Many may not even look at the Denver Broncos as being a playoff team in 2023, but there are reasons why this team can win it all. The Broncos were largely seen as a playoff contender last offseason, as the team made two major moves. The first move was trading the city of Denver for Russell Wilson.
They also hired one of the hottest coaches of that cycle in Nathaniel Hackett. Well, it was clear that the marriage between Hackett and Wilson was not meant to be. The Broncos sported the worst offense in the entire NFL and sputtered to just five wins. Now, in 2023, things appear to be different and for the better.
Russell Wilson is slimmed down; he’s sporting a noticeable weight loss, which may help him regain some mobility that has led him to have the third most rushing yards by a QB in the history of the NFL. He’s also previously expressed a desire to play for Sean Payton, who was brought on as the team’s head coach.
Payton is a Super Bowl-winning head coach and an offensive mastermind at that. Those two changes are likely going to have a positive impact on the roster. Furthermore, the Broncos were very busy in free agency.
Instead of me listing all of what the Denver Broncos have done this offseason, I’ll simply list and cover three reasons why this team can win the Super Bowl in 2023.
3 reason the Denver Broncos can win Super Bowl 58
Russell Wilson has playoff success and has won a SB before
Russell Wilson is a career 9-7 in the playoffs with two Super Bowl appearances and one Super Bowl title, which ironically came against the Denver Broncos back in 2013. The fact that he has been in the playoffs so frequently and has won a Super Bowl does nothing but help the Broncos here.
If Denver were to get into the playoffs in 2023, they’d be equipped with a Super Bowl-winning quarterback who has been there before, which is something that I believe to be extremely valuable. Sure, the Seahawks’ best playoff success under Wilson did come a decade ago, but I still feel strongly that Wilson being a Super Bowl champion is a valid reason.
I understand that every QB that has won a Super Bowl before had to make a deep playoff run for the first time, but Wilson has seen it all in the NFL. He’s played in massive games before. He’s had to craft game-winning drives in the playoffs.
He’s been in the heat of a playoff race and has had to lead his team back from a deficit. All of that culminating into a Super Bowl title is going to help the Broncos’ chances at one in 2023.
3 reason the Denver Broncos can win Super Bowl 58
Sean Payton also has playoff success and a SB title
The most important aspect of a successful NFL team is good coaching. The 2022 Denver Broncos were a perfect example of that. This was a team that had a talented, playoff-caliber roster that was reduced to one of the worst in the NFL because of horrid coaching.
Just look at the New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars from one year ago. Neither roster was as talented as the Broncos’, but the Giants and Jags each won nine games, made the playoffs, and won a playoff game. Coaching is crucial, all across the board.
Fortunately, the Denver Broncos were able to get one of the most successful offensive coaches in NFL history on their team. Sean Payton has just one year as an NFL head coach where his scoring offenses ranked worse than 12th in the NFL. That was the 2021 season, where Payton and the Saints raced out to a 5-2 start with a shockingly efficient Jameis Winston and a solid defense.
Still, that year, the Saints finished 9-8 and managed the 19th ranked scoring offense, so it’s not like they weren’t able to move the ball.
Payton is an offensive genius, objectively speaking. He’s won over 60% his total games in the NFL between the regular and postseason, and he has a winning record in the playoffs. What more could a hopeful team ask for in a head coach?
Let’s stop pretending that Payton taking a year off is going to impact his status and success as one of the best head coaches of this generation. He is one of the five best in the NFL right now and one of the few who has actually won a Super Bowl.
You are truly misguided if you don’t believe in Sean Payton.
3 reason the Denver Broncos can win Super Bowl 58
The Denver Broncos have good players where it matters most
The way to win a Super Bowl in the modern-day NFL has some similarities to how it was back in the day, but also some key differences. There are a few positions that are a true necessity if a team wants to win a Super Bowl today. In no order, these are the positions:
- Quarterback
- Pass catcher
- Offensive line
- Defensive line
- Secondary
This are the positions that are necessary to win a Super Bowl. Fortunately, for the Denver Broncos, they may have good enough players at each of these positions to win the Super Bowl. If Russell Wilson is going to play like his old self under Sean Payton, the Denver Broncos have an elite quarterback. Let’s not discount how good Wilson was for the first 10 years of his career in Seattle. He was truly elite.
As for the pass catchers, Denver may have a nice stable. The WR trio of Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, and Tim Patrick, is both skilled and very deep. The Broncos also drafted speedster Marvin Mims Jr from Oklahoma in the 2023 NFL Draft. He brings field-stretching ability to the offense, and if he can prove to be effective as a rookie, Payton may be able to use him like he used Brandin Cooks back in New Orleans.
Second year tight end Greg Dulcich has also gotten some hype as a potential breakout player this year.
The Broncos’ offensive line was bad in 2022, but they were also injured. The team will see the return of a very good left tackle in Garett Bolles. He missed most of the season with a broken leg. The team signed Ben Powers and Mike McGlinchey in free agency, two above-average players at their respective positions who also both are elite run blockers.
Right guard Quinn Meinerz was recently ranked as the 12th best guard in the NFL by PFF, so all in all, Denver has a strong unit.
Their defensive line has more potential than anything, but they have the talent. Their projected starting defensive line is Zach Allen, DJ Jones, who is one of the best run stuffers in the NFL, and Frank Clark, an elite playoff performer and steady pass rush presence.
Their two starting EDGE rushers, Randy Gregory and Baron Browning, can also be very good together, but for injury-related reasons, we can’t anoint them as a strong duo until they can prove it.
However, it’s not like Denver is void of talent here. They have some exceptional talent along the defensive line. It’s about staying on the field for this bunch.
What can’t be questioned is their talented secondary, which features, arguably, the best cornerback and best safety in the NFL in Patrick Surtain II and Justin Simmons. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowlers polls that he ran among NFL executives pinned Surtain as the best CB in the NFL and Simmons as the third best safety in the league.
Slot cornerback K’Waun Williams is one of the best in the NFL from the slot, and second-year CB Damarri Mathis was really catching on towards the end of his rookie season.
All in all, the Denver Broncos have the most important positions for a Super Bowl team either locked down or in an encouraging spot.
Let’s be real, the Broncos can win the Super Bowl this year if all goes well.