The Denver Broncos have concluded another disappointing season, their seventh straight in which they will not participate in the postseason.
But this season was more than just disappointing, it was catastrophic in many ways. That is all due to the expectations that were placed on the team, one that almost everyone saw as a contender.
Broncos Country certainly thought they had a contender the moment the team traded for Russell Wilson. The quarterback problem had been solved! No more Drew Lock, no more anemic offense.
Wrong. In fact, the quarterback position was as bad as it has ever been for the Broncos.
As soon as the team parted ways with first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett, one thing became crystal clear. Coaching matters. Under interim head coach Jerry Rosburg, the team looked completely different and was much more competitive.
That should build encouragement heading into the 2023 season as the team currently conducts a search for a new head coach.
Even though the Broncos finished the season at 5-12, I am going to choose some award winners for the team, just as I did in 2021 and in 2020.
Denver Broncos 2022 award winners
Offensive player of the year: Jerry Jeudy
Once again, the Broncos were mostly offensive on the offensive side of the ball, averaging a league-worst 16.9 points per game. So as you can imagine, there are not a lot of options here.
But even in a bad offense, Jerry Jeudy managed to have the best season of his career and he really turned it on toward the end of the year.
Jeudy finished the season with 67 receptions for 972 yards and six touchdowns. He had a three-touchdown performance in Week 14 against the Kansas City Chiefs. But it was the way he seemed to click with Wilson in the final month of the season that really speaks volumes.
Jeudy had 37 of his 67 total receptions on the year during the last month of the season. Wilson seemed to be looking his way more often all the time, throwing him the deep ball and trusting him to make plays.
Jeudy will be counted on heavily in year four of his career next season with the Broncos.
Broncos Defensive Player of the Year: Justin Simmons
Patrick Surtain may have made the Pro Bowl but for me, Justin Simmons is and was the better overall player. I do feel that Simmons should be in the Pro Bowl but that is starting to mean less and less by the year as well.
Simmons only played in 12 games for the team this season, but he led the Broncos with six interceptions and that was also tied with three other players for the league lead.
Simmons finished fourth on the team with 69 total tackles and added three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
The Broncos had other strong defensive efforts as well.
Surtain will go to the Pro Bowl after making 60 tackles, having two interceptions and deflecting 10 other throws while becoming one of the best cover corners in football.
Alex Singleton had a ridiculous 163 tackles and was all over the field for the team, overcoming his poor Week 1 performance to put together a great season.
Dre’Mont Jones led the team with 6.5 sacks and should be the Broncos’ top in-house priority in free agency this offseason.
But Simmons is still the best defensive player on the roster and the season he put together while missing five games, is worthy of the honor.
Broncos Offensive Rookie of the Year: Greg Dulcich
It was a slow start for third-round pick Greg Dulcich, who was injured to start the season and ended up playing in only 10 games. But in those 10 games, he showed himself to be a potential weapon in the future.
Dulcich seemed to build a great on-field relationship with Wilson and he made big plays down the field as a tight end. His 33 receptions on the season finished third on the team, behind only Jeudy and Courtland Sutton.
As long as he can stay healthy, Dulcich should be in line for a big season in his second year in the league.
Broncos Defensive Rookie of the Year: Damarri Mathis
There weren’t a lot of options to choose from here as second-round pick Nik Bonitto was a bit of a disappointment as a rookie but fourth-round choice Damarri Mathis made somewhat of an impact.
Pressed into action, Mathis had 65 total tackles (fifth on the team) and seven pass deflections. His rookie season was not without some growing pains, however.
In the team’s overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 6, he was penalized for pass interference four times. That doesn’t happen often.
But for a young player looking to adjust to the speed of the professional level, it’s not going to come easily. Mathis gained some great experience as a rookie and when he was good, he looked really good.
In addition to Dulcich, it looks like the Broncos made a good draft choice here.
Broncos Comeback Player of the Year: Josey Jewell
A pretty easy decision here, Josey Jewell bounced back in a big way after a torn pectoral muscle ended his 2021 season after just two games.
Jewell finished second on the team with 128 tackles and he did that in only 13 games. He also had 2.5 sacks, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Those two interceptions both came against Patrick Mahomes in the same game.
Jewell also combined with Singleton to form a formidable linebacker duo for the team.
Jewell needed a season like this. Another down year or one riddled with injuries could have put him on the roster bubble going into next season.
Jewell will enter the final year of his contract in 2023 and if he can put together another year like he just did, he could be in line for a nice new deal with the team.
Broncos Coach of the Year: Ejiro Evero
Coaching and the Broncos in the same sentence have led to many punchlines in the media this season and considering how bad Hackett was, it’s understandable. But the Broncos had one coach in 2022 that did quite well.
That would be defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero who, despite getting little support from the offense, had his defense playing as well as any defensive unit in the league for much of the season.
Considering this was his first season in the role of a defensive coordinator, that is impressive. It is also why he has been contacted by multiple teams to interview for their head coaching vacancy.
He has interviewed for the open Broncos job and truthfully, that might be the only way he stays in Denver.
Evero has a bright future ahead of him in this league and it would be nice to see him stay with the Broncos but it does seem that a head coaching job is in his future.
Broncos’ best play of the year: Justin Simmons’ interception vs. Jaguars
Admittedly, there wasn’t a long list of plays to choose from for best play of the year but I’m going with this one (video).
A top-10 plays from the season was recently put out on the Broncos’ official website and this play wasn’t even on that list but for me, this is just a great play.
With Jacksonville already leading the game 7-0 between these two teams in London back in Week 8, the Jags went on a 13-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a turnover.
They got the ball all the way down to the Denver 1-yard and had a 1st-and-goal situation. Trevor Lawrence rolled out to his right to pass the ball and he had a man in the back of the end zone, but he didn’t see Justin Simmons waiting on him and anticipating the throw.
Simmons jumped up and snatched the ball out of the air to force a touchback.
When you watch this highlight, it’s not the most aesthetically pleasing as an 80-yard touchdown pass but the degree of difficulty should be appreciated. It was also a huge play in what ended up being one of just five victories for the team.
The No.1 play on the list made on the Broncos’ website was also an interception during this same game. But this play was better.
Broncos 2022 Team MVP: Justin Simmons
It’s Simmons again, taking home a lot of hardware this year.
Simmons is still the best player on this football team. He is still the defensive leader and that is backed up by his play on the field.
He recently turned 29 years old and still has two years remaining on his contract, but he has yet to ever play in the postseason. That is something the team needs to change as he is still one of the top safeties in all of football, if not the best overall.
Simmons will come into the 2023 campaign carrying a lot of responsibility on his shoulders as the team’s leader but to this point, he has handled that responsibility quite well and should be counted on to continue to do so.
When the team needs a play, Simmons is going to be the guy to make one, as he did in the play of the year against Jacksonville.
That’s what makes him an MVP.