Month: August 2017

Making Sense Of The TJ Ward Trade Talk

The other day, we had a lengthy discussion about the Broncos reportedly talking to other teams about trading safety TJ Ward. It led to a couple of people sharing some rather ridiculous claims regarding what such a move means for the season.

Let’s be clear about one thing: The decision to part ways with Ward is not about the team’s thoughts regarding what will happen this season or what they think about their quarterbacks, but what their overall roster needs are at this point and whether or not they believe they can safely slip younger players through waivers and onto the practice squad.

Allow me to follow up on my post the other day regarding the tough decisions the Broncos will have to make when finalizing the 53-man roster, which will lead to the bigger picture as to why TJ Ward might be traded.
Continue reading Making Sense Of The TJ Ward Trade Talk

Fantasy Football

My first Cutline Draft is today and I wanted to share my thoughts going into the final weekend before the season starts. Last week’s fantasy football thread can be found here.

I also wanted to post a link to this website which has a Mock Draft Simulator, which is pretty good practice for the real thing and very quick against a computer ADP. They also have some very handy tools like Target Lists which are broken down by position and week by week. This is a valuable resource for researching and predicting opportunity and volume which are the key drivers for fantasy production.

Continue reading Fantasy Football

Tough Calls For The 53-Man Roster Ahead

As we approach the final preseason game and the roster cutdown to 53, I wanted to examine the roster cutdowns to 53 in a different manner than just projecting the final 53.

Rather, I want to look at each position in terms of who is a lock to make the roster and the more difficult decisions the Broncos will have to make considering injuries and other factors.

The thing to keep in mind with each position is that the Broncos aren’t going to just sign or trade for any veteran at this point just to “win now.” They’ll only consider veterans at this point if there is not only a significant upgrade, but if it’s justifiable to take the player’s contract. If they want an upgrade over a younger player, they’ll look at the waiver wire for players who were caught in other position battles and just couldn’t get past others on the roster.

On the latter part, bear in mind that just about every team goes through this situation. A team that is lacking at one position can have a lot of depth at another, just like the Broncos have. So keep in mind that somebody who just couldn’t make the cut on a team that had lots of talent at one position might result in a player who provides an upgrade for the Broncos.

In some cases, we will probably find that certain players just aren’t going to make the cut for a reason based on what the coaches are looking for. I’ll do my best to explain that at certain positions. Also, I won’t go deeply into practice squad candidates, though a few of the players for whom tough decisions await are eligible and you’ll no doubt see some players who you would want to add there, should they not make the active roster.

With that in mind, let’s consider what the Broncos will look at with each position.
Continue reading Tough Calls For The 53-Man Roster Ahead