Broncos Stock Up, Stock Down: Week 7 vs. Cardinals

The Broncos, and specifically quarterback Bo Nix, needed a game like this. After a week and a half of dealing with the fallout from Ryan Fitzpatrick’s rant, the media piling on, Sean Payton being asked if Nix should be benched, and so on, Nix and the Broncos responded in a big way.

Nix led the offense to 30 points on the road vs. the Cardinals and had multiple big plays, including a 62-yard run where he silenced any and all questions about his ankle. He reached nearly 20 miles per hour on the run and instantly

snapped himself and the Broncos’ offense out of the funk they have been in.

This was a rare two-score win by the Broncos, who didn’t need to have a fourth-quarter comeback or really had any drama in the later stages of the game.

Stock up and stock down is a weekly series where I go through the Denver Broncos’ 53-man roster and tell you which Broncos players’ stock is going up, down, or remains unchanged. After a big win with lots of positivity on Sunday, we are looking at a lot of stocks trending in the right direction, with just a few trending down.

Quarterback

Bo Nix – Stock up: Man, he NEEDED a game like this. Yes, he struggled against the Seahawks, but so did Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, and they lost 20-3. Nix was able to lead two touchdown drives against that talented defense and still had his performance called “disrespectful”.

Anyways, he looked more confident on Sunday and started the game off by throwing the ball down the field and hitting Courtland Sutton for a 20-yard strike. He kept this up throughout the game and had multiple long touchdown plays. The 60+ yard rushing touchdown and the 50+ yard screen pass to RJ Harvery. He led the offense to 30 points and silenced most of the haters for at least one week.

Jarrett Stidham – Unchanged: Remains the Broncos’ veteran backup

Sam Ehlinger – Unchanged: Emergency third-string quarterback

Running Back

Jonah Coleman – Stock WAY up: We are starting off with Jonah Coleman because he was the Broncos’ lead running back on Sunday. He led the team in snaps, carries, and total yards on Sunday, and Sean Payton told reporters after the game that he needs to give him more touches moving forward.

Coleman played 49% of the snaps on Sunday, had 69 total yards, averaged 6.0 yards per carry, and looked like a damn good running back. He displayed elite vision, good short-area burst, ran with power, and was a threat in the passing game. He is a true three-down back and should see his role grow even more moving forward.

RJ Harvey – Stock up: Harvey has been the Broncos’ best and most explosive playmaker this season and had yet another impact play on Sunday. The Broncos called a timely screen play to Harvey, who took it untouched 50+ yards for a touchdown and showcased his elite speed. His role in this offense remains unchanged as the pass-catching threat out of the backfield who has the speed to take it all the way whenever he touches the ball. His production as a ball-carrier is not what you want, but overall, he has been a consistent weapon for the Broncos.

JK Dobbins – Stock down: With Jonah Coleman seeing an elevated role in the offense and Harvey’s role unchanged, Dobbins was the odd man out on Sunday. He played just 14 snaps(23%), and his production was once again not great. He had 6 carries for 23 yards, but did score a touchdown for a third straight game. We will have to see how his role evolves in the coming days/weeks.

Adam Prentice – Stock up: Played 10 offensive snaps and had a blocked punt on Sunday. He does the dirty work as a lead blocker while also playing a key role on special teams.

Wide Receiver

Jaylen Waddle – Unchanged: Waddle had a good game and showed off his big-play potential in this one, but left the game late with a chest injury. Payton called himself out after the game for the dumb play call that led to Waddle’s injury, and as of this writing, do not have an update on the severity of his injury.

Courtland Sutton – Unchanged: Played 70% of the snaps and had 3 catches for 45 yards. If Waddle is sidelined at all moving forward, the veteran will need to step up and be WR1 once again for the Broncos.

Troy Franklin – Stock up: His production and stat line are not great, but with Waddle leaving the game and Bryant on IR, Franklin could see himself as a starter next week in a key game vs. the Chiefs. He had 2 targets for 0 catches on Sunday, which included a drop on a deep ball before halftime.

Marvin Mims Jr. – Stock up: Big play Mims is back! He had a couple of nice kick returns and had 2 catches for 53 yards, including a 47-yard catch that got the Broncos inside the 5-yard line. If Waddle is indeed sidelined, Mims would see an elevated role moving forward,

Lil’Jordan Humphrey – Unchanged: He played 25% of the snaps and has his role in this offense.

Tight End

Evan Engram – Stock down: Ever since Sean Payton took over play-calling, Engram’s role has taken a hit. He went from leading the tight ends in snaps to being tied with Nate Adkins for the second-most snaps. He also had just 2 targets for 1 catch for 2 yards.

Adam Trautman – Unchanged: Played 61% of the snaps and will continue to see these snaps with Sean Payton running this team and offense.

Nate Adkins – Stock up: Another Payton favorite saw 39% of the snaps, tied with Engram, and is a key run blocker for the Broncos. He has been the Broncos’ most productive pass-catching tight end this season, even though it is a very limited stat line.

Dallen Bentley – Unchanged: Continued to be inactive.

Offensive Line

Garett Bolles – Stock up: Remains one of the better left tackles in all of football and continues to be the blindside blocker for Bo Nix.

