Wilson isn’t going to catch much of a break this season, going from what was arguably the toughest division in football last season, the NFC West, to what will easily be the best division in the sport this year, the AFC West.

The Broncos will definitely have high expectations, and Wilson will certainly feel them. He is the big-name quarterback that the team spent a lot of assets to get, he needs to win right away.

Even if Denver doesn’t win a Super Bowl this year, which they probably won’t, they have to at least be a competitive team in the division and the conference for the Wilson move to pay off right away.

Wilson is surely going to miss throwing to the likes of wide receivers Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, but the crop of offensive talent in Denver is plenty talented enough for Wilson to be successful.

The largest reason to believe that is the presence of second-year running back Javonte Williams. The second-round pick from the 2021 draft had a very promising rookie year despite having to share the backfield with talented veteran running back Melvin Gordon.

The two backs both had exactly 203 carries last season and Gordon ran for 15 more yards (918 to 903). The duo could be an effective committee in 2022 but it will more than likely be Williams’ backfield.

He not only has more potential and higher upside but he is also the more well-rounded back at the moment, proving himself as the more efficient pass-catcher.

Williams’s production this year will ultimately come down to how involved Gordon will be. As long as Williams at least sees more work than the veteran, which seems very likely to happen, then there is no reason that he couldn’t have his first 1,000-yard season in just his second year.

While the Broncos’ quarterbacks have certainly not been great recently, other receivers haven’t experienced as much difficulty as Jeudy. One of those players is wide receiver Tim Patrick, who may be the most underrated wideout in the league.

Patrick has led the team in receiving touchdowns in each of the past two seasons. He also has been the only receiver that has remained available and producing at a consistent level.

There is a lot of hype surrounding Jeudy and fellow wide receiver Courtland Sutton, but Patrick may actually be the best in the group.

The only spot on the offense that is a downgrade from last season is tight end but that is because the Broncos included tight end Noah Fant in the trade for Wilson.

Although it may look like a weakness now, the tight end spot will be a strength of this team for years to come.

Wilson is also experiencing an upgrade at offensive line, with Denver bringing back four players that started over half the games last season on the line.

Denver’s offensive line was only average at best last season but that is still better than the troubling line that Wilson had in Seattle.

Tackle Garrett Bolles, guards Dalton Risner and Quinn Meinerz, and center Lloyd Cushenberry should all be settled into their roles this year. And if one of them is not starting it will be because someone better beat them out, which only improves the line.

The last spot, right tackle, is up for grabs but with those four players already locked in that spot can be a little uncertain and it won’t do too much harm.

The story of the Broncos’ defense has been told through the outside linebackers in recent years, but that is mainly because they had a generational player in Von Miller at the position. Miller was traded during the season last year, which definitely took a toll on the position and the entire defense.

If he regains his form from earlier seasons then the team will have no problem having him as one of the faces of the defense moving forward. But if he struggles again, then it could mean that Chubb is not good enough to be the Number One pass rusher on a team.

Chubb will be getting reinforcements to make up for the loss of Miller.

The Broncos signed outside linebacker Randy Gregory, who was one of the most desirable pass rushers in free agency. They also have rookie outside linebacker Nik Bonitto, who they drafted with one of the picks they got in the Miller trade.

Denver was also in need of reinforcements on the defensive line, where they had to make up for the loss of productive defensive end Shelby Harris, who was also shipped to Seattle in the Wilson deal.

They added defensive tackle D.J. Jones in free agency, who will be able to strengthen up the interior of the defensive line. Jones will join forces with defensive linemen Mike Purcell, Dre’Mont Jones, and DeShawn Williams to form what should be at least a solid unit.

Regardless of what happens with the front seven, the secondary should be able to hold the defense up at times. The Broncos were one of the better defenses against the pass last year, allowing the eighth-fewest passing yards and fifth-fewest passing touchdowns.

The only Bronco who had more tackles than him: fellow safety Kareem Jackson. Jackson is another very underrated player on the Broncos but in his case, it is because he is a veteran that has been around for a while.

He signed in Denver in 2019 and has played some of his best football since. Don’t let the age fool you, Jackson can still ball.

While the safeties are certainly the best part of the secondary, second-year cornerback Patrick Surtain is the most entertaining.

He proved himself right away as a legitimate number one corner as a rookie last year going up against some of the best receivers in the league.

He had one of the best rookie cornerback seasons in recent memory and only lost out on Defensive Rookie of the Year because of some freak named Micah Parsons in Dallas.

Surtain’s instantaneous success has made it easier on the rest of the corners as it has placed less pressure on them. Unfortunately two of those corners, Kyle Fuller and Bryce Callahan, left the team.

The Broncos could end up being a really good team this year and are only a few individual player improvements on defense away from being great. I don’t see any way that this is not a team with a winning record barring an injury to Wilson.

The unfortunate thing is they are going to play in a stacked division that may very well put three teams into the playoffs, and could possibly send all four.

Someone has to finish last in that division, and while I don’t foresee it being Denver it is not outside of the realm of possibility.

I think Denver gets to 10 wins and makes it into the playoffs but not without a little bit of intrigue at the end of the season. This team would definitely have another win or two in another division where at least one of the teams is not competitive.

This column also appears at The Dime Press and is syndicated with permission.
Follow Cody Schoeler on Twitter @codyschoeler.