and he’s a big guy too.  He fits as more of a possession type.

29-year old Jabar Gaffney is a McDaniels’ favorite as they were together in New England.  That means he will get a lot of work in 2010.  Gaffney played in 16 games (7 starts) for the Broncos last season and he caught 54 passes for 732 yards (13.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He has now played in 123 games (77 starts) in his 8 years in the NFL and he has caught 310 passes for 3,800 yards (12.3 avg) with 17 TD grabs.  Gaffney would be best used as the #3 or #4 receiver in 2010.

34-year old Brandon Stokley appears to be nearing the end of his NFL career.  He played in 16 games (2 starts) for the Broncos last season and he caught 19 passes for 327 yards (17.2 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Stokley has now played in 118 games (35 starts) in his 11 years in the NFL and he has caught 307 passes for 4,319 yards (14.1 avg) with 34 TD grabs.  Stokley will likely be the #4 or #5 WR in 2010 if he makes the team.

24-year old Eddie Royal got into the Broncos’ Dog House last season but he still has the potential to be the best WR on the roster.  Royal played in 14 games (12 starts) for the Broncos last season and he caught 37 passes for 345 yards (9.3 avg) without a TD.  Royal has now played in 29 games (27 starts) in his two years with the Broncos and he has caught 128 passes for 1,325 yards (10.4 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 12 times for 110 yards (9.2 ypc) for the Broncos.  Royal has a nice upside and the Broncos would be stupid not to use him more in the passing game this season.

29-year old Brandon Lloyd better come to play this summer in training camp if he wants to make the Broncos in 2010.  Lloyd played in 2 games (1 start) for the Broncos last season and he caught 8 passes for 117 yards (14.6 avg).  Lloyd has now played in 81 games (48 starts) in his 7 years in the NFL and he has caught 164 passes for 2,370 yards (14.5 avg) with 15 TD grabs. 

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BRONCOS WRs in 2010:  C-

With Brandon Marshall off to Miami and the Broncos not loaded at WR they might just use the TE a tad more in the passing game in 2010.  31-year old Daniel Graham sure hopes so as he’s the starting TE.  Graham played in 16 games (14 starts) for the Broncos last season and he caught 28 passes for 269 yards (10.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has now played in 110 games (94 starts) in his eight years and he has caught 204 passes for 2,317 yards (11.4 avg) with 24 TD grabs. 

23-year old Richard Quinn hopes he gets a couple of passes thrown his way in his second year with the Broncos.  Quinn played in 15 games (0 starts) for the Broncos last season but he didn’t catch any passes.  Quinn did return 1 kickoff for 19 yards last season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BRONCOS TEs in 2010:  C-

26-year old Spencer Larsen will be the starting fullback when the Broncos use one.  He played in 9 games (1 start) for the Broncos last season and he only touched the ball 1 time…..a kickoff return for 13 yards.  Larsen has now played in 23 games (4 starts) in his two years in the NFL and that kickoff last season was the only time he has ever touched the ball in a regular season game.  Don’t expect Larsen to be getting his hands on the ball this season either.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BRONCOS FBs in 2010:  D