Broncos Linebacker Grades From Win Over Tampa Bay

The Denver Broncos have one of the most talented linebacker corps in the NFL. While they have been great so far this season, they stepped up their play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Just how well did they grade for this game?

It doesn’t matter what phase of the game you look at, run, pass rush, or pass coverage, these Denver Broncos linebackers are excellent. They have talent all over from top to bottom, but are headlined by two of the best, if not the best, at their positions. One mans the middle as an inside linebacker, and the other is a 3-4 rush linebacker and one of the best defenders in the NFL.

They all have their issues individually, and sometimes issues as a group. However, when they work as a unit, which is the case more often than not, they are hard to defend against. Of course, it helps to have the talent on the defensive line and in the secondary that the Broncos have to give these linebackers a hand.

The started off the season strong, but had their fair share of issues. As each game goes by, they are just getting better and better. Each game passing by gives them more chemistry, which is needed with a new starter this season in the group. All Broncos fans have to worry about is that they don’t hit their peak too soon and then start the downward trend.

Neither Dekoda Watson or Zaire Anderson get a grade for their play against the Buccaneers. Neither one of them saw more than ten snaps on defense. Anderson saw a total of two on defense, while Watson saw nine of them. Both players are stuck behind a lot of talented players.

Top Broncos Defender

Leading the group is Von Miller, who is one of the best defenders in the NFL. While he didn’t fill up the stat sheet against the Buccaneers, a half a sack and four total tackles, he still played a really good game. One common misconception is that Von Miller has to fill out the stat sheet, otherwise he was awful that game.

It was very clear that the Buccaneers made plans to help them take Miller out of the game. Their plans worked, but only to a small degree. He still caused a lot of havoc for the Broncos, despite the attention he got. Plus, all that attention opened up other Broncos defenders to have huge games.

When a player can cause disruption when facing consistent double and triple teams, they’re a special player. There is and never should be any doubt that Miller is a special player. He does so much for this Broncos defense that stats don’t fully define it. Miller walked away with a 93.9 grade on the game.

Broncos Starting Inside Linebackers

The top inside linebacker for the Denver Broncos is Brandon Marshall, who is one of the best in the business. Marshall played a season low 69% of the defensive snaps, where he averaged 88.7% of the snaps previously. In that time, he picked up six total tackles, five of them being solo tackles.

It was a really good game from Marshall, but there was room for improvement. Not his best game of the season, but it may be his worst. It isn’t because he played bad, he just played better in the other games. He still earned a respectable 84.8 grade on the game.

Broncos Outside Linebackers

Opposite of Von Miller was Shane Ray, who played a solid game. His run defense left something to be desired at times and effort rushing the passer was suspect at times. These only happened a few times, but were still enough to hurt his grade. Ray earned a 64.8 grade on the game.

The backup was Shaquil Barrett, who has been better than Shane Ray, besides the game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Barrett is better against the run, and his effort never comes into question when rushing the passer.

There are times where Barrett gets shut down, and it happened against the Buccaneers, but his motor keeps on running. This year he hasn’t really had the production he did a year ago, as he just picked up his first sack against the Buccaneers and had hit first multi-tackle game. Barrett earned a 92.8 grade on the game.

Broncos Backup Inside Linebacker

Corey Nelson was the only backup inside linebacker to see action against the Buccaneers. He played well, but there are questions about why he is seeing time over Zaire Anderson. Nelson played only 26.8% of the snaps on his way to a 61.2 grade.

Next: Broncos Defensive Line Grades from Tampa Bay

That wraps up the grades for the linebackers. All that remains is the secondary for the Denver Broncos. Spoiler, they were fantastic and had fantastic grades throughout the group. Hopefully they can carry that steam into their next game.

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