AFC Notes: Broncos, Raiders, Titans

Broncos

Former Broncos first-round pick Garett Boles says that veteran OT Jared Veldheer has taken him under his wing since arriving in Denver.

“Jared Veldheer is a leader,” Bolles said, via 247sports.com. “He’s worked with me every single day. He’s always telling me to take breaths at the line and stay calm and collected. He’s a great leader for me, learning from a guy like that and knowing that he’s been there. He’s taken thousands of snaps and [I know] that I can trust him and he can trust me, and we can work together.”

Raiders

Last year, Raiders S Reggie Nelson wound up playing 99 percent of the team’s snaps. New DC Paul Guenther explained that they plan to limit Nelson’s workload this year to ensure they’re utilizing the best way possible.

“Reggie knows our system inside and out,” Guenther told Vic Tafur of The Athletic. “Reggie is the kind of guy if you tell him what to do and how to do it, he is going to do it exactly how you want him to do it. If there is any gray area in there, then maybe he is not going to be as effective.

“Reggie played 99 percent of the snaps last year,” Guenther added. “We’re not going to have guys playing 99 percent of the snaps. Your goal is to play in this package or that package.”

Titans

The Titans are working to implement a new system under OC Matt LaFleur and HC Mike Vrabel and it’s clear that they’re looking to work off of their run game to create mismatches.

“I think if you look around the league, there’s a lot of teams that are really good at screens,” Vrabel said, via TitansOnline.com. “That’s something that I’m going to continue to harp on our coaches about, to make sure that we can run these things. If Tom Brady can throw screens in a playoff game and gain a bunch of yards, then Marcus (Mariota) should be able to throw screens, and help him out with some of these throws that are easy access throws.”

“First of all, it really all starts with our run game,” LaFleur said when asked about the identity of the team’s offense. “That’s how we’re going to try to have a strong marriage between the run and the pass. So that to a defense, it might look like, `Here comes another run,’ and it’s a play-action pass off that run.”

Both Vrabel and LaFleur also stressed that they want to utilize Marcus Mariota‘s athleticism.