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Broncos season ticket prices rise slightly for the first time in 3 years By Ryan O’Halloran Denver Post Feb. 8, 2019

The Broncos are increasing general season ticket prices in 2019 for the first time in three years.

Ninety-five percent of the general seats will have an increase of only one percent and the remaining five percent of seats will have an increase of less than 10 percent. This does not include club and suite ticket packages, which are separate multi-year contracts.

Invoices for renewals will be emailed to fans next week. Last year, the renewal rate was 98 percent. The Broncos said they have “close to,” 80,000 names on their waiting list for season tickets and expect a 50th consecutive year of sellouts.

“In order to keep pace with the league, and at the same time respect our fans and how much we appreciate them, we knew we needed an increase but we were cognizant of not going overboard,” said Clark Wray, the Broncos’ senior director of ticket strategy and analytics.

The Broncos’ general seating average price will increase from $101.30 to $103.06. Last year’s average ticket price was 15th in the NFL.

The Broncos’ average ticket price for general seating has increased by 4.64 percent from 2015-19 (including a 3.1-percent increase after the 2015 season). By comparison, five teams (Oakland, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Carolina and Green Bay) have increased their average general ticket price by more than 20 percent.

Of not increasing prices for three years, Wray said: “I wouldn’t say (it’s) abnormal. It really depends on the market and how a team performs. Some teams will raise (prices) every year and some teams will hold out longer.”

The lack of available face value tickets equals a lucrative secondary market. Last year, the Broncos ranked third in that category behind New England and Seattle.

“I think that speaks to the tremendous support for this team and the demand that is out there for this team,” Wray said. “I like to think we have a great experience (at the stadium) and there are certainly a lot of people who want to be a part of it.”

Parking prices will remain the same in 2019.

The Broncos used mobile ticketing exclusively in 2018 for the first time.

“Overall, it went really, really well,” Wray said. “I felt like our fans were really prepared when they got to the stadium to use their mobile tickets and those who needed a little help, we were able to get their tickets on their phones in-person and get them right into the stadium.” NFL Scouting Combine will feature several players with Colorado ties By Ryan O’Halloran Denver Post Feb. 8, 2019

Two players from Wyoming and one player apiece from Colorado, Colorado State and Northern Colorado are among the 338 players invited to this year’s Scouting Combine.

Heading to Indianapolis for medical and physical testing and team interviews are Wyoming edge defender Carl Granderson and safety Andrew Wingard, Colorado safety Evan Worthington, Colorado State receiver Bisi Johnson, Northern Colorado receiver Alex Wesley.

The Combine runs from Feb. 26-March 4. Each player is on a four-day schedule in their position group that is capped by an on-field workout at Lucas Oil Stadium.

A look at the invitees who are from the Denver/Colorado area:

Johnson (Lakewood/Bear Creek) finished his CSU career with 125 catches for 2,019 yards and 11 in 49 games. He had five 100-yard games in his career, including a CSU record 265 yards against Idaho in the 2016 Potato Bowl.

Wingard (Arvada/Ralston Valley) finished second in all-time tackles at Wyoming (454 in 51 games) and was a three-time first-team All-Mountain West selection.

Worthington (Aurora/Cherokee Trail) had 48 tackles and one in nine games as a senior for the Buffs. He sat out the entire 2016 season for violating team rules.

Dalton Risner (Wiggins, Colo.) started all 50 games of his college career at Kansas State, first at center as a freshman and the final three years at right tackle. He was a second-team All-America selection in 2018 and played in last month’s .

In other categories …

Most players by college: Alabama and Clemson, 11; Ohio State 10; Georgia, Mississippi and Washington 9.

Most players by state: Florida 51, 31, Georgia and 25 and Ohio 20.

Quarterbacks: The Broncos have the 10th overall pick and should be keen on evaluating some of the 17 who received invitations. Oklahoma’s , who is under contract with the Oakland A’s, was invited and ESPN reported that he will attend.

Cornerbacks: The Broncos could also consider a cornerback in the first round and 36 players from that position were invited, including LSU’s Greedy Williams and Georgia’s Deandre Baker. NFL mock drafts: Who should the Broncos take with the 10th pick? Here’s what national writers are saying. By Joe Nguyen Denver Post Feb. 8, 2019

In case you’re wondering: There’s 19 days until the NFL combine and 77 days until the draft.

So here’s a look at what four national writers think the Broncos will select with the 10th overall pick in the NFL draft:

Like Mel Kiper Jr., ESPN’s Todd McShay has Georgia CB Deandre Baker going to the Broncos: “Denver could trade up for a or take the dive here for Kyler Murray or Drew Lock, but this secondary is hurting as well. is long gone, and Chris Harris Jr. fractured his fibula in December. What’s more, Bradley Roby is a free agent. Baker is the most instinctive corner in the class.”

CBS’ Sean Wagner-McGough has Denver selecting quarterback Drew Lock: “To this point, has been unable to draft a franchise quarterback. His Case Keenum signing also hasn’t worked out. He tries to fix the issue one more time with Lock — 2.0.”

NFL.com’s Chad Reuter has Denver going with another quarterback in Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray: “Picking behind at least two teams with quarterback needs, John Elway will have to either trade up to land his guy or take whichever top signal-caller is available at No. 10 if he wants to improve the Broncos’ QB situation via the draft.”

Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer also has a quarterback coming to the Mile High City with Duke’s Daniel Jones: “The Broncos could go for another supposed veteran solution at QB with the likes of Joe Flacco or Nick Foles. If not — and if they don’t trade up, and if both Haskins and Murray are gone — Missouri’s Drew Lock and West Virginia’s also would be in play. Jones, however, is pushing to be the No. 3 QB with his all-around, pro-tailored skills to go with ideal size (6-5, 220 pounds). He also has NFL-friendly tutelage from Peyton and mentor . Jones has the mentally and physically tough make-up Denver has been missing at QB.”

Mile High Stadium stairwell won't be put on trial By Marshall Zelinger 9 News Feb. 8, 2019

The construction of Mile High Stadium will not be put on trial after all.

Jason Coy fell to his death following a game in October 2016. He went over a handrail in an enclosed stairwell and fell 60 feet.

His widow, Leslie Coy, sued the Metropolitan Football Stadium District, as well as PDB Enterprises, PDB Sports, Bowlen Sports and Stadium Management Company in a wrongful death civil suit.

PDB stands for Patrick Dennis Bowlen, the owner of the Denver Broncos.

"The stadium contained a defective, unsafe, non-obvious and dangerous condition in a fire escape corridor and staircase on which [Coy] fell to his death," the suit read.