Ben Powers – Stock down: Powers has had an up-and-down season for the Broncos, and that continued on Sunday. We’ll see if the Broncos make any additions to their offensive line moving forward.

Luke Wattenberg – Unchanged: I did not notice Wattenberg stand out, good or bad, in this one (again, not an offensive line expert).

Quinn Meinerz – Stock up: Stud.

Mike McGlinchey – Unchanged: I believe he played solid on Sunday, but again, not an offensive line expert.

Alex Palczewski – Stock up: Played 23% of the snaps on Sunday, all as an extra blocker, and could see that role continuing moving forward.

Matt Peart – Unchanged: Played on special teams.

Alex Forsyth – Unchanged: Played on special teams.

Kage Casey – Unchanged: Continued to be inactive.

Defensive Line

Zach Allen – Stock up: Allen was his dominant self once again on Sunday. He is arguably the Broncos’ best player and continues to be a disruptive presence in the middle of their defense.

DJ Jones – Unchanged: I did not notice Jones as much in this game, but their run defense was solid for the most part.

Malcolm Roach – Stock up: Every game, he’s out there making at least one or two impact plays a game. On Sunday, he had a sack and yet another pass deflection. He’s one of the more underrated players on this Broncos defense.

Eyioma Uwazurike – Stock up: The big man made multiple stops in the run game and led all Broncos DL in snaps on Sunday with 51 (63%).

Sai’vion Jones – Stock up: Jones had a big hit on Sam Darnold last week and, this week, had a sack and a TFL vs. the Cardinals. He has quietly been playing well in a reserve role and appears to be coming into his own in year two. He played 28 snaps (35%) on Sunday.

Jordan Jackson – Unchanged: Was inactive.

Tyler Onyedim – Unchanged: Continued to be inactive.

Edge Rushers

Nik Bonitto – Stock up: Bonitto was a pass-rushing menace on Sunday, and it’s a shame he did not come away with a sack. Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett was annoyingly good at getting rid of the ball, but Bonitto had a career-high 13 pressures on Sunday.

Jonathon Cooper – Stock up: He’s back! In his first game back, Coop played 56% of the snaps and looked like his usual self out there. We should see his snaps and role grow as we move forward.

Que Robinson – Stock up: He’s a stud. Played 41 snaps (51%) and continued to make plays as a pass rusher.

Dondrea Tillman – Unchanged: Played 29 snaps (36%) and fills his role as a reserve edge rusher nicely.

Linebacker

Alex Singleton – Stock up: Man, Singleton has been playing damn good football as of late. He had 19 total tackles, 2 QB hits, 1 sack, and 1 TFL vs. the Cardinals. He has not been missing tackles and sure, he may have some struggles in coverage, but all in all, we’re getting the best out of Singleton recently.

Justin Strnad – Unchanged: Strnad has been very consistent and solid for the Broncos. He excels in coverage and rarely makes bad plays out there.

Jordan Turner – Unchanged: Played 68% of the special teams snaps.

Karene Reid – Unchanged: Played 65% of the special teams snaps.

Cornerback

Pat Surtain II – Stock up: I am going with stock up because the Broncos All-Pro corner is nearing his return and should be back for Sunday’s game vs. the Chiefs.

Riley Moss – Unchanged: Played 100% of the snaps on Sunday, but continues to be the target of the refs, who once again flagged him for DPI when there wasn’t DPI. This bad call gifted the Cardinals 3 points.

Ja’Quan McMillian – Unchanged: McMillian could have had a HUGE game if he could have hauled in the interceptions he dropped. He had a chance at three interceptions on Sunday, all of which seemed fairly easy for him, but he dropped them. J-Mac gets the benefit of the doubt since he typically hauls these in, but he could of had a big game and potentially at least one pick-six.

Jahdae Barron – Unchanged: The Broncos’ former first-round pick was victimized by Trey McBride throughout this game. That’s a tough matchup for anyone, but McBride got the better of Barron, who has been playing solid football. His role is expected to decrease with Surtain II returning.

Kris Abrams-Draine – Stock up: Despite being the 4th corner on Sunday, KAD played 58% of the snaps and made a key stop on 4th down. The Cardinals attempted a trick play, but KAD was not fooled and made the stop, which forced a turnover on downs.

Safety

Talanoa Hufanga – Stock up: Like Surtain II, the Broncos All-Pro safety should be making his return this Sunday vs. the Chiefs.

Brandon Jones – Stock down: Jones has been solid for the Broncos, but he had a tough one vs. the Cardinals. Multiple missed tackles and was flagged for lowering his helmet (iffy call). I am sure he will bounce back vs. the Chiefs on Sunday.

Taylor Rapp – Unchanged: Rapp played 62% of the snaps vs. the Cardinals, but will likely see his playing time go away with Hufanga returning. Rapp is currently on the Broncos practice squad.

Devon Key – Stock up: Key played 38% of the defensive snaps and continued to make plays on special teams.

Tycen Anderson – Unchanged: Continues to be a special teams standout.

JL Skinner – Stock up: Each week he makes a play or two on special teams.