2021 was another season of disappointment in Denver, marking their fifth straight losing season. The offense underwhelmed once again, whilst the defense struggled to live up to some lofty preseason expectations. This turned out to be the catalyst for an offseason overhaul. Vic Fangio was fired after three seasons as head coach, with former Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett brought in to replace him. Add in a blockbuster trade for a quarterback and you have a very different Broncos team ahead of 2022.
Offseason additions and losses
The Broncos made perhaps the biggest move of the offseason in acquiring Russell Wilson. The deal involved sending five draft picks and three players – Drew Lock, Noah Fant, and Shelby Harris – over to Seattle for the nine-time Pro Bowler. Denver will desperately hoping that he is the missing piece in this jigsaw to elevate this roster to a Super Bowl contender. On the other side of the ball they addressed their issues at edge with the signing of Randy Gregory to a five-year, $70 million deal.
In addition to the players lost in the Wilson trade, there were some other notable departures from Denver this offseason. They saw two starting cornerbacks in Kyle Fuller and Bryce Callahan depart in free agency, with K’Waun Williams brought in to fill the hole at slot cornerback. They also let right tackle Bobby Massie leave after just one season with the team. He was replaced by former Packers tackle Billy Turner, who signed on a one-year, $2.5 million deal.
2022 NFL Draft
| Pick | Player |
| 2.64 | Nik Bonitto – EDGE, Oklahoma |
| 3.80 | Greg Dulcich – TE, UCLA |
| 4.115 | Damarri Mathis – CB, Pittsburgh |
| 4.116 | Eyioma Uwazurike – IDL, Iowa State |
| 5.152 | Delarrin Turner-Yell – Oklahoma |
| 5.162 | Montrell Washington – WR, Samford |
| 5.171 | Luke Wattenberg – IOL, Washington |
| 6.206 | Matt Henningsen – IDL, Wisconsin |
| 7.232 | Faion Hicks – CB, Wisconsin |
Denver gave up their premium picks in the Russell Wilson trade, meaning they didn’t make a selection until the final pick of the second round. They still got good value though. Bonitto needs to add more play strength but he boasts a tonne of pass rushing production throughout his collegiate career and has the tools to win at the NFL level. In Greg Dulcich they landed a tight end with the potential to replace the production they will lose with the departure of Noah Fant. The rest of the class was focused more on depth, though Damarri Mathis could well develop into a starter in the near future.
Offense
The Broncos have seemingly been a quarterback away from success for a number of years. They have lacked stability at the position ever since Peyton Manning retired and they haven’t fielded the same starter for consecutive seasons since 2017. With Russell Wilson now in town everything changes. New head coach Nathaniel Hackett has one of the league’s most exciting offenses at his disposal and on paper they have everything they need to be amongst the league’s best in 2022.
Whilst they will be without Tim Patrick this season, the Broncos do boast a strong one-two punch at wide receiver with Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy. Both have been productive in spite of the quarterback play in Denver, so there is obvious optimism around what they could do with Wilson under center. They are complemented by a backfield of Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon which ranks amongst the league’s best. Williams led the NFL in forced missed tackles per carry as a rookie and could catapult himself to stardom in 2022.
The Broncos’ offensive line might not be in the same tier as other positional groups, but it is still an above average unit. Finding a weakness in this team on paper is very tough. The only real concern will be how quickly they can adjust to their new scheme. The team ran plenty of gap concepts under Pat Shurmur, but new head coach Nathaniel Hackett will be bringing the outside zone scheme back to Denver. If they can adjust quickly then you can expect this offense to put the rest of the league on notice.
Defense
Throughout Vic Fangio’s tenure in Denver the team built their defensive reputation on their secondary. Whilst Fangio is gone, that reputation certainly carries over into 2022. In Kareem Jackson and Justin Simmons they have one of the best safety duos in football. The two have combined for an incredible 52 forced incompletions since 2019. The alignment flexibility that they both offer will also allow new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero to get creative with his pre- and post-snap looks.
Outside of the safeties the team also boasts a very strong cornerback room, helmed by Patrick Surtain. Micah Parsons’ historic rookie season took a lot of the attention away from Surtain, who would have been a shoe-in for Defensive Rookie of the Year in any other season. He finished the year with 12 forced incompletions and a passer rating allowed of just 69.7. Behind him the team have two more dependable starters in Ronald Darby and K’Waun Williams.
The question facing the Broncos defense in 2022 is the same as it was last season, namely whether they have enough up front to consistently pressure opposing quarterbacks. They didn’t have a single player with more than 40 pressures in 2021. Von Miller ranked third in pressures, despite leaving the team after Week 7. The return of Bradley Chubb should help, as should the signing of Randy Gregory, but both come with question marks. Chubb missed much of the 2021 season with injury and underwhelmed on his return. Gregory has been an impactful pass rusher, but his off-field issues have limited his playing time. How these two fare will impact the ceiling of this defense.
Prediction
Russell Wilson turns the Broncos from an also-ran into legitimate contenders in 2022. They have all of the ingredients for an electric passing attack and a punishing ground game. The defense also looks good enough to win them games. Anywhere other than the AFC West and they would likely be favourites for the division title. Anything less than a wildcard berth will be seen as a failure for this team.
