Von Miller couldn’t contain his excitement. On the first evening of the 2018 NFL draft, Miller watched from an expansive hotel suite in Las Vegas, listening keenly as the No. 5 pick was announced on the telecast from Dallas.
The name “Bradley Chubb” elicited an eruption of cheers on the telecast from Dallas where the draft was held. But a bigger celebration ensued in Vegas, as Miller danced around and squealed with glee.
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He knew what the selection meant. He knew what having another elite edge rusher alongside him could mean for the Broncos. He knew the potential Chubb possessed as arguably the top defender on the board.
What Miller perhaps didn’t know at the time was just how much the Broncos’ 2018 rookie class would contribute, and just how much the expectations would rise after Year One.
Although the Broncos finished 6-10 last year, their rookie class laid a foundation for the future and provided hope of improvement. But such hope is contingent upon continued production — even more production in their second season.
Last year seven different rookies combined to start 55 games for the Broncos, a total that is tied for the second-most by a rookie class in franchise history.
Their top offensive rookie quartet — running backs Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman, and wide receivers DaeSean Hamilton and Courtland Sutton — totaled 2,817 yards from scrimmage, the most by a rookie quartet in NFL history.
Chubb snapped Miller’s franchise rookie sack record with 12 and tied for the sixth-most by a rookie in league history, and Lindsay recorded 1,037 rushing yards, the second-most by an undrafted rookie since the 1970 NFL merger, and was elected to the Pro Bowl. Although an injury kept him from participating, history was already made: He was the first undrafted offensive player in NFL history to make the Pro Bowl as a rookie.
“Sometimes I think back and I’m like, ‘Dang, this is surreal,’ and sometimes I think back and say, ‘You know, I’ve been working hard for this moment,’” Lindsay told reporters at the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame banquet last week. “Now it’s about maintaining it. It’s about keeping it up. Everybody loves you when you’re doing well, but when you start falling off, you’re a scumbag. I just have to keep going.”
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The feats of Denver’s class of 2018 stood out on their own merits, but they also posed a stark contrast to the 2017 draft group, which totaled 16 starts their first year, all by left tackle Garett Bolles. Half of the Broncos’ eight-man draft class in ’17 is no longer on the roster.
Somewhere between the end of the 2017 season and start of ’18, John Elway and his personnel team adjusted their “mold” and searched for proven football players with a history of leadership, instead of simply good athletes with potential.
“I think there’s been a lot of different things that we’ve done,” Elway said. “Last year, we went a little older in team captains. We had a good draft, I’m sure we’ll lean that way again this year. But again, I’m going to try to find the talented football players.”
The approach paid off, but the class of 2018 says it’s only getting started. Their early success, coupled with the influx of newcomers this year raises their expectations to morph into the Broncos’ key veteran corps in years to come.
“Definitely, 100 percent. And we’re not shying away from it,” Sutton said. “At the end of the day, we’re all trying to get to the same goal. We all want to win the Super Bowl. Whether it’s the second year a guy becomes a leader or the eighth, ninth or 10th year a guy on the team becomes a leader of the team, we all just want to win.”
The ceiling for Sutton was seemingly raised with his play during training camp last year when his 50-50 catches in the end zone served as a daily highlight reel. In 16 games, he produced 704 yards (16.8 average) and four receiving touchdowns. But the true test of his potential came late when Demaryius Thomas was traded and Emmanuel Sanders was lost to injury, forcing the rookie to grow up fast.
In his four games as the Broncos’ No. 1 receiver, Sutton averaged only 3.5 catches a game for a 10.4-yards-per-reception average and one total touchdown.
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“You can’t go into a game and have one or two catches. You have to go into a game and be ‘that guy’ every day. That is something that I know, and I accept that role,” said Sutton, who added that he eagerly awaits the season “knowing that I am going to get to be the No. 1.”
(The Broncos exercised Sanders’ contract option for 2019, despite his continued recovery from a ruptured Achilles.)
For Chubb, the stakes are just as high as he tries to best his record-setting first year with the Broncos. The arrival of new head coach Vic Fangio, he hopes, will help him be more and do more.
For much of the offseason so far, Chubb has pored over film of Bears pass-rushers Khalil Mack and Leonard Floyd, two stars in Fangio’s league-leading defense last year.
“Sometimes they would have Khalil and Leonard on the same side,” Chubb said. “Sometimes they had Khalil at a three-technique with Leonard on the other side. Just all of the things that you can do, I think it’s going to be special.”
But more so, Chubb believes his rookie class will and should have more say in the trajectory of the team.
“We knew we could be leaders last year, but like I said, we just had to understand our place and just get in where we fit in pretty much,” he said. “Now I feel like with a whole year under our belt, we can be a little bit more vocal. … It’s going to help the team in every aspect. Our main thing is still no overstepping our boundaries and just making sure everybody is on the same page.”
Lindsay, the breakout star who went overlooked in the draft, is still recovering from a wrist injury that cut his rookie season short. He has shed a hard cast and is now wearing a brace, but there is no timetable for his full return. For the start of the offseason program, Lindsay has been limited, participating only in the workouts that fit his recovery.
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But his goal and expectation are in line with the rest of the 2018 group. In a new offense led by first-year coordinator Rich Scangarello, Lindsay and Freeman are expected to be more involved in the passing game, while their difference in size and running style complement each other in the run game.
As the Broncos look to flip the page to 2019 with a return to the playoffs, their reliance on their now second-year players will only increase.
And the kids are just fine with that.
“You gotta put in years,” Lindsay said. “Not just one good year.”
(Photo from left: Courtland Sutton, DaeSean Hamilton, Bradley Chubb and Phillip Lindsay: Justin Edmonds / Getty Images)