The Broncos won’t beat the Chiefs on Monday night with star power alone. If Denver is going to walk into Kansas City and come out with a win, the margin likely comes from the players who don’t always grab the headlines.
That starts up front with Luke Wattenberg, whose preseason was limited by injury. Even with the missed time, he showed last season that he can be a good player, with the potential to be great after he garnered his extension and before he got hurt.
Against Kansas City, his job goes beyond simply snapping the ball cleanly. Wattenberg will be a key communicator on the offensive line with Chris Jones on the other side, and the challenge doesn’t stop there.
The Chiefs have added talent to their defensive line, which should give them more flexibility in how they deploy Jones. As the pivot for Denver’s line, Wattenberg has to keep everything organized.
Denver will also need a quiet game from Kansas City’s pass defense if it wants to create room for Troy Franklin. With so much attention expected to land on Jaylen Waddle and Courtland Sutton from the Chiefs’ rebuilt secondary, Bryant could have an opening to make a real impact in the passing game or even serve as a useful decoy to pull attention away from Sutton or Waddle. He flashed last season, and this matchup gives him a chance to show the preseason and training camp buzz was earned.
The run defense side of the plan brings even more sleeper importance. The Broncos want to take Kenneth Walker III out of the game, and D.J.
Jones is their best run defender. He has had some rough outings against the Chiefs before, largely because of how strong their offensive line has been, but Kansas City’s interior trio has taken some hits.
If Denver is going to force the ball into Mahomes’s hands, it has to make the Chiefs one-dimensional, and Jones is a central piece of that.
On the defensive line, Eyioma Uwazurike is set to help fill the John Franklin-Myers vacancy. Malcolm Roach is listed as the starter on the unofficial depth chart, but Uwazurike’s role matters because Franklin-Myers did a lot of the dirty work that freed up others.
The difference here is that run defense was Franklin-Myers’ weak spot, while that’s a strength for Uwazurike. That makes him a key part of Denver’s effort to eliminate Walker as a threat and keep Kansas City from controlling the ball and the clock with the ground game.
Special teams could matter too, and Devon Key’s role is a little murky. He’s the third safety, and Denver has not used its third safety on special teams much since Sean Payton and Vance Joseph arrived.
Even so, the Broncos know what they’re getting from Ka’imi Fairbairn? No - the source points to Skinner, who is expected to be one of the main gunners on special teams and help keep Nikko Remigio, the Chiefs’ emerging returner, in check.
Whatever Denver decides to do with Key, Skinner’s job is clear.
If the Broncos are going to beat Patrick Mahomes in his own house for the first time ever, they’ll need those kinds of contributions all night long.
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Broncos Still Weighing A Linebacker Concern Before Chiefs Opener
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