Coy's family alleged in the suit that the defendants "breached their duty of care" by "failing to take reasonable affirmative action or measures" to make the fire escape safe.

Taxpayers in seven metro area counties make up the Metropolitan Football Stadium District, meaning taxpayers were among those being sued.

The lawsuit that was supposed to go to trial this month ended with a settlement. Coy's attorney confirmed that the settlement is confidential.

But if a taxpayer-funded district was part of the settlement, what makes it confidential?

According to the spokesman for the Metropolitan Football Stadium District, the lease that the Broncos signed to play at the stadium requires that the team provide insurance on game days on behalf of the stadium district. It was private funds, and not public taxpayer money, involved in the settlement.

Broncos' out-of-the-box hiring of validated by Super Bowl By Jeff Legwold ESPN Feb. 8, 2019

Now that the brand-new head coaches in the NFL have all been formally introduced with a flurry of ubiquitous "It's a new day" quotes, it is abundantly clear the Denver Broncos zigged when everyone else zagged.

The Broncos didn't pick a young, up-and-coming assistant. They didn't pick the latest and greatest offensive playcaller.

They didn't even pick a guy who had been a before in the league.

No, they picked Vic Fangio, a 60-year-old first-time head coach -- at any level -- who has built a substantial and well-respected résumé on the defensive side of the ball. Add that up, and it is the no- nonsense, been-around-the-block-a-whole-lot-of-times Fangio who just might be the league's most out- of-the-box hire this time around.

Following the lowest-scoring Super Bowl ever, perhaps the idea was well-founded.

"I tried to go into it with the most open mind possible," said Broncos president of football operations/general manager John Elway. "We weren't necessarily looking to do what everybody else was or what everybody else wasn't. We wanted to make the best decision for the Denver Broncos, and Vic was that guy."

Fangio doesn't exude a new-age approach, and he already has joked about preferring sweatpants to anything he wore during his whirlwind introduction tour last month. But that doesn't mean he hasn't evolved in how he thinks about the game.

His defenses have been among the league's best over the course of several changes in offensive thinking. As offenses changed, Fangio has changed to stop them.

"I've said he just wants people to be responsible to the team, in every drill, every practice, every game," said Broncos defensive coordinator Ed Donatell, a longtime Fangio assistant.

This past season, when three different teams topped the 500-point mark -- long historical ground for offenses, as just 22 have reached the benchmark in the Super Bowl era -- Fangio's led the league in both scoring defense (17 points per game) and takeaways (36), while also being one of the least penalized units in the league.

It was Fangio's success over the long haul -- his ability to adjust, innovate, teach and succeed across more than three decades in the league -- that caught Elway's eye. It also was Fangio's promise to sweat the details and the belief players can be taught to sweat those details now just as they could 25 years ago.

"We're not going to cut any corners," Fangio said. "I'm a fundamentals coach. I think the game of the NFL everybody thinks has changed and it's a high-scoring league, et cetera, but fundamentals is still what wins in this league. I'm going to stress those; we're not going to cut any corners. There will be no death by inches. We're going to stress fundamentals."

And Super Bowl LIII is now, suddenly, Exhibit A of all that. A so-called "less talented" team ended a season of romance for offenses around the league with a no-frills, assignment- sound slugfest to win the sixth Super Bowl of coach 's tenure with a gold-star defensive performance.

An easy argument could be made that the two best coaches on the field Sunday night were the 66-year- old Belichick and the Rams' 71-year-old defensive coordinator, Wade Phillips.

Fangio said he didn't stress that it took so long to get his first chance at a head-coaching job. In fact, it was only his third interview for a head-coaching vacancy. He said he was more worried about how he did his job than what other people thought.

"I don't want to use the word dream," Fangio said just after he was hired. "It's obviously something I've thought about throughout my career at various times, but I was comfortable enough in my own skin that it didn't have to happen. I was happy with being a defensive coordinator in the NFL for close to 20 years. If a good situation ever arose and I matched what a certain team was looking for, I'd be all in. I believe I've found that here, and I'm all in."

And with a most unexpected defense-first Super Bowl in the rearview mirror, the Broncos are all in too.

Broncos mock draft roundup: Feb. 7, 2019 By STAFF DenverBroncos.com Feb. 8, 2019

Todd McShay, ESPN: CB Deandre Baker, Georgia

Denver could trade up for a quarterback or take the dive here for Kyler Murray or Drew Lock, but this secondary is hurting as well. Aqib Talib is long gone, and Chris Harris Jr. fractured his fibula in December. What's more, Bradley Roby is a free agent. Baker is the most instinctive corner in the class. [Feb. 7]

Walter Cherepinsky, Walter Football: QB Drew Lock, Missouri

Drew Lock has a great arm and can make any throw, but he really needs to work on his field vision and accuracy. He should probably be taken in the second round, but we've seen teams reach for quarterbacks over the years. And besides, teams like Lock's gritty attitude and work ethic. He loves football, so he'll try hard to improve his flaws. [Feb. 7]

Will Brinson, CBSSports.com: QB Drew Lock, Missouri

Ryan Wilson pointed out on the Pick Six Podcast ... that the buzz has John Elway in love with Lock. If that's the case he can't pass him up at 10 overall. [Feb. 6]

Chad Reuter, NFL.com: QB Kyler Murray, Oklahoma

Picking behind at least two teams with quarterback needs, John Elway will have to either trade up to land his guy or take whichever top signal-caller is available at No. 10 if he wants to improve the Broncos' QB situation via the draft. [Feb. 5]

Michael Renner, Pro Football Focus: QB Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State [via mock trade with Jets]

It won’t be cheap, but the Broncos have to make a move. [Feb. 5]

Luke Easterling, USA TODAY: QB Drew Lock, Missouri [via mock trade with Buccaneers]

I’ve got a gut feeling Lock is John Elway’s guy in this QB class, which means he won’t wait around to see if he falls to No. 10 overall. Instead, the Broncos ship their picks in the second and third rounds to Tampa Bay to ensure they get the quarterback of their choice. [Feb. 5]

Matt Miller, Bleacher Report: QB Drew Lock, Missouri

Of the quarterbacks selected in the top 10 of this mock, Lock has the most experience and is the most likely to be ready to start immediately. [Feb. 4]

190207_mocks Chris Trapasso, CBSSports.com: T Jonah Williams, Alabama

The Broncos are the enigma, X-factor, wild card -- whatever you want to call it -- of the top 10. Do they go quarterback? Will John Elway be timid selecting that position after the disaster? Does Denver turn its attention to other pressing needs and roll with Case Keenum again in 2019? If the draft unravels this way, I can see the Broncos going best player available, which here would be Williams. He can play right tackle as a rookie and potentially flip to left tackle in Year 2 if Garret Bolles continues to struggle there. [Feb. 1]

