McShay: Latimer can provide immediate impact

Douglas Lee May 11, 2014 9:45 AM

Identifying the best selections made by each of the 32 NFL teams
insider.espn.go.com

He uses his size to his advantage, winning with physicality and body control and by attacking the football with his hands. He didn’t drop a pass in the five games I studied of him. While he isn’t a burner, I think he can absolutely get enough separation at the pro level. Latimer can have an impact right away, and provides good depth to a unit that will see both Demaryius Thomas and Wes Welker become free agents next offseason.

Latimer is probably here to replace Eric Decker. But don't dismiss the possibility that he takes over for Demaryius Thomas, who is about to become extremely (and deservedly) expensive.

Doug is IAOFM’s resident newsman and spelling czar. Follow him on Twitter @IAOFM

I get that there are people who do that, but I think it's silly to assume that's the default behavior and Elway has shown no signs of operating in that way.

Posted by DragonPie on 2014-05-13 00:14:37

On its face, it isn't without merit. Lots of guys do that sort of thing. We saw it with Shanahan, and we saw it with McD. Particularly with McD.

But John Elway isn't just a hired hand. He IS the Broncos. That he would do something intentionally short-sighted because of pride is pretty unlike the man himself, IMO.

Posted by SammyDEEEEEE on 2014-05-12 12:43:10

I think Cody is much more of an answer for Decker than DT, but that could just be because Decker is already gone. He's basically the same player as ED, with better hands and more strength.

The difference between Moreno (a nice but unspecial player) and DT (a special player) is massive.

Posted by SammyDEEEEEE on 2014-05-12 12:23:15

I remember when the Broncos signed Drayton Florence to a free agent contract and then cut him a few months later in camp to keep Tony Carter, a former UDFA that was signed by the previous regime in Denver.

That's how John Elway runs this team.

Posted by Yahmule on 2014-05-11 19:51:25

I think the Latimer pick speaks FAR more to the long-term presence of Welker and Sanders than it does to DT.

DT is a legitimate threat; I would be SHOCKED if he weren't resigned.

Welker's contract is up after this year, and if he loses any more games to concussions, I'd like to see him hang them up. Sanders is more likely to stick around, but if Welker is gone, then we'll need another WR to step up. Latimer seems like that guy.

Posted by DiscoStu on 2014-05-11 19:37:35

I hate looking ahead and talking about who's going to be gone after this year, so I'll just say I'm very confident they'll re-sign both DT and JT.

Posted by billyricky on 2014-05-11 19:04:37

Ryan Clady's not an Elway guy either, yet Elway gave him a best-tackle-in-the-league-type contract. Nor is David Bruton, who Elway re-signed last year. Nor was Champ Bailey, who Elway re-signed to a massive contract as his first move as GM. Nor was Dumervil, who Elway tried to sign for $8 million a year.

It's funny how small-minded people project their own characteristics onto Elway - the Tebow people thought Elway had such an big ego that he was jealous of Tebow, and now you accuse Elway of being so power-crazed that he's not making decisions in the best interest of the Broncos.

Maybe that's what you would do - feed your own ego and paranoia at the expense of doing a good job - but that's you. You're not John Elway.

Posted by billyricky on 2014-05-11 18:55:31

In all honesty, Drew, when you criticize things like drafting Osweiler instead of Lavonte David, I can see it as a rational alternative opinion.

Nonsense like this is what I expect from a Tebow fan or Lonestar.

Knowshon had a nice season, but he wore down badly. After his huge game against that depleted New England defense, he was basically running in sand the rest of the season. He's a plugger with a well rounded game and absolutely no ability to run away from anybody. I wonder how he's going to look this season when most of his carries aren't of audibles into the weak side of a seven man front.

The Broncos obviously believe Hillman, Anderson, the kids we signed yesterday and the vet we're going to sign in July can replace Moreno's contributions for about what it would cost to pay him alone.

