Broncos fans thoughts on Phillip Lindsay

I did this last year during the off season when Broncos players were picked up by other teams and had a ton of fun so wanted to do so again this year. I feel like I have a pretty good pulse on what the fans think of the players. This will not necessarily be a perfect representation of him but a general idea of the person/player you are getting.

I'm gonna start with what certain fans are saying in regards to him being a one dimensional player. He is not… He's not great in pass blocking but that's more due to his stature than anything. He is a very willing blocker but is easily run over by guys who weigh 60+ pounds more, but honestly that's not his skill set anyway. He is a competent Receiver and anyone who says otherwise is only focusing on last season. He had 70 catches through his first 2 years in the league cathing about 73% of the targets and had 100+ in college (I really don't get why people are saying he has stone hands) He's not a polished route runner but can get open and turn a short pass into a 40 yard gain and is best utilized as a check down or on designed screens. He even came out last year and asked where the thought that he couldn't catch came from after we signed Melvin Gordon. Last year was an anomaly catching just 50% just as much as Melvin Gordons rookie season was an anomaly where he caught ~90% of his targets (hasn't been even close to that since).

Next is the narative that he is injury prone. Once again he is not. He didn't miss a single game from his red shirt year in college through his first year in the NFL while being a bellcow for all 5 of those seasons. He broke his wrist at the end of his rookie year but that happened by his wrist being crushed by a helmet (could happen to literally anyone). Then in 2019 he played every game, had 1000 rushing yards and 200+ receiving yards. He ended 2019 by having surgery to clean up his wrist from the previous season). This year he had turf toe (another thing that can unfortunately just happen to players) and got a concussion. Not saying concussions aren't serious, but he's had 1 while in the NFL and does not run with his head down.

Something I don't think many other teams/fanbases know is that the Broncos messed up their relationship with Phil from the very start. At his pro day (didn't get invited to the combine despite having significantly better college stats than many who were invited) the Broncos told him they liked him and would take him late if he was available. Instead when he was available in the 7th round they took RB David Williams who is no longer in the league. It was reported that Phil felt betrayed and was about to sign with the Ravens until his Mom convinced him to stay in his home state. His family is super important to him and he listened and they made good points. He had never lived out of state and would have to rent a place in a city he had never been to, where he signed as an undrafted free agent straight out of college with no savings and no promise that he would make the team. Instead, by staying in CO, he could live rent free with his parents until he made the team, so that is what he did. Then the OC never quite used him to maximize his skill set. He is not a 3 down back and his best ability is running outside but he was constantly run right up the gut. Don't get me wrong he can easily do that with pretty good production, but the dude is small and IMO his career was shortened by the way he was used, especially in 2020.

He beat out 2 backs that were drafted in the same year as him and easily was the best RB on the team and probably the best offensive weapon. 1st undrafted rookie to go to the probowl and have back to back 1000 yard season to stay his career (regular narative) while averaging 4.8 yards per carry in his career.

As for the person he is, yall are gonna absolutely love cheering for this dude. His personality is infectious and is a great locker room person who loves the fans. He never shy's away from contact even though he's small. He's not a distraction at all and will be one of the hardest working players on any team he plays for. He is a perfect change of pace back that will be best getting 10-15 touches per game and can easily turn that into 60-80 yards. Pairing him with your other back is a really good situation if the coaching staff utilizes them all correctly.

Happy to answer any other questions about him or what you are hearing from other comments. Ive followed the dude pretty close from his college years (I went to CSU, CUs instate rival) and am a diehard broncos fan so I feel like I can answer pretty honestly (from a fan perspective). I'm happy he's not staying in the AFCW because I feel he would terrorize us every game and will always cheer for him. Enjoy having the tasmanian devil on your team!