Lance Zierlein, NFL.com: QB Drew Lock, Missouri

Lock has the size and tools, but he needs to improve his consistency and accuracy. He could sit behind Case Keenum for a season or compete for the starting job right away. [Jan. 29]

Bucky Brooks, NFL.com: CB Greedy Williams, LSU

New head coach Vic Fangio will focus his efforts on fixing a defense that was a mild disappointment in 2018. Williams is a plug-and-play corner with the ball skills and instincts to emerge as a ballhawk early in his career. [Jan. 25]

Eddie Brown, Union-Tribune: QB Daniel Jones, Duke

John Elway is desperate for a franchise quarterback. A big week at the Senior Bowl could catapult Jones into the top 10, especially if he answers questions surrounding his arm talent. [Jan. 24]

Daniel Jeremiah, NFL.com: LB Devin White, LSU

White is the ideal modern linebacker. He can run, cover and blitz. [Jan. 23]

Mel Kiper Jr., ESPN: CB Deandre Baker, Georgia

Former first-round pick Bradley Roby is a free agent, and Chris Harris Jr., who broke his leg in December, turns 30 over the summer. Cornerback is the No. 1 need for the Broncos. Baker isn't far behind Greedy Williams as the top corner in this class. General manager John Elway hit on his 2018 draft class, and he needs another good one to get the team back on track under new coach Vic Fangio. [Jan. 17]

2019 NFL Free Agency: Nick Foles, Teddy Bridgewater headline a weak QB class By Ryan Wilson CBS Sports Feb. 8, 2019

A year ago, Kirk Cousins was considered a franchise quarterback, and the Vikings, fresh off Case Keenum leading them to a 13-3 regular season and a trip to the NFC Championship Game, let the journeyman walk so they could give Cousins a three-year, $84 million deal, all guaranteed. Minnesota went 8-7-1 in 2018 and missed the playoffs.

There is no Kirk Cousins in this free-agency class. There are bridge quarterbacks, fill-in starters, competent backups and guys a team could take a flier on and get lucky. The position remains at a premium, which is why some of these names have lasted in the league as long as they have. But the reality is that there aren't 32 NFL-quality starting quarterbacks, and there might only be 2-3 legit starters in the 2019 draft class. The 2020 class is expected to be stacked so teams on the search for a face of franchise could be looking for one-year solutions as they position themselves for next year's drat.

Replacement-level starters Nick Foles is the biggest name -- which tells you a lot. Yes, he is a Super Bowl MVP, but he also was 25th in value per play among all quarterbacks in 2018, just ahead of Marcus Mariota (Cousins ranked 19th, just ahead of Carson Wentz). The Eagles told the quarterback this week that they would pick up his 2019 option for $20 million that would keep him in Philly next season. But Foles, in turn, declined that option, instead choosing to pay back $2 million and hit free agency.

There's still a chance the Eagles could franchise Foles though CBSSports.com's Joel Corry, a former agent, explained that's unlikely "because of the potential pitfalls of a franchise tag."

Now the question becomes: Where does Foles end up. The Giants appear set on bringing back Eli Manning but they could still choose to draft a quarterback with the No. 6 pick. The Jaguars, who select seventh, also need a quarterback in a post-Blake Bortles world but they could be less inclined to draft one, especially if Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins is off the board.

Which means Jacksonville could be the most likely landing spot for Foles, 30, who hasn't started more than five regular-season games since 2015. Corry predicts Foles could earn between $18 million and $23.5 million a season (somewhere between what the Broncos gave Keenum and the Redskins gave Alex Smith) on his next contract. Also reportedly in the mix: the Giants.

Teddy Bridgewater was the Vikings first-round pick in 2014 and started 28 games in his first two seasons. He suffered a horrific knee injury in August 2016, missed the '16 season entirely and has started just one game since, a meaningless 2018 Week 17 contest against the Panthers.

At 26, Bridgewater has yet to hit his prime, and in 2015, his last full season, he was 22nd in value per play, just behind Matt Ryan and . The question, of course, is whether he's healthy enough to play an entire season, and if he'll ever return to his pre-injury form. The Jaguars reportedly passed on an opportunity to acquire Bridgewater last offseason and instead gave Bortles a long-term deal.

The Giants, Broncos, Dolphins and Redskins are all in the market for young quarterbacks though these teams could choose to find them via the draft.

If we had to guess, the Redskins might make the most sense, in theory, but they're just one year into a four-year, $94 million deal with Smith that includes $71 million in guarantees.

Guys who could start in a pinch but aren't long-term solutions Josh McCown Josh Johnson Brett Hundley

Fitzpatrick is 36 but he's started at least seven games in all but one season since 2008. And in 2018, he completed 67 percent of his throws with a career-best 9.6 yards per attempt to go along with 17 touchdowns and 12 . But don't be fooled; he's a spot starter at this point in the proceedings, someone who can fill in for an injured starter for 2-3 weeks. Same holds for Osweiler, who started five games for and was serviceable, going 2-3, completing 63.5 percent of his throws with six touchdowns and four interceptions.

Taylor got off to a horrific start in Cleveland and was benched for rookie . He was a three- year starter for the Bills from 2015-17, helping them to the playoffs in his last season there. But Taylor was never better than replacement-level during those years, and there's no reason to think that will change after spending most of '18 on the bench.

McCown will be 40 this summer. He started three games for the Jets last season in relief of rookie Sam Darnold, and should he continue to play, that will be his role going forward. That said, he started 13 games in '17 for the Jets and completed 67 percent of his throws with 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Finding Johnson's name here should tell you all you need to know about the dearth of talent in this free- agency class. Johnson was the first overall pick in the AAF Draft before the Redskins signed him after losing Alex Smith and Colt McCoy to injury, and realizing that Mark Sanchez wasn't a realistic fallback plan. Johnson played well in three starts and there were reports that the Redskins were interested in re-signing the 32-year-old.

Hundley was forced into duty with the Packers in 2017 and, well, he looked very much like a second-year player who rarely took first-team reps. In nine games he completed 60.8 percent of his throws with 9 touchdowns and 12 picks. Green Bay traded him to the Seahawks before the 2018 season.

No. 3 QBs with starting experience Mark Sanchez Robert Griffin III Sean Mannion Matt Schaub Trevor Siemian Tom Savage Joe Webb Austin Davis

Look, every player isn't going to be a Hall of Famer. Sometimes, you need warm bodies to fill out the 53- man roster. That's what we have here. Sanchez, Griffin and Weeden are former first-rounders. Smith, Cassel, Schaub and Siemian all have several years of starting experience. Heinicke and Mannion are in their 20s with one NFL start each.