You know how we're going to be able to afford to keep our stars? By not getting sentimental and overpaying limited role players.

But let's say you're right and John's fragile male ego is worth more to him than winning. I tend to think Peyton Manning would have piped up and said something if he truly thought Knowshon was irreplaceable by what we have on the roster right now.

Posted by Yahmule on 2014-05-11 17:33:57

Come on, y'all (which is to say I'm responding to everybody that got offended by my latest Elway-is-a-mortal-comment). That's not even ripping Elway. That's just accusing him of being human. Every other GM in history has been accused, rightly so, of favoring his guy over the previous guy's guys. Its called stuff like putting a stamp on a team, or developing your own vision, or yada yada yada. A lot of people around here defended McD to the last for doing the exact same thing, and it certainly wasn't framed as an insult in that situation.

Not only is Moreno just about the perfect back for this offense, he's also a guy that rose to the bell and exhibited every characteristic Dove Valley says is important in a player. Those are two pretty big factors that usually motivate a team to keep a guy in place. But Moreno in Denver means that Ball gets less touches and Hillman fades away. I don't think thats a reach.

Cody Latimer sure looks more like an answer for DT than Welker. Again, not a huge reach.

Clady is a bad example. Not even McD dumped his stars without anybody else in the pipeline. There is a line between molding a team and being an idiot. I didn't say Elway was an idiot.

Posted by drewthorn on 2014-05-11 16:34:57

I don't mind them letting guys like Moreno walk if it allows us to be able to help afford cornerstones like DT and Von Miller.

And, no, I don't think that Elway care who brought a prospect to our team. Frankly, that's ridiculous and I can't even imagine what sort of evidence has led you to the conclusion that Elway operates in that manner. Seriously?

Posted by DragonPie on 2014-05-11 14:56:07

Harvin is the last to sign and it was based off of Wallace's contract the year before.

Both of which were signed before the cap ceiling was raised a BUNCH this year. So expect agents and players to be looking for more than they made by a heck of a lot more money. Neither of them are top five guys on the field. DT is and should improve this year because of an additional year with Manning as well as sanders and #4 will still be trying to figure out PMs winks and nods.

Remember that on each given play called at the LOS, each could have four changes depending on coverage they see before the snap and those can change agains after the snap if the DBs do something different than what they saw pre snap.

So DT, WW and JT should be getting at least half of Deckers catches from last year with the newbies still trying to get the other half IF they run the right routes.

Posted by Lonestar47 on 2014-05-11 14:24:27

It creates cap space but not Cash flow. That is what the signing bonuses come from the up front money that winds up being prorated over the life of the contract.

So cap money will be there but bonus money may not be.

We all saw this year that signings stopped even though cap money was still there.

Posted by Lonestar47 on 2014-05-11 14:16:20

You do realize that Pat has an imposed budget on cash bonuses once that is gone UFA signings or resigns from our team is done. Even though cap money is still there.

So odds are one of them is gone. As they will not be able to keep everyone much like this year. (although not sure they liked them so much).

Time will tell.

Posted by Lonestar47 on 2014-05-11 14:13:10

Certainly not, I didn't take it that way. More of a general comment on my part to some of the posts below.

Posted by Hank Mardukis on 2014-05-11 12:42:17

underdog Hank Mardukis I hope my having written "don't dismiss the possibility" doesn't qualify as a projection or conclusion. Certainly wasn't intended that way.

Posted by Douglas Lee on 2014-05-11 12:33:58

Not hard at all. Moreno is not the guy to get you yards on the ground when you have to have them, and the other team knows the run is coming. Hopefully Ball is that guy.

Too bad that Elway sent Clady packing because he is not an Elway guy. Oh wait, nevermind...

Posted by Banjo on 2014-05-11 12:17:28

Everyone needs to take a deep breath. I don't see how the Broncos drafting Latimer automatically means DT is going to walk. That's some serious jumping to conclusions.

