Broncos' 'Biggest Challenge' in 2023 Exposed by NFL.com

The long wait is nearly over for football-starved Denver Broncos fans. Training camp is just days away, but it only provides fans with a limited amount of padded action.

After the novelty subsides, training camp action will barely satisfy Broncos Country's demand for gridiron action, but it certainly whets the appetite. With so many compelling storylines bubbling away during Broncos camp, it will require concentration to keep up with all the developments.

NFL.com is identifying each team's 'biggest challenge' in training camp, and Eric Edholm writes that the Broncos must strike a balance with quarterback Russell Wilson.

Biggest challenge: Striking a balance with Russell Wilson.

In Seattle, Wilson became one of the league's best playmakers even as he sometimes was held back by the Seahawks' system. Last season in Denver, with Wilson having more autonomy over the offense, he had arguably his poorest NFL campaign. Enter Sean Payton, who hasn't really had a QB like Wilson before, but whose offenses were some of the more productive in the NFL in New Orleans for 15 years. Payton's roots are in the West Coast offense, but he has regularly varied formations and used a heavy dose of shotgun, with the wide run game and short/intermediate pass game as key staples. Payton also has tailored his offense to varying skill sets, as we saw when he called plays for Taysom Hill. Payton and Wilson have been two of the best at what they do in the past, but can they find common ground in the present and end the QB's slump? That likely will define how far the Broncos can go in 2023.

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Building a purposeful path forward for Wilson will come to depend on the blueprint that new Broncos head coach Sean Payton will set in stone. As NFL.com recounts, past history tells us that the rudiments of the West Coast Offense can fit well with Wilson's mobile skill set, especially if certain tweaks can be incorporated.

Therein lies the core brilliance of the Payton hire because years of experience have taught the 59-year-old former Super Bowl champion head coach that flexibility is what allows his offenses to thrive. With all due respect to Payton's long-time trusted quarterback Drew Brees, Wilson might be the most naturally talented quarterback he's ever had under his charge.

If the Broncos' offense can be tailored to fit the now slimmed-down Wilson, then piecing him back together mentally becomes the key to unlocking his potential in Payton's scheme. That will call on all parties to accept the challenges that lie ahead and put any ego issues to one side.

Wilson has been fairly quiet this offseason, but he has been rigorously preparing for the 2023 season, as the viral June workout video he posted on Twitter proved. Training camp will turn the page on the Broncos' recent woes and reveal how the working arrangements between Payton and Wilson will take root.

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