QBs looking for their first start Ryan Griffin David Fales

If you're looking for quarterbacks with NFL experience -- OTAs, minicamps, training camp, scout team -- that doesn't include seeing much game action, Gilbert, Griffin and Fales are affordable options.

Restricted and exclusive rights free agents (RFA) (RFA) Davis Webb (ERFA) Alex Tanney (ERFA) (ERFA) Brad Kaaya (ERFA)

While these players are considered free agents, they not able to sign with whomever they wish. Definitions via OverTheCap.com:

Restricted free agents: These are players that have at least three years of accrued service in the NFL. Due to changes in the draft process, which now mandates four year contracts, these players are almost exclusively Undrafted Free Agents. ... The team with which they finished the season holds the right through (the start of the league year) to extend a tender offer to the player. A tender allows the former team to exhibit a level of control over the player in free agency, similar to the franchise tag. At a minimum every tender allows them to match the offer sheet made by another team. RFAs are allowed to negotiate with other teams, even if a tender is applied.

Exclusive rights free agent: These are the players with two or fewer seasons in the league, a status reserved almost solely for undrafted rookie type players. Once tendered they can only negotiate with their former team. The tender offer is only a one year non-guaranteed contract at the minimum salary level so most teams would use the ERFA designation on players who were on the roster late in the prior year and signed to a 1 year deal. Usually these offers are signed as soon as they are made since nothing is gained by waiting.

2019 NFL Draft: Biggest combine snubs include big Nebraska running back, receiver who shined at Senior Bowl By Chris Trapasso CBS Sports Feb. 8, 2019

The 2019 NFL Combine list is out, and after scouring all 338 prospects invited to this year's athleticism exhibition in Indianapolis, I've identified the biggest snubs.

You can check out the full list of prospects invited to Indy right here, but now, let's get to the eight players I believe deserve to be at the combine.

Devine Ozigbo, RB, Nebraska Ozigbo is the draft-snub headliner after his 1,082-yard campaign at Nebraska in 2018 that featured a hefty 7.0 yards per carry. At 6-foot and around 235 pounds, Ozigbo is a load, but he's not a straight downhill back. He's flexible, can make defenders miss on occasion, and is capable of making cuts you wouldn't expect for such a big back. Ozigbo is currently my No. 88 overall prospect and RB7.

Penny Hart, WR, Georgia State Hart dazzled at the Senior Bowl just a few weeks ago, in the eyes of many. He outshined fellow slot receiver Andy Isabella with crisp, elusive routes, soft hands (better than he showed on film), and plenty of quickness to make cornerbacks miss in space. Maybe scouts saw enough in Mobile? Hart was a late add to the Senior Bowl roster who averaged 13.7 yards per grab and racked up 669 receiving yards in 2018, so the production could be scaring some teams away. Then again, Hart made 72 receptions for 1,109 yards (15.4 yards per) with eight scores as a freshman in 2015.

Malik Reed, EDGE/LB, Nevada Reed isn't the biggest outside linebacker at a listed 6-foot-2 and 235 pounds, but he performed admirably throughout his illustrious career at Nevada as both an edge rusher and traditional, off-ball linebacker. He registered 25.5 tackles for loss and 16 sacks over the past two seasons. He doesn't have a clear-cut trump card. However, Reed is smooth around the corner and uses his hands well to defeat bigger blockers. There's some sideline-to-sideline range to his game too.

Darwin Thompson, RB, Utah State The complete opposite of Ozigbo pertaining to size, the 5-foot-8, 200-pound back has a tiny frame but runs like an angry hornet. A junior college transfer, Thompson spent just one year at Utah State and averaged 6.8 yards per carry with 14 rushing scores en route to a 1,044-yard campaign. He's twitchy and has serious long speed to hit home runs.

Terronne Prescod, OG, NC State Here's a prospect I clearly like much, much more than the NFL. Prescod is currently my OG1, just outside of Round 1. But the 6-foot-4, 335-pound redshirt senior with a super-strong anchor and impressive lateral agility for his size won't be in Indianapolis later this month and into the first week of March. He'll have to exhibit his athleticism at the NC State pro day.

Olamide Zaccheaus, WR, Virginia Zaccheaus was the Cavaliers offense in 2018 with 1,073 yards on 93 catches and nine receiving touchdowns. That came after he hauled in 85 passes in 2017 and 51 in 2016. At 5-foot-8 and 190 pounds with excellent wiggle, reliable hands, and deceptive long speed, Zaccheaus projects perfectly to a slot/gadget position in the pros. He had big games against NC State (9-109-2) and in the Belk Bowl against South Carolina (12-100-3).

Cortez Broughton, DT, Cincinnati Broughton sort of came out of nowhere in 2018 with 18.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks after 10.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in his first three seasons at Cincinnati. He has a lightning fast first step and converts that quickness to low-center-of-gravity power. Heck, his defensive tackle teammate Marquise Copeland had good candidacy for a combine invite too.

Anthony Ratliff-Williams, WR, Ratliff-Williams proved to be a big-play threat on some bad North Carolina teams after Mitchell Trubisky bolted for the NFL after the 2016 season. In 2017, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound receiver averaged 18 yards per grab with eight touchdowns. This past year, he averaged 16.4 yards per reception with six more scores. He has impressive build-up speed and flashed the ability to win in jump-ball situations.

Grading the eight NFL head coach hires: , Vic Fangio, Freddie Kitchens receive highest marks By Sean Wagner-McGough CBS Sports Feb. 8, 2019

The 2018-19 NFL season has officially ended, and in the words of six-time Super Bowl winning head coach Bill Belichick, we're onto the 2019-20 season. One day after the Patriots defeated the Rams in Super Bowl LIII, the Bengals and Dolphins officially hired and , respectively, as their new coaches after waiting nearly a month for the Rams and Patriots' seasons to end, which means hiring season is over and grading season is here.

Now that the eight coaching opening have all been filled, we decided now would be a good time to grade the eight hirings. It's a dangerous game to play in large part because so many of these coaches are first-timers, which makes it extremely difficult to predict how they'll fare in their first head coaching ventures. For instance, a year ago, we gave the Cardinals a B+ for their hiring of Steve Wilks and we all know how that turned out. And if you don't how it turned out, well, just know the Cardinals will make an appearance on this list once again.

Before we get to the grades, it's worth noting that just because a team received a high grade doesn't mean we're predicting that team will go on to win a ton of games in 2019. There's more to winning than just coaching. It also comes down to personnel. For instance, we gave the Broncos a very high grade for their decision to hire Vic Fangio, but unless the Broncos find a better quarterback than Case Keenum for the upcoming season (unlikely) or get themselves out of the AFC West (extremely unlikely), they're probably not going to make the playoffs. And if that happens, it doesn't mean the Broncos erred in hiring Fangio. It means they've got a bigger problem than their coach, who can't fix everything on his own.

