3 Broncos Make PFF's 2020 Midseason All-Pro Team
Considering the epidemic of injuries the Denver Broncos have suffered in 2020, this team honestly has no business being 3-5. Without going through the entire list, suffice to say, every Pro Bowler the Broncos had entering the season, and it was only a precious few, has missed at least one game this year while three — Von Miller, Jurrell Casey, and Courtland Sutton — have been on season-ending injured reserve.
Even Pro Bowlers like Phillip Lindsay and A.J. Bouye have missed more games than they've appeared in but have been fortunate to avoid the season-ending injuries. Throw in the Week 2 injury to second-year QB Drew Lock, which sapped him and the team of what modest momentum they had, and it's easy to see that the first half of this season has been a veritable war of attrition.
But the battle rages on with eight games left to go. What has saved this team from utter ruin are the Herculean contributions of a handful of individual players.
Three of those players made it onto Pro Football Focus' 2020 Midseason All-Pro Team. Here's who PFF included.
LT Garett Bolles, Denver Broncos
An unkind observer might suggest that the giant leap in play from Garett Bolles is due to the NFL halfway eliminating holding calls this season, but in truth, his play has jumped up across the board.
Bolles has yet to surrender a sack this season and has been beaten for just nine total pressures over eight games. His run blocking has taken an even bigger leap, grading out at 90.1 through the first half of the season — almost 20 grading points higher than a season ago.
MHH: It's no surprise that PFF included Bolles on the All-Pro team as he has been consistently the site's highest-graded left tackle throughout the season. He's been the lone bright spot on what has been a mostly inconsistent and ugly mess on the Broncos' offensive line.
Bolles' only game in which he needed a Mulligan was Week 8 against the Chargers when O-line Coach Mike Munchak was absent in COVID-19 protocol. I've never been a believer in coincidence. Munchak returned in Atlanta and correspondingly, Bolles bounced back to form.
Flex Bryce Callahan, Denver Broncos
Bryce Callahan is a slot cornerback prototype in today’s NFL, but early in the season, he was forced to play outside for the Broncos when they were short-handed.
He played well in that role despite being undersized for the task. he has moved back inside since then, grading as the best corner in the league. Callahan has yet to surrender a touchdown in coverage and is allowing just 8.5 yards per catch as well as a 46.0 passer rating.
MHH: Callahan's 2020 campaign got off to an uneven start in the wake of Bouye's aforementioned injury problems, which put the onus of being the Broncos' No. 1 corner — instead of the planned nickel/No. 2 role — squarely on Callahan. Callahan eventually acclimated and it didn't take him long to become dominant.
It's unfortunate that he missed Week 9's game in Atlanta with an ankle injury but aside from that, there's no question Callahan been a revelation in Year 2 as a Bronco. After missing all of Year 1, he has played at a Pro Bowl level at worst, and as PFF opines, an All-Pro level at best.
S Justin Simmons, Denver Broncos
Justin Simmons is backing up an All-Pro season in 2019 with another one this year, even if his grades have taken a slight step back from last season's incredible level.
Simmons has been excellent in the run game, even grading out a little better in that facet (89.7) than last year. And while hasn’t quite been able to replicate his absurd playmaking in coverage from last season, he is a sure-fire positive force for the Broncos' defense.
MHH: Far be it from me to look a gift-horse in the mouth but if I were to pick a bone with any of PFF's Broncos selections, it would be Simmons. The safety's play has bounced back in a big way over the past two games, but he started the first quarter of this season playing at a replacement level.
However, as Simmons has steadied out, that All-Pro-caliber talent has come to the surface and the production has come. With three interceptions on the season, two of them have come in the past two weeks, and he's been far less often out of position and much more of a force in the box and a surer tackler.
I'm more inclined to believe that the version of Simmons we've seen over the past two weeks is the guy the Broncos are likely to get down the stretch. But if he reverts back to the early-season version of himself, it'll be harder to see the Broncos' front office having the trust to capitulate to his long-term demands for a contract extension that would make him a top-2 highest-paid safety in the game.
Honorable Mentions
PFF doesn't list any Broncos as honorable mentions or second-teamers and for good reason. No other Broncos have played an All-Pro level thus far.
But I would hazard that defensive lineman Shelby Harris has played at a Pro Bowl level. He would need to stack a lot more sacks in order to garner such an accolade before season's end. Interior linemen who don't stack up sacks rarely garner Pro Bowl nods at the end of the day.
Defensively, no one else really comes close, although I'm optimistic rush linebacker Bradley Chubb can force his way into the Pro Bowl conversation by year's end. You could argue Lindsay, but he's missed four full games, which skews the sample size.
Offensively, the rookie class has begun to come on strong of late, especially wideouts Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler. If we were talking All-Rookie midseason honors, Jeudy would make it hands down.
I'd guess that cornerback Michael Ojemudia would make such a list, too. It'll be interesting to see if this rookie crop continues its ascending trajectory down the stretch.
If so, the Broncos could still make some noise. One last name I'll throw in is kicker Brandon McManus. He's never made a Pro Bowl, nor has he garnered All-Pro honors. But he's played at that level this season.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
