Broncos Predictions, Looking back

Before the season I had 4 predictions about Some Denver Broncos Rookies.  Its a time to take a look back, and see how we did.

1. Paxton Lynch will have a start by Week 10, but will have no more than 3 starts this season.  I think Lynch is extremely raw, and would greatly benefit from having a season holding the clipboard.  However, I think the pull to start a rookie first rounder will have such a strong appeal for Kubes, and Mark Sanchez might not be able to play up to keeping him on the bench.

I had this one right, but for the wrong reasons.  The Sanchize didn't even end up making the team, and Gary played Trevor Siemian all season, except in the case of injury.  Lynch did look very raw in his starts, and will certainly have been improved from having a year to soak up the NFL life.

2. Riley Dixon will win the punting job, but will post numbers similar to Colquit last season.  Rookie punters tend to average about 43 yards a punt, and they tend to struggle overall.

Dixon was better than I thought  He was about 6 yards per punt better than Colquit last year, and averaged over 45 yards per.  His net average though was just a yard better than Colquit, with some of Riley's increased distance coming from being deeper in Denver territory.  This one was a wash.

3. Will Parks leads the team in Special Teams tackles with 12.  He's a super athletic player that will likely replace David Bruton's production as a special teams ace, and I think he'll beat out the new FB who played well at Nebraska in that role. 

That's a whiff.  Parks had only a pair, but I was close to picking the team leader's number of 11.  Dekoda Watson, a linebacker ended up leading the team.  Parks ended up playing a much more active role on defense, recording a tackle in 12 games this season.

4. Devontae Booker will get only 45 carries or fewer this season.  Most Broncos fans are very down on Ronnie Hillman.  I think he ends up leading the team in rushing this year, and he and CJ form a fantastic tandem. This will lead to only a few touches for the very talented former Utah Ute, who I think could use a season of little wear and tear after a ton of touches in college.

This was a huge whiff,  no excuses.  Hillman I thought had run well during the preseason, but was cut to clear space for Kapri Bibbs and thin out the roster at the position a bit.  CJ Anderson was hurt most of the year, and Booker ended up with 174 attempts.  Booker wore down considerably as the season went on though, picking up less than 3.5 yards per carry in 7 of the last 9 games.  I really hope we can get CJ back next season to split carries, and ease the load a bit on the now second year player. 

So, right on one, wrong on two, pushed on one.  Not the best, but not too shabby.  Injuries helped push Parks out of some special teams play, and Booker showed more than had been anticipated, although the running game might not have been as dreadful had Denver held onto Hillman and used Booker in more reserve action/kept CJ fresher early on. I'm eagerly anticipating this year's NFL draft and the new crop of rookies.