Two Steps Sean Payton Must Take to Improve Broncos' Woeful Screen Game

Sean Payton loves the screen game, which has almost always been the case, but it hasn’t been working for the Denver Broncos so far this season. There are a few reasons for it, and the Broncos can improve their utilization.

That's what we're breaking down today, and the steps Payton must take to improve Denver's screen game.

First things first: Bo Nix has 47 screen play drop-backs this season, the most in the NFL, and two more than Trevor Lawrence, making them the only quarterbacks over 40. On those plays, Nix has 45 attempts with 38 completions, the most of any quarterback, but his completion percentage ranks 13th out of 29 quarterbacks.

All five of Nix’s incompletions were marked as drops by the target, which makes his adjusted completion percentage 100%, as it is with 12 other quarterbacks. 

Secondly, the big issue is how often the Broncos used the screen game early against the New York Giants, calling 11 screen dropbacks for Nix. On the surface, it makes sense because the Giants' safeties and linebackers take bad angles to the boundary, and their corners are awful when working downhill. 

It made sense going into the game to attack the Giants' defense with the screen game, but after five or six calls with it not working, it was time to switch it up. Now, what the Giants did to counter the Broncos' screen game is a direct attack on a problem with the Broncos' offense that they need to fix to help out this aspect of Payton's scheme. 

On a screen pass, which is one of the riskiest plays in football, you have to keep defenses on their toes on the boundary, and you do that with a strong attack in the middle of the field. You see, what the Giants did to counter the Broncos' screen game was to have their linebackers and safeties cheat middle-of-the-field coverage and play quick to the boundary. 

No Threat Over the Middle

Why would the Giants do that? Well, because the Broncos are one of the worst teams in the NFL when working the middle of the field, and their consistency issues running the ball lead them to rely on the screen game as an extension of it. If the Broncos can’t work the middle of the field, then teams can continue to cheat on coverage there. 

This should be taken as disrespect, as the Giants didn’t fear the Broncos' play in the middle. Other teams will notice this until the Broncos start showing they can be a more effective team when working the middle of the field.

The Broncos have struggled with the middle of the field for a few years, an area Payton loves to exploit. Many of the called plays are designed to attack this area, but they aren’t being executed by the players. 

Player Utilization

Another issue with the Broncos' screen game is the utilization of players, especially with who the lead blockers are. There were multiple screens where the lead blockers were players like wide receivers Troy Franklin, Marvin Mims Jr, and tight end Evan Engram, who are not great blockers. It's not ideal to use your worst blockers as lead blockers, especially given how much Denver has struggled this season. 

What's more, the Broncos' good blockers like wideouts Trent Sherfield, Courtland Sutton, Pat Bryant, and tight end Nate Adkins have not been consistent this season when blocking for screens. So, there are issues with them, too, but it's still better to bet on them than on the poor blockers. 

Of course, it can lead to predictability, but you use that to bait a defense and throw another wrinkle in on the play and make it a handoff, an RPO, or throw it to the flanking receiver. You still have to keep defenses guessing, but you build off it by using your best blockers as the lead blockers. 

Now, some of the issues with the blocking also stem from problems working in the middle of the field and defenders cheating coverage. That makes life harder on blockers, as linebackers or safeties are quick to get them. They now have to choose who to block and who to let through because the defense isn’t biting on the few fakes the Broncos are throwing to set up their screens. 

The Takeaway

If Payton wants to improve his screen game, he needs to get his offense to work the middle of the field better and more consistently. Until that happens, the screen game will likely have the worst success rate in the NFL, even with the highest usage of such plays.

Screens have been a wasted down for the Broncos most of the time. 

Utilize the players better, work the middle of the field, design some fakes off the screen, and give more option plays to Nix. The screen game is a large part of the offense, and that's not changing, so take the necessary steps to make it a more positive play for the offense.