Broncos Must Beware Vikings' Pro Bowl Pass-Catcher Not-Named Jefferson

It is a matchup of two surging teams as the Minnesota Vikings come to town to take on the Denver Broncos. Both teams started the season 1-4, but as the Broncos were going 1-5, the Vikings kicked off a five-game winning streak.

The Broncos now sit at 4-5 with the Vikings at 6-4 in a non-conference game that can still have significant implications in the playoff hunt. The Vikings have a star on offense in wideout Justin Jefferson, who came off injured reserve last week after dealing with a hamstring injury. If Jefferson plays, he's a significant threat to the Broncos' defense, as Minnesota likes to move him around, while Vance Joseph doesn't typically mirror his defensive backs.

It could lead to favorable matchups for the Vikings against cornerbacks Fabian Moreau or Ja'Quan McMillian. However, because of the uncertainty as to whether Jefferson will play at the time of writing this, he's on the back burner as the Vikings' biggest threat to Denver's defense.

Instead, it goes to a threatening player, with or without Jefferson on the field, who can be an even more significant danger. That would be tight end T.J. Hockenson, who is expected to play despite a rib injury.

Hockenson has had a great season thus far, with 71 catches on 92 targets for 682 yards and four touchdowns, but he also has five drops. That comes from playing with three different quarterbacks, but he's had a resurgence since Josh Dobbs became the Vikings' starting quarterback.

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In two games with Dobbs, Hockenson has 18 catches on 25 targets for 204 yards and one touchdown with no drops. There's evident chemistry between Hockenson and Dobbs, and they work well together. That has been without Jefferson, who adds another element to take attention off of Hockenson when the Pro Bowl wideout returns.

While the Broncos have not been terrible against tight ends this year, they've left openings to exploit. However, the opposing side hasn't always been able to take advantage due to the pressure put on the quarterback by the Broncos' pass rush. Denver will need that again to help defend Hockenson.

I identified Buffalo's rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid as the biggest threat to Denver last week, and he was somewhat limited, with 51 yards and a touchdown that came on a broken coverage play by Patrick Surtain II. However, what helped limit Kincaid was the pressure put on Josh Allen as the Broncos applied pressure on one-third of his dropbacks.

Hockenson isn't a rookie and has plenty of experience finding ways to get open. He does a good job of reading coverages, finding the soft spot in a zone, and creating some separation in man. On top of that, he does a good job of keeping himself as an option for his quarterback in case plays break down.

There is no question the Broncos' defense has improved, but opposing teams still have a high success rate against them. The Broncos are allowing teams to move the ball but are taking it away and keeping them out of the end zone.

The defense's effectiveness in takeaways has been outstanding, but it's hard to sustain that level. The last time a team had four or more takeaways in back-to-back games was in 1998. That's how uncommon Denver's achievement in the previous two games is.

Despite their improvements, the Broncos can still use some help to be more consistent between the 20s, especially when they get ready to take on the Vikings and Hockenson.

If Jefferson plays, it gets harder to cover Hockenson and slow the Vikings' offense. The best way for them to do that is to find a way to get consistent pressure on the quarterback and try to force bad throws.

The Broncos are at home and could get to a .500 record with a win overall and stay in the hunt for a playoff spot.

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