Five Broncos Who Benefit Most from Nathaniel Hackett Hire
The Denver Broncos have their head coach in Nathaniel Hackett, formerly the Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator. Hackett was GM George Paton's first head coach hired, and their ships will likely be tied together with new ownership imminent.
That means the onus is on Paton even more to build a roster that Hackett can win with. Part of putting that puzzle together is figuring out which current players on the roster fit what Hackett wants to do and from there, deducing what acquisitions are needed.
There's been some confusion on what Hackett will implement offensively, but based on what he's said in various interviews, it'll be very similar to what the Green Bay scheme has looked like for the past three years. It's mostly a West Coast Offense with an inside-zone focus in the running game with other concepts mixed in.
Hackett has mentioned multiple times in interviews about his love for that scheme, and when he was a little kid, his father Paul Hackett was part of Bill Walsh's staff in San Francisco — the brainchild of that offense. When Nathaniel was hired in Green Bay, he was excited to learn the Shanahan version of the WCO and how explosive it could be.
Defensively, the scheme will depend on who is hired as the coordinator. The current favorite is Hackett's good friend and former teammate at UC Davis in Ejiro Evero, the current passing game coordinator and secondary coach for the Los Angeles Rams.
Evero has spent most of his coaching tenure under Vic Fangio, Brandon Staley, and this past year, working with Raheem Morris. Both Staley and Morris ran the Fangio defense or a variation of it.
Thus, it's safe to assume that Evero, if hired in Denver, will run the same basic scheme, maybe with other concepts mixed in (like a few pressure packages that he picked up during his time under Wade Phillips, perhaps), which would keep continuity with the scheme for the Broncos players.
As Hackett takes the coaching controls in Denver, which current players stand to benefit the most? The answer is, everyone.
But here are the top-5.
KJ Hamler | WR
Hackett is coming from an offense that knows how to set up big plays off deep balls. Marquez Valdes-Scantling averaged 18.3 yards per reception during Hackett's three years in Grene Bay. Hackett wasn't the play-caller, but he played a big part in setting up the game plan each week.
Through the years, even when he was the play-caller, Hackett showed the propensity of using players to their strengths. This includes Marquise Lee during his two years with Hackett in Jacksonville.
Allen Hurns also played well during Hackett's time with Jacksonville which helped him garner a good contract from the Dallas Cowboys. The question with Hamler will be the recovery time from his ACL injury, but he is an offensive weapon that can bring a lot to the offense.
Ex-coordinator Pat Shurmur couldn't figure out how to use Haler correctly, but Hackett and whoever ends up as offensive coordinator, could make the wideout worth that second-round pick invested in him.
Noah Fant | TE
There will be a theme here of playmakers getting a better opportunity. Not only did Shurmur fail to use Fant properly, but it also seemed like the tight end wasn't happy in that offense, and it reflected in his play.
During his time with the Jaguars, Hackett yielded some solid production from Marcedes Lewis and helped see an improvement in his blocking. When Hackett went to Green Bay, he got to work with Lewis again and he remained a solid contributor.
Jimmy Graham was on the decline in 2018 but still had a solid year. In 2020, Hackett helped Robert Tonyan have a good year before dealing with injuries at the position during the 2021 season.
Just like with Hamler, Fant will likely be better utilized by Hackett. This could be what is needed to put Fant on the right track.
Jerry Jeudy | WR
There needs to be a caveat with this one: Jeudy is part of this as he is still a Bronco but there's a chance he could be traded as part of a deal to land a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers.
Hackett knows how to scheme receivers open and use them to their best ability. That would mean no more jet-sweep fakes to Jeudy and allowing him to work as a receiver rather than a gimmick.
Jeudy has yet to live up to the first-round pedigree, but part of that is the quarterback play he has dealt with and the scheme he was working in. If he sticks around with the Broncos, he could easily break the 1,000-yard mark with Hackett at the helm.
Javonte Williams | RB
As a rookie, Williams' vision was questionable at times, but it could be improved with some coaching continuity. Keeping the basis of the run game as an inside-zone could help him with his vision and make it easier to teach him the reads and landmarks.
Williams is a powerful back with good burst, but he does a great job breaking through tackles for extra yards. There are similarities to Leonard Fournette, who was drafted by the Jaguars in 2017 and rushed for over 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns in 13 games.
The running game shouldn't be as cluttered as it was this past season under Shurmur, which also should benefit Williams. Plus, having a play-caller that has a better idea of how to use the weapons at hand is going to be a massive boon to all players.
Quinn Meinerz | IOL
Meinerz showed tremendous development as his rookie season progressed and keeping the inside-zone concepts would benefit him. In addition, it would give him a little less to learn and put more focus on improving his technique.
Meinerz would have to learn new verbiage, but he has the football IQ to come along. On top of that, part of what made Hackett so alluring to the Broncos is how good of a teacher he is and his desire to hire like-minded coaches around him.
It's also possible Mike Munchak sticks around as the offensive line coach which would keep continuity and help develop Meinerz.
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