The additions of Wes Welker and Montee Ball to an offense already stacked with talent is going to give opposing AFC West defenses headaches throughout the 2013 season.
It also has fantasy football running amuck and drooling over the possibilities of this offense come fall time. After all, give Peyton Manning more weapons and it's hard to argue that he isn't unstoppable.
Here is eDraft's official 2013 team preview of the Denver Broncos from a fantasy perspective. Keep in mind, IDP and PPR rankings will come out later in the summer. The sole focus here is standard fantasy projections.
Overview
Denver is one of the top-three teams in the NFL at this point: That's hard to argue against. It has elite talent along nearly every tier of both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Equally as important, it has one of the best quarterbacks to ever suit up coming off one of his best regular season performances of his career.
The addition of Louis Vasquez to play right guard next to Orlando Franklin solidfies the Broncos' offensive line in front of Manning. Acquiring Montee Ball in the second round will create more run/pass balance for an offense that averaged 30.1 PPG in 2012.
Defensively, it's a bit of a different story. Denver lost Elvis Dumervil in what has to be considered one of the oddest situations in recent history. While one of its top defensive players heads to Baltimore, Von Miller will need to step up even more, as will Derek Wolfe and rookie Sylvester Williams.
You can still expect Denver to win the AFC West going away and earn one of the top two seeds in the AFC this upcoming season.
Fantasy Projections
Peyton Manning, Quarterback
Looking at standard statistics, Manning had one of the finest seasons of an already Hall-of-Fame career in his first year with Denver. He ranked sixth in the NFL in passing yards (4,659), third in touchdowns (37) and second in quarterback rating (105.8). Interestingly enough, all three statistics ranked second in Manning's stellar career. Needless to say, his 2012 performance was surprising considering he missed the entire 2011 season due to multiple concerns over his neck.
Manning ended the '12 season as the sixth-ranked fantasy quarterback, averaging 18.57 points per outing. His level of consistency was mighty fine as well. Manning finished as an above-average fantasy performer in 75 percent of his outings last season. He also tallied a minimum of 20 points nine different times.
Considering that Denver added Wes Welker and Montee Ball to the mix in the offseason, Manning's performance doesn't seem to be on a downward trajectory. It's also important to note that he'll be going up against a weak AFC West six different times this upcoming season as well as a NFC East division that boasted three teams with pass defenses that ranked in the bottom third of the league last year.
Projected Stats: 4,600 yards, 36 touchdowns and 10 interceptions
Montee Ball, Running Back
Some skeptics will conclude that Denver reached for Ball in the second round of April's draft. While I fully believe that those skeptics are right, you can expect the Wisconsin product to put up solid fantasy numbers in 2013 and beyond. He is, by every possible definition of the word a workman-like running back.
Ball averaged 21.9 rush attempts as a junior in 2011 and 25.4 attempts as a senior in 2012. There is no way those numbers stay that same in a Manning-led Broncos' offense, but they are solid indicators that Denver will rely heavily on Ball as a rookie.
It might seem that Denver's backfield is too deep to rely on one guy to put up solid numbers, but that's just on the surface. Either Willis McGahee or Knowshon Moreno will be released in June with Ronnie Hillman likely becoming a 1-2 punch with Ball. That will lower the competition for Ball and enable him to see between 12-15 rush attempts per game in 2013.
With just 59 receptions in 49 career games at Wisconsin, Ball will be nowhere near a solid fantasy option in PPR leagues. In fact, he should be avoided in those formats due to a combination of his lack of receiving ability and the fact that Manning doesn't look to the backfield in the running game too often.
Projected Statistics: 216 attempts, 4.4 average, 950 yards, 10 receptions, 95 yards and six touchdowns
Demaryius Thomas, Wide Receiver
To say that Thomas meshed well in Manning's first season with the Broncos would be an understatement. He finished fourth in the league with 1,430 receiving yards, tied for sixth with 10 touchdowns and seventh with a 68.1 reception percentage. Those are elite numbers right there. Equally as important, Thomas finished seventh among wide receivers with 138 targets.
Some will come to the conclusion that these numbers are sure to decrease with the addition of Welker, but I personally believe Eric Decker will be impacted more by the addition of New England's finest. We might see a duplication in terms of production, but Thomas is still a stellar WR1 option.
Projected Statistics: 85 receptions, 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns
Wes Welker, Wide Receiver
Welker has been a solid WR2 option in fantasy football over the past few seasons, and a great top-tier PPR receiver in those leagues. In fact, he leads all NFL wide receivers with 682 receptions over the last six seasons. The primary issue I have with having to rely on Welker for great fantasy numbers is the fact that he is averaging just 6.2 touchdowns per season during that span.
In order to be considered a top-tier wide receiver option in standard non-PPR leagues, you need to consistently reach double-digit touchdowns. If Welker couldn't do this as Tom Brady's most consistent weapon at receiver, what makes you think he can with a loaded Denver offense? Look for regression in terms of receptions, yards and touchdowns from the veteran in 2013. After all, I highly doubt he will reach the 166-target number that we saw in 2012.
Projected Statistics: 95 receptions, 1,100 yards and four touchdowns
Eric Decker, Wide Receiver
More so than Thomas, expect Decker's numbers to take a hit due to Welker's presence. Denver's No. 3 wide recever this past season, Brandon Stokley received just 57 targets. There is no way that Decker comes anywhere close to the 120-target plateau we saw in 2012. That's simply not in the cards for Denver right now. You are likely looking at the up-and-coming receiver accumulating closer to 80 targets. If that is the case, his reception percentage from last season indicates a major drop off in terms of fantasy production. As it is, I don't envision Decker as a top-tier WR2 option that he might have been during a very productive 13-touchdown performance in 2012.
Projected Statistics: 65 receptions, 840 yards and seven touchdowns
Jacob Tamme, Tight End
We already know that Manning likes to go to his tight ends. This was the case with Dallas Clark in Indianapolis and continued in his first season with the Broncos. Joel Dreessen and Tamme were targeted nearly nine times per game; coming down with catches a cool 68 percent of the time. Tamme's basic splits (52 receptions, 555 yards and two scores) represented decent back end TE2 numbers in standard leagues. Again, it's all about where and how Manning is going to distribute the ball to his skill-position players in 2013. Welker, who is likely to play in the slot, should take some targets away from Denver's two tight ends. If so, Tamme will be the odd-man out in red-zone situations because of his lack of getting six last season. This will limit his fantasy production a great deal.
Projected Statistics: 40 receptions, 410 yards and one touchdown