After a long battle in camp, the Denver Broncos finally made their choice on their starting quarterback. Recently announced, Teddy Bridgewater will be taking the reigns from Drew Lock. From the looks of it, this has the fantasy football community divided. Some say this is great news for the offense, while others preferred gunslinger Drew Lock for fantasy purposes. With Bridgewater getting the nod, let’s look at how this impacts the Broncos’ offense.
The Situation
Bridgewater finds himself on his fourth team in seven years. A journeyman at only 28 years, there are certainly question marks surrounding the former first-round pick. Is he a solid quarterback? Or is he more of a game manager?
There is no lack of talent surrounding Bridgewater on this Broncos offense. Dual-threat running back Melvin Gordon had a good year last season, finishing as RB14 in fantasy football PPR leagues. He was able to put up 986 rushing yards and nine touchdowns while adding 32 receptions for 158 yards and one touchdown.
In addition to Gordon, the Broncos drafted the highly touted prospect, Javonte Williams, who figures to make some noise early in the season. He has been getting high praise throughout camp and the preseason. Having a solid rushing attack should help alleviate some of the pressure on Bridgewater, however, the pass-catchers on the Broncos is where this team can excel.
Coming back from an ACL injury and looking strong, fourth-year wide receiver Courtland Sutton aims to pick up where he left off in 2019. Recording 72 catches for 1,112 yards and six touchdowns, Sutton has proved he can be a star in this league.
Second-year wideout and popular breakout candidate, Jerry Jeudy adds tremendous talent to his Broncos wide receiver corp. Putting up over 850 receiving yards in his rookie year and dubbed one of the best route runners in the league, Jeudy will make Bridgewater’s job a bit easier.
In addition to these talented receivers, the Broncos have one of the most athletic tight ends in Noah Fant. A former first-round pick in 2019, Fant has elite speed, ranking in the 98th percentile. With PlayerProfiler comparing him to star tight end George Kittle, anything can happen when Fant has the ball in his hands.
The Numbers
We know the supporting cast is in place for Bridgewater to succeed, but what do the numbers say? In his six seasons in the NFL, Bridgewater has never thrown for more than 15 touchdowns. This happened last season and ranked him 24th in that regard. This was behind guys like Mitch Trubisky, Gardner Minshew, and Drew Lock.
In addition, he was outside the top-15 last season in both pass attempts (492) and passing yards (3,733). These are very pedestrian numbers for a fantasy football quarterback. However, he does provide some additional production in the run game. Last season, Bridgewater rushed 53 times for 279 yards and five touchdowns. These additional fantasy points helped his total numbers, yet he still ended up finishing the season as the QB19. Not great.
Last season was by far Bridgewater’s best of his career. In what were very average-looking numbers, he still managed to support three top-27 wide receivers and a top-18 running back, given the pass-catching floor.
Conclusion
While I do think Bridgewater is a good quarterback, the numbers tell me to temper my expectations for the pass-catchers on this team. I believe the Broncos want to get back to their strong defense, rushing attack game plan. They want a quarterback under center who may not provide the biggest upside, but won’t turn the ball over and won’t lose them games.
Unlike counterpart Drew Lock, who will throw the interceptions and will throw the ball downfield, Bridgewater will play more conservatively. This will put a cap on the pass-catcher’s ceiling. However, they will be serviceable and be solid weekly options as a starting tight end or a wide receiver two or flex play.
With the expectation of wanting to run the ball more, we can assume the running backs will have their opportunities. It just may be a bit messy given the unknown splits between the two. I would be okay drafting either Gordon or Williams as my third running back.
Drafting the offensive players around Bridgewater with cautious optimism is the best approach. Expect them to put up top 30 numbers, with the hope that maybe Bridgewater is only getting better as he matures through the NFL.
