Once again the poll results for our SBNation Reacts questions were highly agreed upon.
Weakest link among the offensive units was easily tight ends, and obvioulsy linebackers for the defense.
Neither result was a surprise, as both were my choices in the polls too (so obviously, we are correct!)
But I was a little shocked at the percentage of fans choosing tight end over running back on the offense. Not because it isn’t the clear choice, but because I believe the Broncos’ running backs need to be better
more than the tight ends do. I’m sure Sean Payton would love to utilize the tight end group more — and he seemingly forgets about his running backs at times — but the rushing attack will be the best friend to Bo Nix down the stretch, and it just hasn’t been consistent enough.
With a healthy J.K. Dobbins back, more development and growth from RJ Harvey, and the promising addition of Jonah Coleman, I can see where Broncos fans would be less worried about the running back room, given the high potential.
On the defensive side of the ball, it’s really no contest. Although the loss of John Franklin Myers leaves some questions for the defensive line, inside linebackers has always been our Achilles heel.
The reason I asked the two semi-obvious questions was to compare to the answers at Arrowhead Pride who asked the same questions about their team from Chiefs fans.
A couple things stand out that I think would be interesting for discussion.
First, the fact that Chiefs Kingdom has less of a majority in deciding its weakest links is pretty fun, if not telling. Obviously it’s just fan opinions, but it definitely hints at more chinks in the Chiefs’ armor, as we’ve been witnessing over the recent seasons.
Second, their perceived weaknesses match up nicely with Denver’s strengths. Our defensive backs are tops in the league, and the matchup with their wide receivers has traditionally been a favorable one for the Broncos, even with Patrick Mahomes slinging the ball. Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy and Tyquan Thornton have threatening talent, but they haven’t yet lived up to the hype as none has recorded a 1,000-yard season.
And when it comes to the Chiefs’ defense, a weaker group of defensive ends and/or linebackers is good for Nix and the Broncos’ play-action/run game.
Either way, it should be fun to test out this theory come Monday Night Football in Week 1.
