Kansas City Chiefs: Getting to know the Denver Broncos before Week 13

Thoughts on how the rookie WR duo of Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler have performed?

Sayre: “These guys are impressive to watch. Jerry Jeudy is so quick that no defensive back has proven capable of consistently keeping up with him. As soon as the Broncos start consistently giving him 10-12 targets a game, he’s going to be a guy you can rely on for nearly 100 yards a week. He’s almost always open.

With Hamler, the most impressive thing so far has been his toughness. Even struggling with a hamstring injury at times, Hamler has proven to be an explosive player from the slot. The scary thing is, the Broncos have not yet really seen Hamler’s downfield speed exploit a defense to this point.”

It appears someone named Tim Patrick leads the Broncos in touchdown receptions. So, who the heck is Tim Patrick?

Sayre: “Tim Patrick is a fun story. He broke his leg at Utah a few years back and went undrafted, ending up in training camp with the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers had some joint practices with the Broncos in Patrick’s rookie year, and later that season when he became available, he was brought onto Denver’s practice squad.

In 2018, he started making some plays when he would get opportunities, including scoring his first career touchdown against the Chiefs. He has been consistently good on special teams but has been mostly a reserve on offense. With Courtland Sutton down this season, Patrick has really stepped up and taken his game to the next level. He is a fun player to watch and brings big-time effort on every play.”

Bradley Chubb’s collected 7.5 sacks on the season. Does he look back to form after missing most of 2019?

Sayre: “He most definitely does. Chubb has such a well-rounded game. He’s been getting pressure on the QB at a high rate in addition to those 7.5 sacks, and he would have at least one other sack were it not for Ryan Fitzpatrick falling a hair in front of the line of scrimmage a couple of weeks ago.

Chubb has been great along with Von Miller’s top backup Malik Reed, really since the New York Jets game earlier this season.”

Besides Lock, Dalton Risner’s a local KC product, having played at Kansas State. How’s he doing in his sophomore campaign?

Sayre: “There have been some surprising struggles from Risner this year, specifically in pass protection. Last year, Dalton was almost inarguably the Broncos’ best offensive lineman all year. He’s not become a hack or anything, but he has definitely struggled more this season than anyone in Broncos Country would have expected based on how well he played as a rookie.”

Lastly, what’s your prediction this weekend? Who wins and by what score?

Sayre: “I don’t expect anyone to beat Kansas City, certainly not on their home field. The Broncos really need everything to go right for them in order to beat a team like Kansas City right now, and that’s just the reality of it.

However, I thought the Broncos’ defense played the KC offense pretty well last time out, and if the Broncos’ offense doesn’t turn the ball over in this game, you never know what can happen. I am hoping the Broncos play their best game of the season against the Chiefs, and somehow sneak out of Arrowhead with a 30-28 victory or something like that.”

Thanks again to Sayre for taking the time to answer my questions! Make sure to check out his work over at Predominantly Orange.