Checking in on the Denver Broncos early offseason moves

We spoke with a Denver Broncos expert to tell us more about how the Chiefs’ rivals are faring in the early stages of the NFL offseason.

Given that the NFL offseason has already started to unfold with scores of moves in free agency thus far, we wanted to get an early read on how each of the teams in the AFC West was doing. Of course, we know the Chiefs are already putting together some celebrated moves as they look to repeat at Super Bowl champions. Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Raiders are somehow mired in misery that has their fan base confused and frustrated.

Today, we turn to the Denver Broncos, a team with sky-high hopes only a year ago who have doubled down on their plans for Russell Wilson by ditching their head coach instead. In place of Nathaniel Hackett comes Sean Payton, one of the most revered head coaches who could have been hired this offseason by any team. Payton brings a Super Bowl title with him along with years as a creative force in the league.

So how is the Broncos’ offseason unfolding so far? What are the biggest concerns remaining? We asked our friend Sayre Bedinger who runs our sister site, Predominantly Orange, as well as hosts the Locked on Broncos podcast to tell us more about what Denver is up to this spring.

In this early stage of the offseason, what has you the most excited or heartened about the Broncos’ activities?

At this point, I think the most exciting thing about the Denver Broncos’ offseason has been the renewed level of expectations that come with hiring a coach like Sean Payton. Payton’s reputation obviously precedes him and his presence has given the Broncos a new level of “legitimacy” I think in terms of just the way the team is being run. Then you see how aggressive the team has been in free agency, and you can’t help but be excited about what they are doing and the vision Payton has along with the culture he’s creating.

What remains the biggest frustration of the Broncos’ offseason to date?

The biggest frustration at this point might be the fact that the team didn’t truly “finish” the upgrades on the offensive line by adding a veteran at the center position. Lloyd Cushenberry III has been a bit of a disappointment thus far as a former third-round pick, and the Broncos have so far been inactive on free agent centers, as far as we can tell. This is a very team-friendly market at that position, so their lack of activity is somewhat frustrating.

It’s also frustrating to hear rumors of receivers being traded or on the trade block. Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton have not had any consistency at the QB position in their NFL careers thus far, and fans would love to see if they can figure it out in orange and blue before shipping them off to fulfill their potential somewhere else

Is there anything that could be termed a major surprise for the Broncos?

The biggest surprise at this point would have to be the aforementioned trade rumors at wide receiver coupled with the idea that the team was “aggressively” pursuing someone like Allen Lazard in free agency. What would the fallout have been if they had signed Lazard? What is the direction of Payton and the front office there? That’s certainly something that would have taken this offseason and free agency from relatively “chalk” to being a total wild card and deviation from what anyone thought was the plan.

What’s the biggest hurdle in front of Denver in terms of roster construction?

The biggest hurdle right now is making sure you have key depth at certain positions. The wide receiver position has been terrible the last couple of years, but not for lack of investment. The Broncos have just been hurt so often at receiver and they haven’t been able to capably fill those spots. The other question mark and hurdle might be at the running back spot with Javonte Williams coming off of injury and the team bringing in Samaje Perine to be his no. 2.

Defensively, how can the edge rushers take a step forward in 2023? Are you going to get anything substantial out of Randy Gregory? Will Baron Browning and Nik Bonitto take the next steps? Those are some hurdles we face—the unknowns of player development and perhaps needing some additional, quality depth.