Five questions for the Denver Broncos in 2023

As we continue my journey of asking five questions regarding each team in the NFL, it is now time to discuss one of the most disappointing squads in the AFC. I am talking about the Denver Broncos who many not only had as division winners, but having a deep playoff push. It was such a ride for Broncos Country last season; what will happen this year?

5. Can Russell Wilson comeback from a brutal debut season in Denver?

One of the biggest disappointments across the NFL last season was Russell Wilson’s torrid debut year with Broncos. It was an absolute disaster from start to finish, not only did he suffer a notable decline on the field, but he didn’t come across well off it either. Remember the whole jogging while on the team plane story? The 2022 NFL Season was just a brutal one and with the amount of assets the Broncos surrendered for the former Seahawks, it was tough for fans to see highly valuable draft picks become Seattle property.

I keep saying this with Wilson as while he had a brutal season, there are two excuses that can be justifiably made. An awful offensive line (we will get to that) and had an incompetent head coach in Nathanial Hackett. Hackett was so bad as a head coach that he legitimately should have been fired after Week five. 

With the O-Line revamped and Hackett replaced with Sean Payton, now there is no excuse whatsoever. If Wilson can’t come back then the Broncos are in deep trouble with how awful Wilson’s contract is.

4. What version of Javonte Williams will the Broncos get this season?

Well if I had to choose the one player who had the most devastating injury last season, Javonte Williams would absolutely be on that list. I mean he suffered a brutal knee injury in Week 4 last season. Williams did not just have one specific injury, but multiple as he Tore his ACL, PCL and LCL.

Heck, when I heard and saw his injury, I was stunned that Williams did not tear the MCL as well. It is such a brutal knock and I really wonder what Javonte Williams will get this team. We wish him all the best, but will Williams be an injury prone mess or a rising star in the NFL? We shall see, but if Williams can’t play like he did, Samaje Perine will be the next man up as the starting running back.

3. Who will be the starting tight end in 2023?

One of my favorite parts of Training Camp and in the preseason is the many positional battles that are going on. On offense for the Broncos a tremendous unknown is who the starting tight end will be for them.

Greg Dulcich is the favorite to get the role as he showed flashes last season, but he also had a nagging hamstring issue which caused him stress. With Sean Payton as the head coach, maybe he can have more of an impact.

Adam Trautman is an intriguing choice as he is close with Sean Payton during there Saints days and knows the system. However, he never really stood out as a Saint and was very disappointing with the team. Especially with the hype that surrounded him, but his career as a Saint was pretty much done the moment Taysom Hill got moved to strictly being a Tight End.

As for Albert Okwuegbunam, he has talent, but just can’t stay healthy. Even when healthy Okwuegbunam has struggled and I am not so sure his roster spot is safe.

Chris Manhertz I will always have a soft spot for as he is a Canisius Alumni and I am currently going there to get my Masters degree. However, he is mainly a blocking tight end.

It will be interesting to see who will win this position as it could be anyone at this point.

2. Has Denver done enough to fix their woes at offensive line?

Excluding incompetent coaching from Nathaniel Hackett, the obvious issue with the Broncos was on the offensive line as it was abysmal last season. Say what you want about Wilson’s decline, but he legit had little to no protection at all. The only really impressive lineman in 2022 was Garrett Bolles.

The Broncos made the move to invest in the o-line. They parted ways with Cameron Fleming, Billy Turner, Dalton Rinser, Tom Compton, Graham Glasgow, and Calvin Anderson. In Free agency the Broncos signed Mike McGlinchey to a massive contract and even brought in both Kyle Fuller & Ben Powers as well. 

I mean we can agree that it is an upgrade with McGlinchy, but with how much of a trainwreck their offensive line was, I really wonder if the Broncos did enough to fix the o-line. A team has to give the quarterback tools to succeed and while it is too easy to blame Wilson in general, the o-line has a big effect to a QB’s performance.

1. Can the Broncos defense produce at the level they did in 2022?

Last year was one of the first times as a football fan I have ever seen where one of the worst teams in the NFL where a team had a Top 5 Defense and was one of the worst overall teams in the NFL. in fact, if the Broncos offense only scored 18 points they would have been 13-4. 

The problem was on offense and coaching, not on defense. I wonder if the Broncos defense can produce like they did last season. Say what you want about coaching Ejio Evero was a really good defensive coordinator with the Broncos. Due to the coaching changes Evero left and is now the defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers.

There new defensive coordinator is Vance Joseph. Yes the same Vance Joseph that was the head coach of this team from 2017-2018. To give him credit he was the only coach last season with the Arizona Cardinals that did a pretty serviceable job. Hopefully he can do well in Denver. 

I will be very intrigued to see if the Broncos defense can perform like they did last year as they were just fantastic.