Broncos say Bye to Brandon Marshall

Drafted in 2012 by the Jacksonville Jaguars and signed by the Denver Broncos practice squad in September 2013 and later the 53-man squad on Christmas eve the same year. Brandon Marshall is likely to be moving on to pastures new to start the 2019 season.

EPSN’s Adam Schefter recently reported that John Elway will opt against exercising the extension in Marshall’s contract and instead let him test the waters as a free agent as of March 13th.

Although I fully expect the Broncos to offer Marshall a deal on a much lower salary which I imagine will be beat out relatively easy by any team in need of a middle linebacker.

Marshall is a former day 3 selection out of Nevada and much like his play the past 2 years he’ll be joining a weak free agency core of linebackers with only Jordan Hicks, C.J Mosely and Anthony Barr consisting of any real quality.

Brandon Marshall is past his prime

Grading out at 74.8 from his sophomore year through to 2016, Marshall has declined considerably since putting up a measly 61.8 grade across 910 defensive snaps. 2018 saw his grade raise slightly to 64.1 but his season was decimated by injury.

Broncos fans have been in consensus for years that Marshall needs to be moved on. The rate in which he’s missed tackles and lost his man in coverage situations have increased exponentially.

Brandon Marshall has missed 18 tackles over the past 2 years after only missing 14 in total in 2014-2016.

When targeted he’s routinely given up big plays, giving up 12.1 yards per play in 2018, In fact QBs have averaged out at 115.2 whenever they’ve looked his way.

The biggest issue many have with Marshall is his inability to cover tight ends and play the run despite his 6’1, 250 lbs frame. In 2014 Marshall allowed only 7.2 yards per play and QBs only amassed an 86.1 QBR when they attempted to play through him.

He also logged a career-high five pass breakups and missed only four tackles on the year.

Whoever picks up Marshall needs to understand the player they’re getting now isn’t the one that helped Denver taste victory in Super Bowl 50. His key problem areas have been glaring for a number of years now and significant improvement needs to be made if he’s to take up a position as an every-down linebacker.

Proving he can be healthy is another big issue for Brandon Marshall but what does it matter when his play on the field is equally as effective as it is when he’s on the treatment table.

For more like this, you can visit our NFL section here. Also, follow us on Facebook for coverage of the NFL and much more