Denver Broncos
Main Problem for 2022-2023:
Of the Chiefs’ AFC West opponents, perhaps no team is more embarrassing than the Denver Broncos. While we love to hate the Broncos over here, this is an objective statement. The main problem in Denver for this season appears to be the very person that they believed would be the savior: Russell Wilson.
While armchair analysts sat back and lauded the trade for Wilson as a great one for the Broncos that would push the Chiefs to the brink, the opposite result has emerged. Wilson (Mr. Unlimited) is currently 27th in passing touchdowns with 7. He also ranks 17th in the NFL in passing yards. He has not looked good, even with talented receiving weapons on the field. When you take into consideration the amount of capital that they sacrificed to bring him in, that is astonishingly horrific.
In hindsight, there is no way that the Broncos would make this move again. They not only traded away valuable draft assets (two first-round picks, two second-round picks, and a fifth-round pick), but they also traded away some very talented role players that have emerged in Seattle: Noah Fant and Shelby Harris. The Broncos are not only bad, but it is also hard to see how they will get much better.
The Main problem after this season:
It seems a foregone conclusion that the Broncos will enter the offseason scrambling for answers and will look to hire another coach. The Nathaniel Hackett experiment should come to an end quickly at the conclusion of the season. The problem is, that does not solve anything. The Broncos are hamstrung financially and are limited in draft capital for at least two seasons.
They paid Russell Wilson top dollar and will have to live with it for at least three seasons after this one—maybe even four due to the massive amount of dead money that would come with him being moved. As if it weren’t bad enough that you were paying a middle-of-the-road quarterback the second-highest contract in the NFL, the Broncos won’t have much wiggle room to offer large contracts to free agents. They also will not have some of their highest selections in the next two years of the draft.
Truly, the Broncos might be in hell for the next several seasons. It was Russell Wilson or bust and it busted. Chaos and hardship will continue to haunt Denver until they can get out from under Mr. Unlimited.
The Bottom Line:
Again, this is not just the worst situation in the AFC West, this might be one of the worst situations in the NFL. The Broncos fanbase is going to be tested in a way that they have not been in a long time. They will have to stomach having a hopeless team for the conceivable future.