Below, you'll find a grade for all eight head coach hirings made over the past month or so. It's a dangerous game to play, but we're going to do it anyway.

Zac Taylor to the Bengals: B- It's easy to understand what the Bengals were going for when they zeroed in on Taylor as their preferred candidate before the Rams' postseason run even began and hired him the day after the Super Bowl. Sean McVay ended up being one of the best hirings ever, but at the time, it seemed like a reach to be hiring the youngest coach in NFL history. Maybe Taylor, 35, follows in McVay's footsteps and leads the Bengals to glory, but it's more likely that Taylor ends up being a reach and that McVay ends up being a one-of-a-kind hiring.

Taylor isn't just young. He's also incredibly inexperienced. He served as the Rams' quarterbacks coach this past season and the assistant wide receivers coach the season prior. He's only been an NFL once, and that came back in 2015 when he took over for the fired in Miami on an interim basis. In fairness to Taylor, he did spend a full season as the offensive coordinator at the University of Cincinnati, but he did not fare well in that endeavor. The Bearcats averaged 19.3 points per game under Taylor's command. As the Dolphins' quarterbacks coach, Taylor also helped develop Ryan Tannehill, but given the trajectory of Tannehill's career (he's expected to be released this offseason), that's probably not something to tout.

The Bengals' job won't be an easy one. He's inheriting an average 31-year-old quarterback in and a defense coming off a horrific season. Even if the Bengals are bad in 2019, that won't mean Taylor is a failure. There's plenty of problems that need fixing in Cincinnati. He deserves time to fix them. But it's impossible to give the Taylor hiring a top grade given his limited experience and success. To be frank, he only got hired because he worked under McVay. The Bengals are hoping he's a McVay clone.

For what it's worth, don't knock the hiring just because Jared Goff struggled in the Super Bowl. A year ago, the Chiefs collapsed in a playoff game, but the Bears hired anyway. He just won Coach of the Year. One game shouldn't be the reason why the Taylor hiring is met with skepticism. His entire resume should be the reason.

That said, give the Bengals credit for getting one thing 100 percent right: They didn't hire Hue Jackson, a decision that elevates their grade from a C to a B-.

Brian Flores to the Dolphins: B Similarly, we shouldn't crown the Dolphins for hiring Brian Flores just because the Patriots' defense is coming off an absolute masterpiece against the Rams in the Super Bowl. As the defensive play-caller, Flores deserves loads of credit for the Patriots' defensive effort against the Rams, but one game alone shouldn't be the reason why we praise or criticize a hiring.

There's plenty to like and dislike about the hiring, which is why the Dolphins get a B.

Let's start with the positives. Flores has been with the Patriots as an assistant coach for the past 11 seasons, which means he's worked closely with Belichick for a while now. He's won three Super Bowls as an assistant coach. In his first season as the Patriots' defensive play-caller, he coached a group that allowed the seventh-fewest points in the regular season before embarking upon an impressive playoff run against a gauntlet of devastating offenses: the Chargers, Chiefs, and Rams.

The only problem is, it's difficult to know how much credit Flores deserves when he's coaching a Belichick defense. The Belichick hasn't really led to successful head coaches.

The Dolphins get a slightly higher grade than the Bengals because their coach has had more success calling plays, but that doesn't make the hiring a home run. It's OK to be skeptical of Flores' future without Belichick. Most of Belichick's disciples haven't done well, with posture stickler serving as the most-recent example.

One thing is clear: Flores deserves time until we judge him as a coach. The Dolphins are not ready to win in 2019. Flores is going to be overseeing what should be a complete and total rebuild. Don't call him a bad coach if the Dolphins stink in 2019. It's a process.

Kliff Kingsbury to the Cardinals: B Similar to the Taylor hiring, the Cardinals hiring , 39, reeks of desperation -- desperation to find the next Sean McVay when odds are, there's only one Sean McVay.

I'll say this, though: I completely understand why the Cardinals hired Kingsbury. Their thinking makes sense.

They just traded up to draft Josh Rosen and then watched Rosen fail to overcome a bad offense in his rookie season, during which he completed 55.2 percent of his passes, averaged 5.8 yards per attempt, threw 11 touchdowns and 14 picks, and posted a 66.7 . Kingsbury has his shortcomings, which we'll get to in a moment, but he has had success coaching quarterbacks at the college level, most notably with Patrick Mahomes. And his offenses at Texas Tech scored at least 35 points per game in four of his six seasons in charge. Getting Rosen an offensive-minded coach was a no-brainer.

But Kingsbury's background isn't all good. He went 35-40 at Texas Tech. Put another way, he couldn't win consistently with Patrick freakin' Mahomes. He's never coached in the NFL. There's more to being an NFL coach than developing a highly drafted quarterback. Hiring Kingsbury is a better move than hiring some retread who has been around forever and won't adapt in an evolving sport, but it's also risky.

The Cardinals get a B because they had the right idea in hiring an offensive-minded coach who might be able to get the most out of Rosen, but they're also getting a B because Kingsbury is a huge unknown and a bit of a reach.

Adam Gase to the Jets: B Like Kingsbury, 's primary job is to develop a second-year quarterback. The Jets picked Gase to replace because they think he's the right guy to lead Sam Darnold's development after Darnold spent his rookie season enduring growing pains, but also flashing plenty of potential. thinks Gase is the right man for the job, but it's OK to be skeptical of Gase, who is coming off a three-year run in Miami best described as meh.

With the Dolphins, Gase posted a 23-25 record. In fairness to Gase, he was forced to coach half of those games without Ryan Tannehill as his starting quarterback. With Tannehill as the starter, the Dolphins made the playoffs once and went 13-11. Without him as the starter, they went 10-14, which is probably better than most teams would've fared with backups.

But the underlying numbers suggest that Gase got lucky. In three seasons, Gase never finished with a positive point differential. Even in 2016, when the Dolphins won 10 games, they got outscored by 17 points over the course of the season. Put together, Gase got outscored by 243 points in three seasons. In one-score games, Gase posted a 20-6 record, which is just insane. Twenty of his 23 wins in three seasons came by one score!

There are two ways of looking at that stat. The first is that Gase deserves credit for winning close games. Heck, we always give Bill Belichick and credit for winning close games. Doesn't Gase deserve the same treatment? The second way of looking at it is to say Gase's record in one-score games is bound to regress, because it involved a ton of luck -- and a ton of missed field goals. Put it this way, if Gase had won only half of his one-score games (13-13) and departed Miami with a 16-32 record, would he have gotten the Jets' job?

