Denver Broncos Biggest Offseason Addition

Usually, when you talk about a team like the Denver Broncos biggest offseason addition, a team that struggled mightily and failed to meet expectations, the addition is usually a player of some kind. Typically that player is a big name in a position that directly impacts winning.

While Denver did add some really good players at positions of need, they do not make this list. Players like Mike McGlinchey, Ben Powers, and even as recently as Frank Clark are going to make the Broncos better instantly. However, none of them will have as big an impact as the guy they got to run the show.

Denver Broncos Biggest Offseason Addition

I am talking about Sean Payton. It is pretty rare when a Hall of Fame head coach comes out of retirement and changes teams, but when it happens the team that gets him makes a massive upgrade in the coaching department. No team in the NFL might have made a more recent, drastic upgrade than Denver did going from Nathaniel Hackett to Sean Payton.

 

What Sean Payton Brings to Denver:

It is no secret that since the Peyton Manning and Gary Kubiak days in Denver, it has been a struggle to produce a consistently solid offense. Since 2016, the year after winning the Super Bowl, the team has not ranked higher than 22^nd in offensive points or 17^th in offensive yards.

However, at that same time, the defense has consistently been one of the better units in the league. A couple of reasons have played into the lack of offense in Denver. Number one has obviously been the QB. They have started 11 QBs since Manning retired. They believe that even after an awful season a year ago, they solved the QB issue with Wilson.

Arguably just as big a reason for the struggles though could be the coaching. Neither the Head Coaches nor the Offensive Coordinators have been able to produce a quality offense. Whether it was former Head Coaches like Mike McCoy and Pat Shurmer, or first-time Coordinators like Justin Outten, the team has failed to get a coach to help.

It was never more apparent with their struggles than last season. They went with first-time Head Coach Nathaniel Hackett with first-time Offensive Coordinator Justin Outten coaching this talented group led by Russell Wilson. They managed to lead the worst scoring offense in the NFL and Hackett got fired before the season ended.

It is clear that if Payton is going to bring one thing to this team, it is some kind of quality product on the field offensively. In his 15 years as the Saints’ Head Coach, he only finished outside the top 12 in points and yards one season, 2021 his last season as the head coach. He was coaching Jameis Winston, Trevor Siemian, and Taysom Hill at QB that season.

In those seasons Drew Brees’ lowest amount of TD passes was 24 and his lowest passing yards total was 2,942 both coming in a season where he only played in 12 games. Safe to say that Sean is going to get the best out of Russell Wilson.

 

Who Will Improve the Most Under Sean Payton:

I already mentioned Russell Wilson and what Sean Payton has done with QBs in his coaching career. It is safe to say that either Denver is going to either get the Seattle version of Wilson back or have to find a way to move on from him. Based on Sean’s ability to make life easier on the QBs by tailoring the offense to what the QB does best, and building a solid foundation of players around him, expect a different Wilson this season.

Jerry Jeudy is the big individual name to keep an eye on for Denver. I wrote in my Three Breakout Candidates for the Denver Broncos article that Jerry was my number one guy. Not only with the presumably jump in production from Wilson help Jerry, but Sean’s ability to get Wide Receivers in great positions to exploit the defense is second to none.

I mention that how Payton worked with Michael Thomas in New Orleans is a great way to gauge Jerry’s usage this season. I would expect a lot of quick precision passing, and a lot of scheme to get Jeudy in open spots on the field. I would expect to Jerry to be arguably the most affected player by Payton coming to Denver.

The Unit I expect to be the most improved on is the O-line. Payton is known for having great offensive lines in his career, and his past and off-season moves indicate the same outcome for this season. First with the additions of Ben Powers at LG and Mike McGlinchey at RT, they got two of the best offensive linemen in this season’s free agency while being massive upgrades at both positions. With a new starting unit of Bolles, Powers, Cushenberry, Meinerz, and McGlinchey the unit looks so much better than it did a year ago.

And some of the numbers his O-lines have produced in the past are absurd to look at. In terms of Sack Rate Rankings, he only finished worse than 13^th one season which is incredible considering Wilson was the most sacked QB in the NFL last year being sacked 55 times.

That and the fact that the Saints produced 25 Pro Bowls and seven All-Pros under Sean is really promising considering the talent along the line. If Denver can have a top half of the league in the offensive line, they are set up really well to succeed offensively.

 

What to Expect This Season:

          It is important to temper expectations this season, if with a Hall of Fame Coach on the sideline this season. A lot of this depends on how fixable Wilson is this season. However, it also depends on the progression of Jeudy and Sutton as the top two Wide Receivers and the health of Javonte Williams and Tim Patrick coming back from ACL injuries.

However, I do think the Broncos have the pieces for Sean to send out a quality unit every week. At this point, as I mentioned, it comes down to Wilson. If Wilson can return to his Seattle days, the offense is set up well to succeed. If he looks more like last season’s Wilson, the offense may look rough again and leave the franchise searching for the answer again.

I believe at this unit’s best they can be a top-10 offense. They have the RBs to produce in Payton’s dynamic run scheme, either Jerry or Sutton can fill the Michael Thomas role similarly, and the offensive line should be one of the better units in the NFL. If Wilson can be Seattle Wilson then it should not be surprising to have a top-10 offense in the NFL.

Personally, though, my expectations are for Russell to be improved and look better, the O-line to be better, and the Wide Receivers to impress, but the offense to fall somewhere between 12-16 in the NFL. I do not believe in Wilson right now to produce a top-10 offense, and the RB room scares me if Williams is not 100% healthy this season. I do expect a big jump by just having Payton calling plays and coaching this team, but I expect them to fall somewhere in the average offense range. However, that may be good enough with that defense to get into the playoffs if they can land in the better part of my range.

 

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