The Denver Broncos are 40-1 long shots in NFL odds to win the Super Bowl but the franchise has new hope with former Heisman winner Tim Tebow signed for the next five years. The Broncos came to terms with their rookie quarterback on a five-year, $11.25 million dollar deal. Tebow probably won’t be the starting quarterback when the season begins but he should be impacting NFL betting odds soon.
NFL odds on the Denver Broncos list them as 1.5 point underdogs at Jacksonville in their regular season opener. It is unlikely that Tebow will be starting that game but he could see action in some sort of Wildcat formation. The Broncos took Tebow with the 25th overall pick in the NFL Draft and they believe he will be starting for them very soon.
NFL scouts have a mixed view of Tebow. Some don’t believe he has the skills necessary to play quarterback while others love the intangibles that he brings. Tebow threw for 9,285 yards and 88 touchdowns during his four seasons with Florida.
Denver was not a bad passing team last season with Kyle Orton at quarterback. They were 13th in the league in passing yards per game. The Broncos were 15th in total yards but just 20th in scoring. Denver lost Brandon Marshall in the off-season so they will have to find a top receiving threat for Orton among their remaining players. The Broncos will have to hope that Eddie Royal can be the top wide receiver this season and that Brandon Stokely can be the number two.
Denver started last season at 6-0 before collapsing down the stretch to finish 8-8. Denver did finish the season at 9-7 vs. the point spread. The early part of this season’s schedule is also favorable to Denver in terms of NFL betting odds. The Broncos have an opener at Jacksonville that they can win before hosting Seattle and Indianapolis. They then have another game they can win at Tennessee. The Broncos will probably have to take much of this season to work Tebow into the rotation and to get him comfortable in the NFL. They are looking at Tebow as their future quarterback though since Orton is only signed for this season.