Broncos scouting report: Predictions for Denver’s matchup with Colts, Daniel Jones

Broncos - at Colts - When Sunday p m Where Lucas Oil Stadium Indianapolis TV radio CBS AM FM Broncos-Colts series Denver has the upper hand at - across meetings The Broncos blitzed Indianapolis - in December last year when Colts back Jonathan Taylor infamously dropped the ball ahead of the goal line on a would-be -yard touchdown and changed the tenor of the encounter In the spotlight The Broncos defense runs into a rookie Joker Type joker football into Google and AI will give you the following definition In American football a joker can refer to a hybrid offensive performer who lines up at various positions running back tight end receiver to create mismatches Pretty accurate if you ask Sean Payton His definition though is a bit simpler When we were trying to identify the tight ends or running backs that are rare pass receivers that d be the definition AI Wikipedia Payton disclosed in early August The guy the Broncos will line up against Sunday then is a Joker through and through Because Colts rookie tight end Tyler Warren is a rare pass receiver Payton and his staff liked him in this April s NFL draft the Broncos head coach repeated Monday Just not enough to sell the farm to get him though as Warren went No to Indianapolis Payton and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph will now be tasked with game-planning against him No easy task for a athlete who spent his NFL debut lining up in the backfield the slot and out wide No easy task for a player who once caught a touchdown after snapping the ball in one challenge last year at Penn State Indy s moving him doing things that are built around what we saw in college Payton stated He has snaps at Wildcat We re going to see that this year I don t know when There obviously was like a Warren plan and you re going to have to defend that He s one of those guys you just say he s a real good football athlete The Colts proved against the Dolphins that they weren t shy about hitting Warren early and often Their very first offensive play of the encounter was a designed rollout from Daniel Jones with Warren as the first read And Miami did not have an effective anti-Warren plan in Week as the -foot- -pound matchup matter caught that first ball for yards and then caught six more in a - Colts win It opens up a lot of things head coach Shane Steichen explained this week We got the weapons on the outside that we have but now having him inside is great And obviously he was explosive the day before getting the ball in his hands the way we did The Broncos defense played with their food chewed it up and spit it out in Week against the Titans The final tournament book is still baffling a week later total yards for the Titans against penalty yards Indianapolis though presents a new level of challenge Broncos star cornerback Pat Surtain II praised their cavalcade of receivers steady No option Michael Pittman Jr home run-hitter Alec Pierce and talented second-year youngster Adonai Mitchell Warren floats somewhere in the mix anywhere between the hashes Linebacker Dre Greenlaw was signed specifically for this kind of matchup both muscled enough and quick enough to keep up over the middle with Warren s kind of hybrid TE Greenlaw s status though still remains lost somewhere up in the thin Denver air If he can t go that places an incredible weight on the shoulders of Alex Singleton and fill-in Justin Strnad Expect more dime looks with rookie Jahdae Barron too We definitely gotta keep an eye out for him Surtain II mentioned of the rookie because they utilize him a lot in the passing contest Who has the edge When Broncos run The good news for Indianapolis last week was that they held the Dolphins to rushing yards in an absolute blowout The bad news for Indianapolis last week was that Miami still managed to churn to yards a carry only running the ball times in an effort to play catch-up Colts inside linebacker Zaire Franklin is a stud named a second-team All-Pro last year after leading the NFL with tackles But his starting ILB mate Joe Bachi has tackles across a six-year NFL career Edge Broncos if Payton commits to running the ball When Broncos pass This one s pretty straightforward Colts CB Charvarius Ward entered the NFL s concussion protocol Monday If he plays it ll be a bit more of a test for Bo Nix and company against a Colts defense that finished th in pass defense last year If he doesn t play current deal addition Mekhi Blackmon suddenly becomes really significant Edge Broncos When Colts run Quietly there were a scarce possessions in Week where Titans lead back Tony Pollard gashed the Broncos Then Denver figured out Tennessee had no other ground-game threats and little offensive ingenuity and stifled him in the second half It won t be nearly as easy this week The Colts of module boast star back Jonathan Taylor if he doesn t drop the ball this time plus fifth-round rookie DJ Giddens yards on carries against Miami plus dual-threat QB Daniel Jones two rushing TDs in Week Edge Colts When Colts pass The Danny Dimes renaissance has arrived After six largely fruitless seasons in New York Jones looked like whisper