The good news is that we're about to find out if Gase was lucky he won so many close games or unlucky that the best quarterback he worked with was Tannehill, who missed half of his games. The Jets' job is a good one with a potential franchise quarterback already in place. Gase is supposedly a quarterback guru. Barring bad injury luck, he won't have many excuses.

If Gase succeeds in New York, we can classify his three-year run in Miami as an important learning experience with a bad franchise. If he fails, the Dolphins' underlying numbers with Gase will have been a warning sign that the Jets chose to ignore.

Matt LaFleur to the Packers: B+ The same criticisms for the Bengals' decision to hire Taylor exist for the Packers' decision to hire Matt LaFleur. He's inexperienced, but he got a head coaching job because of his ties to McVay.

LaFleur served as the offensive coordinator during the Rams' breakout season in 2017, but it was McVay calling the plays. He left Los Angeles last offseason to become the Titans' offensive coordinator and play- caller. In his lone season in Nashville, the Titans' offense ranked 25th in yards, 27th in points, and 22nd in DVOA. That might not be entirely LaFleur's fault given all of the injuries the Titans' offense dealt with, but nothing LaFleur did in Tennessee -- away from McVa, and with Marcus Mariota -- makes him especially qualified to be a coach already.

But we can't really knock the Packers for hiring him. After all, this is what we've all been asking them to do after watching Mike McCarthy saddle Aaron Rodgers with an antiquated offense for years, isn't it? And it's not like the Packers passed up on some genius offensive mind available for hire. They're taking a risk by hiring LaFleur, but it's an understandable risk given their circumstances. At least, unlike Taylor, LaFleur has experience calling plays for a full NFL season.

Vic Fangio to the Broncos: A- The Broncos might have difficulty winning games in 2019 because they still haven't sorted out the quarterback position (no, Case Keenum still isn't the answer), but their decision to hire Vic Fangio should be praised even though most of the league has decided that hiring offensive coaches is the way to go. Fangio isn't an offensive coach, but in a market lacking obvious offensive masterminds, he's the next best thing.

What he is, is a defensive mastermind. He was just named the Assistant Coach of the Year for his work as the Bears' defensive coordinator this past season, when the Bears rode the league's best defense to a division crown. When Fangio arrived in Chicago, he inherited a defense that ranked 31st in points allowed. The Bears finished in the top 10 in points allowed in each of the past two seasons, including a first-place finish this past season. As the defensive coordinator of the 49ers before his move to Chicago, Fangio's defenses ranked in the top-10 in both yards and points allowed in all four of his seasons.

The Broncos can expect their defense to play well under Fangio with Von Miller and Bradley Chubb leading the way. It'll come down to their offense, which is less about Fangio and more about John Elway's ability to finally find a franchise quarterback. In the meantime, at least the Broncos will be strong defensively.

Freddie Kitchens to the Browns: A This one is simple. For the Browns, it's all about pairing Baker Mayfield with a coach who knows how to develop him. After watching what Freddie Kitchens did with Mayfield during the second half of the season, why would the Browns have hired anyone else?

With Hue Jackson and Todd Haley for six games, Mayfield completed 58.3 percent of his passes, averaged 6.6 yards per attempt, threw eight touchdowns and six interceptions, posted a 78.9 passer rating, and got sacked 20 times. With Kitchens for eight games, Mayfield completed 68.4 percent of his passes, averaged 8.6 yards per attempt, threw 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions, posted a 106.2 passer rating, and got sacked five times.

I don't care that much if Kitchens doesn't have much experience. The Browns' future depends entirely on Mayfield's development. And Kitchens already proved he's a perfect fit for that aspect of the job.

Bruce Arians to the Buccaneers: A This one is also simple. Bruce Arians has been one of the league's best head coaches ever since he finally got the opportunity to lead a team after a long career as an offensive coordinator. In relief of Chuck Pagano with the Colts in 2012, he went 9-3. With the Cardinals from 2013-17, he went 49-30-1. The first year without him, the Cardinals went 3-13.

The Buccaneers are incredibly lucky he's coming out of retirement to coach them. So is Jameis Winston, who is entering the most important season of his career. In Arizona, Arians revived Carson Palmer's career and turned him into an MVP candidate. Winston has always been talented, but has failed to cut down on his turnovers and bouts of erratic play. It's easy to understand why Arians, who loves a deep passing game, wanted to coach him, even if he has several concerning flaws -- including his troubling history off the field.

Arians was the best coach available this offseason. He also managed to bring Todd Bowles with him, who for all of his flaws as a head coach, has been a tremendous defensive coordinator. Bowles will be needed to fix a Buccaneers defense coming off a disastrous season that saw them finish last in DVOA.

The Buccaneers might not win a ton of games during the 2019 season -- roster questions persist -- but they won hiring season by landing Arians.

Todd Gurley's Super Bowl disappearance another knock on paying running backs By Frank Schwab Feb. 8, 2019

Todd Gurley’s lack of use in the NFC championship game and Super Bowl LIII was strange because it rarely happens at any other position.

The wouldn’t sit J.J. Watt for half the snaps and blame game flow. The wouldn’t ignore Odell Beckham Jr. because of “rhythm.” There’s no game plan that would leave Tom Brady on the bench for half of the New England Patriots’ plays.

Yet in the ’ two biggest games in almost two decades, Gurley played 75 snaps to 57 for C.J. Anderson. Gurley, a two-time All-Pro, didn’t get his second carry of Super Bowl LIII until less than six minutes remained in the first half. Perhaps the biggest story of the game was Gurley’s lack of use. Gurley was given a $57.5 million extension last offseason. Anderson, who was cut by the Panthers and Raiders during this season, made $92,941 with the Rams this season.

Many believe Gurley was still suffering from a knee injury, and maybe that’s true. But over and over and over the Rams and Gurley insisted he wasn’t hurt. Gurley was taken off the injury report before the NFC title game and was never listed on it before the Super Bowl. If Gurley was hurt, it would be reckless for the Rams to risk a major penalty for lying on the injury report instead of just listing him as questionable. Also, if Gurley was healthy enough to play in the Super Bowl, it stands to reason he would play as much as possible. He had seven months to recover.

We might like conspiracy theories, but there’s no tangible proof Gurley was injured. The Rams and Gurley keep telling us it was just a coaching decision. And that’s more ammunition for those who believe it’s not prudent to pay top dollar for running backs.

