Broncos Check in at No. 7 in PFF's Power Rankings, Behind Chiefs & Chargers
Even though the Denver Broncos are still in the midst of their offseason training program, a malaise of sorts has hit the fan base.
"We've got Russ, so wake me up when September hits," goes the thinking.
While we here at Mile High Huddle will resist that line of thought, it's true that this period on the NFL calendar offers less current events-type of news. Instead, it's a proliferation of player breakdowns, power rankings, and other forms of football analysis.
In that spirit, Pro Football Focus released its latest NFL power rankings and the Broncos checked in at No. 7, outside of the site's elite corps of teams. PFF lists five teams as "true contenders" (BUF, TB, LAR, KC, LAC [yes, really]). The next group is called "could be their year," which is where the Broncos fall at No. 7.
Denver catapulted itself into the contenders by trading for Russell Wilson, giving them their first legitimate championship-caliber passer since Peyton Manning. Denver now has to craft an offense that gets the most out of Wilson while doing so without running into the same issues that the Seattle Seahawks had. Can Wilson be unleashed to be the best version of himself without eschewing too much of the quick, routine passes to make the offense among the league’s best?
Oddly enough, PFF is more comfortable betting on the Los Angeles Chargers being more likely to contend for a Super Bowl — with a third-year quarterback that has yet to lead his team to anything even approximating collective success and a second-year defensive-minded head coach — than the Broncos with a nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback who's missed the playoffs as a starter only twice.
When it comes to the Chargers hype across the national NFL landscape, I'm not sure what everyone's smoking. Here's what PFF said after ranking the Chargers No. 5 overall and in the "true contenders" category.
Few teams were as aggressive this offseason as the Chargers, who seem determined to capitalize on the talent they have at quarterback in Justin Herbert. Far from regressing, Herbert’s second season built on his stellar rookie campaign, so the Chargers spent a ton of money to surround him with talent. Adding a player such as Khalil Mack should improve everything up front, and J.C. Jackson adds to a secondary that has a lot of ball skills as a unit. Drafting Zion Johnson should ensure that the line in front of Herbert remains solid.
*Rolls eyes.*
L.A. loaded up this offseason, but as always, when it comes to the Chargers manifesting a true Super Bowl contender, I'll believe it when I see it. That team always finds a way to squander its gains.
Meanwhile, if there's a fly in the ointment for the Broncos — outside of a tough AFC West gauntlet — it's the relative inexperience of the new coaching staff led by headman Nathaniel Hackett. In the final analysis, the Broncos will likely go as far as Wilson can take them but how quickly Hackett integrates his scheme and assimilates his core philosophies in the Broncos' locker room could accelerate or hinder the veteran QB.
For as much as people want to crown the Chargers, they should be taking a second look at the Kansas City Chiefs — a team poised to take a step back in 2022. The Chiefs crumbled in the playoffs as Andy Reid seemingly ran out of ideas and the once impervious veneer of Patrick Mahomes cracked to reveal a fallible human inside.
The Broncos have reloaded across the board and could take the NFL by storm if Hackett and company hit the ground running. Time will tell.
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