one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in Week dicing up the Dolphins for yards and three total TDs That was of module the Dolphins The Broncos will have their hands full with Tyler Warren and company but they handled Calvin Ridley and company just fine last Sunday Edge Broncos Special teams Denver looked pretty bad here in Week with Marvin Mims Jr s muffed punt and a -yard kickoff return allowed to Tennessee Colts punter Rigoberto Sanchez averaged yards a punt last year and his right leg must be itching after going without a boot in Week Slight edge Colts Coaching Colts offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter has a few excellent offensive horseplay and an equally excellent name For the second week in a row though the Broncos will face a head coach in Shane Steichen with less than three years of NFL head-coaching experience Sean Payton stared directly in a mirror and admitted last week s play-calling performance wasn t his best but he s got plenty of years on Steichen and plenty more success Edge Broncos Tale of the tape Broncos Colts Total offense th th Rush offense th th Pass offense st th Points per encounter th th Total defense st rd Run defense th th Pass defense st th Points allowed th nd By the numbers Broncos Zach Allen Nik Bonitto Jonathon Cooper Justin Strnad Jonah Elliss Ja Quan McMillian with a sack in Week against the Titans Missed field goals for Colts kicker Spencer Shrader in his NFL career for on FGs for on extra points Yardage on Denver rookie back RJ Harvey s fifth NFL carry the longest run by any Bronco since Latavius Murray in Bo Nix s completion percentage over expected when pressured in Week against the Titans according to Next Gen Stats Pressure rate on Colts quarterback Daniel Jones dropbacks in Week the third-lowest in any championship of his seven-year NFL career according to Next Gen Stats Pressure rate on Titans quarterback Cam Ward s dropbacks in Week courtesy of the Broncos pass-rush Related Articles After poor Week Broncos QB Bo Nix didn t want to wait for next encounter Can t we just play again Broncos Vance Joseph feels it s a luxury to bring first-round rookie Jahdae Barron along slowly Why Broncos think tweak to kickoff rule could change teams coin toss decision-making Renck Time to worry about Broncos Bo Nix Check back after this week vs Colts Broncos defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers misses practice with knee injury X-factors Broncos WR Marvin Mims Jr The third-year wideout had just three catches for yards last Sunday on the heels of a breakout stretch run He didn t get any carries either after establishing himself as a backfield threat last year Payton s got to have more up his sleeve here Colts WR Adonai Mitchell Pat Surtain II explained this week that the Colts second-year wideout has all the tools to be flourishing Surtain the reigning defensive sportsman of the year does not lather such compliments upon wideouts willy-nilly Mitchell had just catches in and two last week clearly Surtain sees particular promising Post predictions Parker Gabriel Broncos beat writer It s impossible to forget the Jonathan Taylor Moment from a year ago but easy to gloss over the part where if he just ya know holds onto the ball the Colts are up two scores in the second half This isn t likely to be an easy test on the road Indy has thought-provoking skill talent a true matchup dilemma in TE Tyler Warren and a defense now coordinated by the respected Lou Anarumo Vance Joseph s group better be on its championship once again Broncos Colts Luca Evans Broncos beat writer The Broncos are going to get tested here Their run defense had various gaps in Week against the Titans and Indianapolis has several different avenues to attack gaps between Jonathan Taylor DJ Giddens and Daniel Jones Sean Payton has declared he necessities to be better as a play-caller which either means we re about to see a ruthless carries combined for J K Dobbins and RJ Harvey or certain mesh concepts never before seen to humankind Plus the Broncos defense is set to turn Danny Dimes into Danny Nickels Broncos Colts Troy Renck columnist One of these two teams looked like a playoff contender last week And it wasn t the Broncos It is time for Sean Payton s offense to start showing progress after a sluggish preseason and disappointing opener Balance is the key The Broncos must commit to the run match including using Bo Nix s legs Thirteen quarterbacks had at least yards in Week Nix must join that club this week He won t turn the ball over this week Indiana Jones will Multiple times Broncos Colts Sean Keeler columnist The Colts haven t started - at home since Sean Payton hasn t won a true road opener since Welcome to the NFL s Something s Gotta Give Bowl and you better believe Jonathan Taylor hasn t forgotten how he handed a win to the Broncos last December Danny Dimes is the King of Indy but does he have the big-boy pants for a big-boy defense He is coming off his ninth career battle in which he accounted for three TDs or more In the tilt forthwith following one of those his teams are just - lifetime Make that - Broncos Colts Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis