Even a former teammate of Broncos general manager John Elway thinks he’s incapable of bringing success back to Denver.
Mark Schlereth blocked for the legendary Broncos quarterback from 1995-1998, including Super Bowl seasons in 1997 and 1998. That didn’t stop Schlereth, who is now an analyst on FS1’s “Speak for Yourself,” from sharing his frustrations with Elway.
“Do I trust him to fix what’s gone wrong? No!” Schlereth said. “This football team lacks depth, they lack talent, they lack grit, they lack toughness. They haven’t had an offensive line that’s worth a squirt of urine in five years.”
Schlereth theorized that tackle Garrett Bolles, whom Elway picked in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, is only on the roster because Elway — now in his eighth season as Broncos president and general manager — won’t admit he was wrong to pick him. Schlereth said Bolles is playing so badly, the team resents management’s decision to stick with him during the Broncos’ 2-6 start.
“You think you can continue to run him out and not every guy in that locker room’s pissed off?” Schlereth said. “Why is he on this team? Why is he playing? Because he was my first-round pick and I’m going to prove I got it right.”
Wooing Peyton Manning to Denver, which led to a Super Bowl 50 championship, is one of the lone positives Schlereth would acknowledge of Elway’s tenure. Since Manning’s retirement after that win over the Panthers, the Broncos’ quarterback situation has been a mixture of bad draft picks (Paxton Lynch) and failed veterans (Case Keenum, Joe Flacco, Trevor Siemian).
With Flacco out with a neck injury this week, first-year coach Vic Fangio is starting journeyman Brandon Allen against the Browns. The hope is that this year’s second-round pick, Drew Lock out of Missouri, will be the future of the franchise. Lock has been on IR all season with a finger injury, though he said this week that he is healthy and “ready whenever.”
It feels like whenever needs to come soon for Elway and this Broncos franchise.