Posted by Hank Mardukis on 2014-05-11 12:15:29

Moreno played well at the end of his contract. He this close >> << to being a first round draft bust. I saw enough on the field (showboating during the Raider beatdown a few years ago) to make me think he was problem in the locker room, too. Too bad he didn't get it together sooner, but I'm not upset to see him go. Hillman has been disappointing. Wouldn't be surprised to see him cut after training camp, but I didn't see enough out of Moreno to make me think we needed to keep him.

Posted by aleowr on 2014-05-11 12:03:13

I'm not convinced the Broncos are going to let DT get away. I like the Latimer pick (and of course he's a long way from proving he'll be ready to be a #1 receiver in the NFL next season; I'll be happy if he's a good #4 this season) but I think the Broncos can figure out a way to pay for DT. Are they going to go into 2015 with Sanders and Latimer and that's about it? (Obviously they could draft other WRs, sign a cheaper FA, etc. But I think they'll have room to make it work.) We could have one more season of Peyton after this, and I'm sure he'd like to still have Thomas around.

Obviously, none of us know how this will play out until the season does anyway. But it seems awful early to project him leaving, too.

Posted by underdog on 2014-05-11 11:51:56

Moreno may not have been a "squeaky clean football decision," but to suggest he's anywhere near as valuable to this team as is DT is not an apt comparison. WR>RB. Elite WR >>> slightly above average RB.

Also, Clady, Champ Bailey, David Bruton aren't Elway guys, and retaining each of them was made at least something of a priority (at least until Champ's advancing age made him too expensive).

Posted by ncm42 on 2014-05-11 11:49:53

agreed, the key would be that its a one time thing for a super bowl run. If afterwards we are tied to Brock's abilities (at a low cap number) you'd get to see how he performs with a high end crew immediately and make a long term decision.

Posted by frodawg2002 on 2014-05-11 11:49:33

I think Anderson might end up at #2 behind Ball, and who knows, maybe one of Clay, Bibbs, Thompson, or Williams will surprise. And seriously, a Fox/Manning team running a back into the ground? We will see multiple RBs as usual.

Posted by iamafreeman on 2014-05-11 11:44:22

Kicking the can down the road can be a dangerous, slippery slope. But yes, Manning's retirement would create space to accommodate it.

Posted by SterlingMalloryArcher on 2014-05-11 11:35:20

Well if McShay says it....

Posted by Broncologist on 2014-05-11 11:24:41

Yeah, because $3.28 million is exactly the same amount as $807,708.

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/mia...

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/den...

Posted by Yahmule on 2014-05-11 11:12:42

Of course, what you really mean is that Elway won't extend DT because *you* want him to, right? Because, that's what John Elway does?

Posted by Douglas Lee on 2014-05-11 11:10:40

Wrong, IMO. He's not an Elway guy. That seems to be important. For example, the idea that Ball/Hillman is an answer to Moreno/Ball is, at best, myopic. They either intend to to work Ball into the ground, or they are willing to accept a major downgrade to the rotation. When you consider the terms Moreno accepted in Miami, its hard to believe that Moreno was purely a squeaky clean football decision.

Posted by drewthorn on 2014-05-11 10:42:15

What would the franchise tag number be for DT?

Posted by Orange_and_Blue on 2014-05-11 10:07:17

It might depend on the market for him. We certainly can't pay him Megatron or Larry Fitzgerald money ($16M) but then there is a big drop off to Harvin ($12M) and others.

Posted by Broncologist on 2014-05-11 10:06:18

I've been thinking over the next two years we should be able to use large signing bonuses to delay cap hits for DT JT and Von. We would actually be spared from cap hell with peyton retiring and be able to keep everyone.

Posted by frodawg2002 on 2014-05-11 09:57:21

That would be heart breaking.

Posted by Yahmule on 2014-05-11 09:53:02

There's just no way the team lets DT get away, right?

Posted by ncm42 on 2014-05-11 09:50:47

Follow IAOFM

Daily Newsletter