After a disastrous first season in Denver, all eyes are on Russell Wilson in what may be a make-or-break year for the future Hall of Fame quarterback.

After the franchise traded multiple high draft picks and players for Russell Wilson and signed him to a 5-year, $242 million-dollar contract, expectations were such that the former Seattle Seahawks signal-caller would have a Peyton Manning-like impact. 

The results quickly went south as the team lost 9 of 10 at one point, and Nathaniel Hackett did not survive his first season as head coach. 

Wilson finished with 3,524 yards and a pedestrian 16 passing TD, and the Broncos finished dead last in scoring offense at less than 17 points a game.

With Sean Payton at the helm, can Denver 'do a 180' and compete for a Super Bowl this season?

Click here to read all NFL Season Outlooks for the 2023/24 season.

What	2023/24 NFL Season
When	September 8th, 2023 - February 11th, 2024
Broncos Odds	To Win Division +500, To Win Conference +2500, To Win SBLVIII +4000

After a year away from coaching, longtime New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton is officially the lead man in Denver.His 161-97 career record, including a Super Bowl victory in 2010, shines even brighter when compared to Denver’s playoff-less run since defeating the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50. 

This seven-year streak without a playoff appearance is Denver’s worst since before the team’s first Super Bowl appearance nearly 50 years ago. 

Payton’s mandate is simple. Make the playoffs and fix Wilson…fast.

The honeymoon ended quickly for Russell Wilson and the Broncos. Although the team won two of its first three games, including a win over NFC contender San Francisco, the team only scored 43 total points. 

That was a harbinger of things to come as Wilson and his teammates lost 11 of their final 14 contests and missed the playoffs for the seventh straight season. 

Denver hasn’t had a winning campaign since posting a 9-7 mark in 2016. Changes had to be made yet again. Nathaniel Hackett exited before even completing his first season at the helm.   

Sean Payton took a year off from coaching following a complex 15-year run with the New Orleans Saints that featured 161 wins and a Super Bowl, but also a year in coaching exile as punishment for Bountygate. 

He is being tasked with returning this once-proud franchise to more familiar settings, including postseason play and Super Bowl runs. 

Where did the Denver Broncos finish last season?

4th in AFC West (5-12)

Which players did the Denver Broncos select in the 2023 Draft?

Immediate help coming from this year’s NFL Draft will be at a minimum for Denver, which traded away three 2022 and two 2023 draft picks as part of the package to land Wilson, including a first and second round pick both years. 

The Broncos selected Oklahoma wide receiver Marvin Mims with their first pick at the end of the second round. 

Denver’s wide receiving corps, led by Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton, is promising, but not deep. Mims is expected to provide another deep threat for Wilson. 

The team spent most of the rest of the draft acquiring defensive assets. The Broncos took Arkansas linebacker Drew Sanders and Iowa cornerback Riley Moss in the third round and followed that with Boise State linebacker JL Skinner before finishing up with Oregon center Alex Forsyth in the seventh round. 

What are the Denver Broncos' hopes for the season?

It’s fair to say that the Broncos’ success this season depends both on Payton’s immediate impact and a big bounce-back season from Wilson. 

Denver currently stands at +4000 to win the Super Bowl, +550 to win the AFC West, and -100 on an over/under of 8.5 wins this season. 

The team has not won more than seven games in the past six seasons. Mile High fans wanted an attitude change from the top and they will get one from Payton.

Who are the Denver Broncos' 2023 opponents?

The NFL schedulers may have thrown the Broncos a bone as Denver faces just one 2023 playoff participant – the Miami Dolphins – in the first five weeks of the season before a Kansas City (+600 to win Super Bowl 58)-Green Bay-Kansas City sandwich in October. 

In addition to their AFC West games against the Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders, Denver will host the Washington Commanders, the Aaron Rodgers-led New York Jets, Green Bay, the Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots.

Denver will go on the road to play Miami, the Chicago Bears, the Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans and Detroit Lions. 

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Who is the Denver Broncos head coach?

Sean Payton will be familiar to all football fans, having manned the sideline in New Orleans for 15 seasons. The former Saints coach had a successful run in the Big Easy, reaching the playoffs nine times while never sporting a worse record than 7-9. 

However, Payton’s ring, a Super Bowl 44 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, came just four seasons into his tenure. He and Drew Brees never advanced beyond the NFC Divisional round after that. Right now, the Broncos would gladly take even a Wild Card slot.

Denver fans are familiar with Vance Joseph, the team’s defensive coordinator. He was the team’s head coach in 2017-18, posting a combined 11-21 record. He was the Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator for the past four seasons. 

Joe Lombardi will serve as the team’s offensive coordinator after spending the last two seasons in that same role, moulding quarterback Justin Herbert for the Los Angeles Chargers. He coached for 12 seasons under Payton in various capacities in New Orleans.

Which players have the Denver Broncos signed?

• OL Ben Powers (Baltimore Ravens)
• QB Jarrett Stidham (Las Vegas Raiders)
• T Mike McGlinchey (San Francisco 49ers)
• TE Chris Manhertz (Jacksonville Jaguars)
• DL Zach Allen (Arizona Cardinals)
• RB Samaj Perine (Cincinnati Bengals)
• FB Mike Burton (Kansas City Chiefs)
• CB/KR Tremon Smith (Houston Texans)
• P Riley Dixon (Los Angeles Rams)
• RB Tony Jones (Seattle Seahawks)
• WR Marquez Callaway (New Orleans Saints)
• G Kyle Fuller (Seattle Seahawks)

Which players have left the Denver Broncos?

• DL Dre’Mont Jones (Seattle Seahawks)
• OT Calvin Anderson (New England Patriots)
• RB Latavius Murray (Buffalo Bills)
• TE Eric Saubert (Miami Dolphins)
• RB Mike Boone (Houston Texans)
• OL Graham Glasgow (Detroit Lions)
• TE/FB Andrew Beck (Houston Texans)
• WR Freddie Swain (Miami Dolphins)
• DL DeShawn Williams (Carolina Panthers)
• RB Chase Edmonds (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Who are the Denver Broncos' key players?

The Broncos mortgaged the immediate future to have Wilson come cook in Denver. 

He has thrown more than 40,000 yards and 300 touchdowns in his career, including 40 just a couple of seasons ago, but last season’s total was the lowest in his career. He needs to further gel with wide receivers Jeudy and Sutton. 

Jeudy had 67 catches for 972 yards and six touchdowns, and his fifth-year option was picked up, while Sutton added 829 yards and two scores on 64 catches. 

If those numbers increase across the board, and guys like Mims and second-year tight end Greg Dulcich, who had 411 yards and two touchdowns last season, provide secondary options, Wilson can put his 2022 season quickly in the rear-view mirror.

Denver hasn’t had a running back go for 1,000 yards since Phillip Lindsay in 2019. 

Javonte Williams, a third-year back out of North Carolina, is expected to get the starting nod after Latavius Murray moved on to Buffalo. Samaj Perine was picked up from Cincinnati to give him a push and a spell as needed. 

Alex Singleton led the team with 163 tackles last season while Joey Jewell added 128 tackles and 2.5 sacks. 

Safety Justin Simmons had 69 tackles and a team-high six interceptions. Dre’Mont Jones and his team-leading 6.5 sacks went to Seattle, so the Broncos brought Zach Allen, who had 5.5 sacks, in from Arizona.