The NFL offseason is upon us, and teams will begin working to craft their 2023 rosters in the coming months. In this series of offseason previews, we will look at what each team has to work with and their biggest needs. Today we continue with the Dšenver Broncos offseason preview.
As a reminder, here are dates to keep š§in mind for the 2023 NFL ą¼ŗoffseason:
You can find previous team’s offseason previews here: Bears | Bengals | Browns | Lions | Packers | Steelers | Vikings | Ravens |
2022 Summary
The Denver Broncos were an unmitigated disaster in 2022. After spending massive money and draft capital to acquire Russell Wilson last offseason, head coach Nathaniel Hackett made it just 15 games.
The Denver Broncos fired the rookie head coach just 15 games into his tenure following an embarrassing loą± ss to the Los Angeles Rams on Christmas.
Hackett and the Broncos lost 51-14 to the Rams on Chrisź¦”tmas Day, and the Broncosā sideline imploded when offensive lineman Dalton Risner and backup quarterback Brett Rypien were seen getting into a physical altercation at one point.
Hackett isnāt the only person to blamše for Denverās disastrous season. Star quarterback Russell Wilson has been downright awful this season after the Broncos traded two first-round picks, two second-round picks, and a fifth-round pick, Noah Fant, Shelby Harris, and Drew Lock, to the Seahawks for Wilson. Denver then gave Wilson a four-year extension worth $140 million to add insult to injury.
The Broncos finished the season 5-12 and were back to the drawing board in search of a new head coach and answāers.
Key Positional Needs
Heršeās where the Broncos need to find help ź§this offseason:
Key Free Agents
Hereās a look aš¬t the Broncos upcoming keāy free agents:
Salary Cap & Draft Capital
Hereās a look at the salary cap room and draft capital that the Broncos hź¦ave to work with this offseason:
Offseason Outlook
After a disastrous 2022 season, the Broncosš„ head into the offseason searching for answers. The new ownership groupš has already answered a big question, hiring Sean Payton as the new head coach in Denver.
Payton hired Vance Joseph as his defensive coordinator on Thursday, answering another question. Still, Payton and the Broncos face a mile-high task of turning this ship around this offseason.
Denver doesn’t own a pick until the third round and only has four picks in the top 150 in April’s NFL Draft. They’ve also only got $9.1 million in cap space to work with as of today.
Russell ą¦Wilson is the long-term plan at quartāerback, regardless of how bad he was last season. Still, running back Javonte Williams is recovering from an ACL tear. Wide receivers Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy may be traded.
However,ź©² the Broncos have an excellent defšensive unit right now. So, silver linings, I suppose. A plan for Russell Wilson and figuring out how to get the offense on the same track as the defense will be the goal for the Broncos this offseason.
Related Reading
If you’re looking for more offseason reading, Sam Hoppen at 4for4 (our sister company) is :