Running backs finding it tougher to get paid Some team is going to pay Le’Veon Bell. Probably. He has already turned down a fortune from the , and stated he didn’t take their offer because he didn’t want to contribute to the devaluation of the running back position.

“Our value isn’t where it needs to be,” Bell told ESPN last year.

His argument isn’t stronger today, however. Since Bell sat out all season, waiting to finally hit unrestricted free agency, James Conner ($578,000 base salary) played very well. Gurley fell into a timeshare late in the playoffs. LeSean McCoy (the top 2018 salary cap number among all backs) finished 29th in the NFL in rushing yards and averaged 3.2 yards per carry. Jerick McKinnon tore his ACL in a preseason practice after signing a $30 million deal with the 49ers. Atlanta’s Devonta Freeman, in the second year of a $43 million deal, played only two games due to injury. The list goes on.

A team like the Jets or Colts, with a ton of cap space, will happily pay Bell a lot of money. How much remains to be seen. It might not quite be the mega payday Bell wants. Time and time again we’ve seen that teams that can get a perfectly capable running back, or use a platoon, at a fraction of the price they’d pay a superstar.

The team that paid the most at running back this season, for a single player and percentage of the salary cap, was the . McCoy had the highest cap number among NFL running backs. The 6.1 percent of the cap they spent on running backs was by far the top mark in the league according to Spotrac; the were second at 4.7 percent. The Bills were 30th in yards gained, 30th in points scored and 31st in total offense in DVOA, Football Outsiders’ per-play metric.

To be fair, the Rams paid the fourth-highest percentage of their cap at running back and the Patriots were seventh. The Rams might not have reached the Super Bowl without Gurley being great in the regular season. The Patriots relied heavily on their three-headed attack at running back in the playoffs. New England’s was the most productive running back in the postseason, and the Patriots invested a first-round pick in him.

Maybe there’s still value in investing big at running back. But watching the Rams give a good amount of snaps to Anderson — admittedly a bit overweight, cut by a terrible Raiders team during the season, getting paid a total salary about 1/226th of Gurley’s signing bonus — made it seem like bad business.

Teams going in different direction at running back Since the beginning of the Super Bowl, there has been little correlation between having the best running back in the league and winning a title. Only four of the 53 champions had the NFL’s rushing champion, and Dallas’ accounts for three of the four. , with the 1998 Broncos, is the other. Davis was also the last first-team All-Pro back to win a Super Bowl, 20 years ago. As Bleacher Report pointed out, only three of the 19 teams that have won a Super Bowl since 2000 had even a Pro Bowl back on their roster.

The arguments are well known by now. Running backs have shorter careers. They get injured often. With the NFL changing, teams feel better about using multiple backs with specialized skills. And running backs seem relatively easy to find for cheap: The picked in the first round and he mostly sat this season behind 2017 seventh-round pick ; the Denver Broncos took Royce Freeman in the third round and then watched undrafted Phillip Lindsay rush for 1,000 yards and make a Pro Bowl.

It’s not like it’s a bad thing to have a great running back. All things being equal, it’s better to have an than not. But many teams have decided against paying big money for a star running back. We saw again in the Super Bowl why that trend might not change anytime soon.

Daniel Jones, Coach Cut and the Manning Connection By Kalyn Kahler MMQB Feb. 8, 2019

David Cutcliffe is driving south on I-85. Duke’s head coach had a busy day in Atlanta, hopping from high school to high school recruiting. Tonight, he’ll speak to a group of Alabama high school football coaches in Montgomery, but his thoughts keep turning to another part of the state, where Daniel Jones, the quarterback he’s coached for the last four years, is in the middle of a crucial week at Senior Bowl.

“I don’t even have time to check the internet and it’s frustrating because I am actually a nervous wreck,” Cutcliffe says. “I can’t help but to be.”

Cutcliffe knows being there would be more distracting than helpful, because Jones is rarely referenced without mention of his coach, who also developed Peyton and Eli Manning. “I’d love to be there,” Cutcliffe says, “but I’d have to put a disguise on.”

Jones is one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2019 draft class; there’s a lot to like about him. He’s 6' 5", 220 lbs, he’s accurate, he’s shown an ability to read defenses and manipulate coverage with his eyes, and he’s resilient—he broke his collarbone early in the 2018 season at Northwestern, had surgery to fix it, and returned to the field just 20 days later.

NFL teams have questions about his arm strength, and he could stand to speed up his release, but as of right now, most scouts I’ve talked to predict he’ll be the second or third quarterback picked. Jones threw two interceptions during seven-on-seven work at a Senior Bowl practice and was outperformed by another top prospect, Missouri quarterback Drew Lock. When it came to the actual game, Jones outplayed Lock in an MVP performance. One NFL scout said that right now, Jones and Lock are quarterbacks 2a and 2b behind Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins, and it will depend on what a team is looking for in their quarterback. The same scout said that in his view, “Jones gets the edge because of Cutcliffe.”

Cutcliffe’s most successful pupil concurs. “Daniel has a real advantage because he has been coached by Coach Cutcliffe,” Peyton Manning says… “or Coach Cut, as everyone calls him.”

Cutcliffe was Peyton Manning’s quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee, and Eli Manning’s head coach at Ole Miss. “My dad had the biggest impact on me, but after that it was Coach Cut,” Peyton says. “Because he got me from [age] 18 to 22 and developed me.”

Every offseason during his NFL career, Peyton paid a visit to Cutcliffe wherever he was coaching—Ole Miss, Tennessee or Duke. “I’d go back for a tuneup, like a golfer going back to his first swing coach,” Peyton says. “He is very candid, he’ll always point out any bad habits that you have. As you get older in the NFL that’s the biggest challenge, being on top of fundamentals and details, and that is his strength.”

Even though he is now retired, Peyton still went back to Duke with Eli last offseason, and Jones was there to pick the brothers’ brains. Jones was a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy for two years, and has developed a relationship with the Mannings because of their connection to Cutcliffe. Peyton says he was even part of Jones’s decision process to forego his final year eligibility at Duke and enter the draft. “We spent a decent amount of time talking about what he was going to do,” Peyton says. “My advice to him was, it’s up to you to make the right decision by what you do now, going to work and going all the way.”

When Jones decided to declare for the draft, he called Peyton to let him know his final decision.

Cutcliffe has his own unique vocabulary of quarterback-isms, which is often subconsciously repeated by players he has coached. You’ll hear it in Peyton’s dialogue on his Details show on ESPN+, and you’ll hear certain phrases pop up in interviews with Jones. Do the right things in practice. Fast-twitch decisions. No feet, defeat. We train a quarterback from the neck up and the neck down. And Peyton’s personal favorite: There’s a completion out there somewhere on first down.

