Broncos highs at the 2018 bye week

With the Denver Broncos on a bye in week 10 and no real desire to rewatch games from this season, we asked some of our contributors to assess the Broncos’ 3-6 record, what they’re hoping to see in the final seven weeks of 2018, and what 2019 and beyond should bring.

This is part one of our roundtable featuring Broncos Europe TV’s Michael McQuaid and Colum Cronin, and columnist Kade Rucker.

Highlight of the 2018 season so far

Colum: Phillip Lindsay’s performances. The one truly explosive player on the roster. Watching games this year has been a chore; offensively laborious and defensively porous.

There has been precious little to get excited about, but when Lindsay gets the ball in his hands Mile High comes alive. At times he’s single-handedly carried a faltering offense.

He deserves better than Bill Musgrave’s poor play calling.

Michael: There really hasn’t been a highlight of the season for the Broncos in the large scale. However, Bradley Chubb’s performances through the first few weeks of the season are a highlight. He is currently on course for the defensive rookie of the year with eight sacks, and is progressing well. 

Chubb is one huge positive and a player that Elway can include in his long-term plan (if he has one).

Kade: By far, it’s this year’s rookie class. It’s hard to remember a time when so many rookies made an immediate impact.

They haven’t covered up all of the holes in this team but they’ve given Broncos Country hope that a turnaround can happen soon.

Running backs Royce Freeman and Phillip Lindsay can anchor the backfield for years together. Wide receivers Courtland Sutton and DaeSean Hamilton have the ability to take some of the attention away from Emmanuel Sanders.

Bradley Chubb and Josey Jewell have been bright spots on an otherwise disappointing defense.

If the Broncos have another draft like this, they’ll have a solid foundation to build on.

Most impressive Broncos rookie?

Michael: Phillip Lindsay has been a breath of fresh air for this franchise in such a poor, disappointing season.

Undrafted, the Colorado native has played his heart out and is surely a nominee for offensive rookie of the year this season.

As of the bye week, he has over 590 yards rushing for three scores and one hopes that this improves going forward.

The Broncos have a tough few games coming up, namely the Chargers and Steelers and more than likely they will not prevail.

Perhaps a positive performance from Lindsay will help ease the pain of what has been a disaster of the season on most fronts. 

Kade: Phillip Lindsay continues to be the darling of the rookie class. If you don’t know about him yet, it’s a good time to start paying attention.

Colum: Chubb. After a blaze of publicity following the draft, Chubb flew under the radar for the first few games before emerging as a monstrous wrecking ball; winning defensive rookie of the month for October.

He could have the rookie sack record before the end of the season and has fully justified his top five draft pick status.

Part two of our roundtable, looking back at the lows of the 2018 season so far, will be online on Tuesday evening