AFC West Free Agency Grades, So Far
By J.R.
Denver Broncos
Dec 29, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Ware (94) celebrates after recovering a fumble with linebacker Trent Cole (58) in the third quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Key Additions: TJ Ward, Aqib Talib, DeMarcus Ware, and Emmanuel Sanders
Key Departures: Eric Decker, Wesley Woodyard, Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie, Shaun Phillips and Knowshon Moreno
Grade: B-
The team that splashed the most this free agency was the Denver Broncos. They went out and signed the big name players and paid them a lot of money to come to the Mile High City. However with all these big name guys coming in, they had a lot of talent leave their team as well.
Guys like Eric Decker and DRC were simply replaced by Emmanuel Sanders and Aqib Talib respectively. A lot of people, myself included don’t think that those particular moves are upgrades. The loss that I think will hurt them the most is Wesley Woodyard, the second leading tackler on their team last season. Woodyard was also one of the leaders of their defense and they have yet to find a replacement, they could be targeting a MLB in the draft.
The best move Denver has made is the addition of TJ Ward. Last year the Broncos secondary was nothing to brag about and the addition of a top 5 safeties will only help this unit. The addition of DeMarcus Ware is another move that will help bolster their defense. He comes in looking like in upgrade over Shaun Phillips, but when you take a closer look at the numbers Phillips had 10 sacks last season to Ware’s 6. With that considered the move doesn’t make as much sense, when they could have resigned Phillips much cheaper and gotten better production.
All in all the Denver Broncos have made moves that have improved their team slightly from last season. The Broncos being big spenders is most likely due to them trying to go all in for Peyton Manning’s last few seasons. This type of big spending rarely works in the NFL, but you can never bet against a Peyton Manning led team.