In his NFL career, Peyton was known for his devotion to study and preparation—the neck up—which is something he picked up in part from Cutcliffe. Jones’s private quarterbacks coach, David Morris, was Eli Manning’s backup at Ole Miss. Morris remembers that each week on the night before the game, Cutcliffe would sit them down for a QB test. “We used to sit in a room and go over signals,” he says. “Eli would always beat me, he has a better memory than I do. Coach Cut is all about the details, so it requires a lot of studying in order to be good under those guys.”

Under Cutcliffe, Jones went from late-blooming recruit to first-round prospect.

In interviews with teams at the Senior Bowl, Jones says the topic of his relationship with the Mannings and Cutcliffe came up frequently, and the conversation always came back to that familiar word: preparation. “People are interested in my connection with Peyton and Eli and how they have helped me and I am certainly willing to share that,” he says. “I think those guys have impacted the way I prepared and made an impression on how important preparing is.”

“We spend a lot of time in the classroom,” says Cutcliffe. “One of the reasons our guys will succeed is they know the work ethic, they know the study, they know the amount of time it takes to prepare, and Daniel is tremendous from the neck up.”

Jones, who played high school football in-state at Charlotte Latin School, was initially overlooked by Duke. He was a bit of late bloomer and grew taller between his junior and senior years. During basketball season his junior year he broke his right wrist, but didn’t realize it until May of that year. He underwent surgery on his throwing wrist and, because of the early summer timing, missed his chance to get noticed by major programs on the camp circuit. Jones committed to Princeton, the only school that had offered him, until Morris, who by then had been coaching Jones for two years, called his old coach Cutcliffe. “I know y'all got a quarterback,” Morris told him. “But you really need to check out this kid.”

Then Cutcliffe’s phone rang again. It was Larry McNulty, Jones’s high school coach at Charlotte Latin School. “Coach, I think he is better than Princeton,” McNulty said. “I know you’ll know when you take a look.”

Cutcliffe put on the tape and called McNulty back. “Don’t you call anybody else,” Cutcliffe said. “You’re right, and we want him at Duke.”

Charlotte Latin had one game left on the schedule, so Cutcliffe assigned Scottie Montgomery, then Duke’s offensive coordinator, to go to the game. Montgomery loved what he saw. Jones loved Duke so much he committed without a scholarship offer (the Blue Devils had already filled their recruiting class). In July, a scholarship opened up for him. “The recruiting process is a little faulty these days when you don’t really get to evaluate seniors,” Cutcliffe says. “Everything is moved up so fast that I’m sure what our coaches had done who had the area is took a brief look off junior tape and that's how you miss them.”

Thankfully for Jones, the rigorous NFL scouting process leaves no chance he’ll be overlooked this time. Peyton says he’s already had a couple NFL teams call him during this past college season to ask about Jones.

One scout in Mobile said that Cutcliffe’s reputation will help Jones because teams want to eliminate risk when drafting a player. Knowing that Jones was coached by Cutcliffe will help eliminate any concern that he won’t be prepared, or won’t pick up an NFL offense quickly enough.

Jones has a thick binder that holds all papers related to his training and draft preparation, organized neatly. There’s a divider for his schedule, a divider for his notes on different types of NFL offenses, and divider called, The QB Bonus, which houses several excerpts about quarterbacks from Bill Parcells and Bill Walsh’s books, Rudyard Kipling’s poem, “If,” and a white sheet of paper labeled Strengths and Weaknesses. In the Weaknesses column is written “being assertive.” Morris and Jones point out this is listed here because it’s a weakness that others perceive him to have, because Jones is naturally quiet and serious.

“He reminds me of Eli a little bit,” Morris says. “Somewhat soft-spoken, super competitive.” Jones knows that his reserved nature can cast doubt on his ability to lead a team, and he’s ready to combat it. “Sometimes when people first meet me they perceive my personality to be less than maybe what is typical of a guy in my position,” he says. “But I don't think I've ever had an issue doing that and I feel confident in my ability to assert myself.”

Several scouts wonder, has Cutcliffe coached a successful NFL quarterback since the Mannings? Before Peyton, he coached a high draft pick in Heath Shuler—a bust. At Duke, where he has coached since 2007, he produced journeyman backup and former seventh-round pick . But while Cutcliffe’s last NFL success story is Eli, he also hasn’t had a talent like that until now.

By the time Cutcliffe starts his presentation that night for the group of Alabama high school football coaches, he’s taken a second to watch a quick clip of Jones throwing at Senior Bowl practice. “It made me smile because that ball just came out like it was supposed to,” he says. “It let me go to sleep because I am worried like it’s a son.”

As NFL evaluators will tell you, the Cutcliffe connection is nice, but ultimately it’s Jones throwing the ball.

Case Keenum not fretting about status with Broncos By Kevin Patra NFL.com Feb. 8, 2019

Case Keenum is not fretting that his boss, John Elway, views the quarterback's employment as a "short- term fix."

After an uneven first season in Denver in which he threw for 3,890 yards, 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions and the Broncos won just six games, Keenum is aware the team brass is searching for long- term answers.

"I follow a little bit of it. I take it for what it's worth," Keenum said, via the team's official website. "It's not something that's affecting me and my preparation and how I'm ready to go as a football player and what my job is. It's not affecting my job. For me, I take more of what my coaches say and the meetings that we've had. I had a great meeting with John [Elway] at the end of the year and we've all got to be better. That's hands down what it comes down to. I was mad just like every other Broncos fan watching all these playoff games and us sitting at home. I feel the same way that we've all got to be better."

Keenum is the latest underwhelming quarterback Elway has employed. Since Peyton Manning retired in 2016, the Broncos have started Trevor Siemian, Brock Osweiler, Paxton Lynch and now Keenum. Not exactly the ' jersey-long list of futility, but no long-term answer either.

Elway could consider adding a rookie signal-caller with the team's No. 10 overall pick to pair with Keenum for a season.

The veteran quarterback rebuffed the idea that he's worried about the team drafting a first-round quarterback or any other offseason addition.

"When's the draft?" Keenum asked smirking. "Sorry, I haven't looked at any draft boards yet. I know how much that changes and how that goes. My job is to get healthy and to get ready for this year. I'm not going to be paying too much attention to that right now especially."

Keenum is set to make $18 million in base salary in 2019, with $7 million guaranteed. The Broncos would save $11 million on the salary cap but incur $10 million in dead money by moving on from the quarterback in the next several months.

Elway seems desperate to finally hit on a quarterback, so nothing can be ruled out in mid-February. At this stage, however, it seems like pairing Keenum with a rookie seems the most plausible route the Broncos could take in 2019. It's on the GM to find the right answer this time around.