[FloridaMan88]

SlowMo pimping non-factor players to hide Denver’s stark, brutally awful reality.

A complete tear down potentially coming for a team that went all in and failed spectacularly.

Keep hyping Marvin Mims to shield yourself from that reality.

Link: https://www.si.com/nfl/2023/09/27/nf...-weeks-mailbag

From Jake Hayden (@Jake__Hayden): Would Denver be better off tearing it down and starting over completely? Would Sean Payton’s ego allow for that?

Jake, I think it’s fair to look at big-picture stuff with the Broncos at this point. They play the Bears and Jets the next two weeks. If they’re not at least 1–4, then we’re talking about this being a bad team, with the Chiefs, Packers and Chiefs again on the schedule for the rest of October, and the trade deadline Oct. 31.

So I don’t think it’s overstating it to say the next two weeks could—and maybe should—chart the course for Payton and GM George Paton in what they do with their roster.

If this team is 0–5, it’d make sense to explore what you might be able to get for Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, Garett Bolles, Randy Gregory or even Justin Simmons (Patrick Surtain II, for me, would probably be the one untouchable). And the reason why it’d make sense is because then, as I see it, you may be looking at a longer rebuild, and one that those five guys might not want to be a part of a couple of years from now.

Remember, the Broncos were depleted of draft picks the past two years as a result of the Russell Wilson trade, which has made it more difficult to build depth. So if Payton comes to the determination that the core of the 2023 team isn’t going to grow into one consistently capable of contending in a division that has Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert, then it makes sense to consider which pieces of the core might be assets to construct a new, sturdier, more capable core.

So a big couple of weeks ahead for the Broncos.