DENVER BRONCOS 2022 WIN PREDICTION

BY ADAM GREENE

Reality finally hit home with the Denver Broncos last season. After a 3-0 start that saw them dominate three of the worst teams on their schedule, the true distance between the Broncos and actual AFC contenders became clear with four consecutive losses to the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Las Vegas Raiders and Cleveland Browns.

It was the wake up call the team needed to hit the trade button, ship future first ballot Pro Football Hal of Famer Von Miller to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Los Angeles Rams and give up on every single quarterback on their roster. They would not start a new season with a scrub under center again.

But there were still 10 games to play and Denver wasn’t terrible, even though head coach Vic Fangio was a dead man walking. They picked up a couple of monster wins in that Miller-less stretch, blowing out the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, 30-16 on Nov. 7. Two weeks later they put it to the Los Angeles Chargers, 28-13 at Mile High. It was a loss that would ultimately cost the Chargers a trip to the playoffs.

Teddy Bridgewater, now with the Miami Dolphins, started 14 games for Denver last season. He completed 66.9 percent of his passes for 3,052 yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Drew Lock, now with the Seattle Seahawks, started three games, completed 60.4 percent of his passes for 787 yards, two touchdowns and two picks.

Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon were one of the better rushing tandems in the league. Williams finished with 203 carries for 903 yards, four touchdowns to go with 42 receptions, 316 receiving yards and three receiving TDs. Gordon carried 203 times for 918 yards and eight touchdowns, grabbing 28 passes for 213 yards and two scores.

Courland Sutton led the receivers with 58 catches for 776 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Noah Fant, now a Seahawk too, caught 38 passes for 467 yards.

The defense wrapped up the year ranked No. 8 in the league in yardage allowed and third in points allowed. With Miller traded at midseason and Bradley Chubb injured, Shelby Harris led the team with six sacks.

DENVER BRONCOS

Last season: 7-10

Odds: Over 10 wins (-125), Under 10 wins (-105)

2022 NFL Draft: Nik Bonitto, Edge, Oklahoma (Round 2), Greg Dulcich, TE, UCLA (Round 3), Damarri Mathis, CB, Pittsburgh (Round 4), Eyioma Uwazurike, DT, Iowa State (Round 4), Delarrin Turner-Yell, Safety, Oklahoma (Round 5), Montrell Washington, WR, Stanford (Round 5), Luke Wattenberg, Center, Washington (Round 5), Matt Henningsen, DT, Wisconsin (Round 6), Faion Hicks, CB, Wisconsin (Round 7)

2022 Additions: Russell Wilson, QB (trade), Randy Gregory, Edge (free agent), DJ Jones, DT (free agent), Billy Turner, OG (free agent), Tom Compton, OG (free agent), Alex Singleton, LB (free agent), Blessuan Austin, CB (free agent)

Projected Starters

Offense

QB: Russell Wilson

RB: Javonte Williams

WR: Jerry Jeudy

WR: Courtland Sutton

WR: KJ Hamler

TE: Albert Okwuegbunam

FB: Andrew Beck

LT: Garrett Bolles

LG: Dalton Risner

C:  Lloyd Cushenberry III

RG: Graham Glasgow

RT: Billy Turner

Defense

LDE: DJ Jones

NT: Mike Purcell

RDE: Dre’Mont Jones

WLB: Bradley Chubb

LILB: Alex Singleton

RILB: Josey Jewell

SLB: Randy Gregory

CB: Ronald Darby

CB: Patrick Surtain II

SS: Kareem Jackson

FS: Justin Simmons

Special Teams

PK: Brandon McManus

P: Sam Martin

PR: Kendall Hinton

KR: Kendall Hinton

PREVIEW

There was much rejoicing in Mile High Mudville as the offseason truly began as the Broncos cut a deal with the Seattle Seahawks to add Russell Wilson to their roster, ending their futile search for a franchise quarterback that’s been ongoing since Peyton Manning retired after the 2015-16 season.

With Wilson, Denver immediately becomes a serious Super Bowl contender. While that might be hard to reach, not only in what is probably the toughest AFC since the 1970s, but also the toughest division in football in the AFC West, anything short of a playoff appearance would be a huge disappointment. This is a team built to win now that’s been a quarterback away from contention for over half a decade.

After Wilson was on board, the team got a set of new owners with extremely deep pockets. An ownership group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton was approved in July and will officially take control of the team this month.

It wasn’t all good news this offseason. Budding star wideout Tim Patrick tore his ACL a few days ago in Broncos training camp. The kid was coming off back-to-back 50-catch, 700-plus yard seasons and caught 11 touchdowns over that span. He was primed to go off in a more prolific passing attack led by Wilson, but we’ll have to now wait a season to see that come to fruition.

While Denver plays in the NFL’s toughest division in its strongest conference, they got a gift in their early schedule. They open on the road at the Seattle Seahawks, Wilson’s old team, then host the Houston Texans and San Francisco 49ers. While the 49ers might be expected (by some) to be one of the league’s better teams this year, Wilson has owned them. Since Wilson entered the league in 2012, he has a 17-4 record against the Niners, no matter who the coach and/or quarterback happens to be. Against the Shanahan 49ers, Wilson is 8-2. I am comfortable predicting a 3-0 start for Denver.

It gets tougher after that, with three consecutive games against the Raiders, Colts and Chargers, but then it’s cruise control for a couple of weeks as they host the New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars. The Tennessee Titans and Raiders show back up on the schedule after, but a Thanksgiving meeting with the Carolina Panthers should help the Broncos prepare for what might be the toughest final stretch of any team in football.

They start December at the Ravens, hosting the Chiefs, hosting the Arizona Cardinals, playing at the Los Angeles Rams, then at the Chiefs before finishing the season at Mile High with the Chargers. It’s a gauntlet.

I figure Denver will be 9-2 heading into that woodchipper and can secure a high Wild Card seeding by picking up just two more victories out of those six games. My money is on the Cards and a split with the Chiefs.

Final record prediction: 11-6

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

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