The Denver Broncos have had plenty of issues with their special teams' units over recent years. In the 2022 season, they hit a new low as one of the worst units, primarily due to issues with their punting team. They made a change at punter, but it wasn't a significant upgrade. Riley Dixon, who started his career in Denver, averaged 1.8 yards more per punt than Corliss Waitman, with his net average being 0.7 yards less than Waitman. When you looked at advanced numbers, there still isn't much to say it was an upgrade.
Then you look at Brandon McManus, who was 34th out of 40 kickers in field goal percentage last year. He is at a point financially the Broncos can make a switch, but before they do, they need someone to replace him. For that competition, they can find both in the 2023 NFL Draft, though they'll likely be picking from those who don't hear their name called with only five picks.
Turk has a chance to be drafted, which would take him out of consideration for the Broncos. They can't afford to use one of their five picks on a specialist. However, Turk would be a solid fit, but he would need to develop touch on his punts for punting at altitude.
If Baringer could find consistency with his touch and accuracy in short-field situations, he would probably be viewed as the best punter in the class. Unfortunately, there is still a good chance he gets drafted, which doesn't bode well for the Broncos. The accuracy issues are a concern with balancing it out with power, especially when punting at altitude.
If the Broncos want to bet on their offense being able to move the ball more consistently, Robbins would be a great option to compete with Riley Dixon. While he doesn't have the power to flip the field, if the offense can consistently get a first down or two, his accuracy and touch of Robbins would be tremendous.
If the Broncos want to add Carlson, and if they were to go with him, they would need to have a reliable short-yard punter or be more aggressive on offense. Carlson doesn't have the leg to be reliable on kicks over 40 yards, so in that range beyond that, they'll have to punt or go for it. They would also need a punter who can handle the kickoff duties.
Ryland is an interesting one with the inconsistency in his range. He could be someone to bring competition with McManus, but he may not be an upgrade over McManus as a rookie. The question is if the Broncos will want to take a kicker to develop or if they are looking for more of an immediate upgrade.
There are some solid options to bring added completion at both punter and kicker, even beyond these five. Even if they don't draft one, which wouldn't be advisable, they need to look at adding someone else instead of handing the jobs to Dixon and McManus.
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