Every year in the NFL, there are teams who are truly bad one year but good or great the next. Don’t count out the Denver Broncos being that team in 2023.
Honestly, why not, right? Last year, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit Lions were two teams who broke out. In 2021, both clubs were among the worst in the NFL, landing the top prospects in the NFL Draft because of it.
But in 2022, each team turned a corner. The Jaguars won a playoff game and the Lions nearly made the postseason. From 2022 to 2023, there will surely be a couple more teams who follow this same trend, and I think a good bet for one of those teams would be the Denver Broncos.
The Broncos have had a nice offseason in my opinion. Trading draft capital for Sean Payton even further depleted their draft pick stock but was worth it. Payton is a Super Bowl-winning head coach who has won over 60% of his regular season games. His offensive genius is exactly what the Broncos have needed.
However, they weren’t done there. The team was also active in free agency this year, filling two huge needs along their offensive line at left guard and right tackle. Handing big contracts to Ben Powers and Mike McGlinchey were worthwhile investments.
They also added Zach Allen to replace Dre’Mont Jones.
On paper, Denver has a top-10 roster, and I’d argue that they have one of the seven best head coaches in the NFL. Their mixture of roster talent and stellar coaching should form quite the combination and I think should lead to them winning double-digit games in 2022.
They’re clearly the second-best team in the AFC West at this point, and I do think their schedule is favorable as well.
Perhaps Russell Wilson’s quirky personality has rubbed some people the wrong way and perhaps has clouded their judgment on the Broncos, but in reality, this team is well-positioned to be a true contender in 2023.