The Denver Broncos definitely had a strong offseason in 2024, and there were at least three disasters that they avoided. Right now, the team is 8-5 and on the right track for the long-term. They're also very likely to make the postseason this year and are kind of playing with house money.
It'll be interesting to see just how far this team can go when their cap space opens up next year and they're able to bring on yet another first-round pick. There may only be a handful of franchises in the NFL better positioned for the long-term than the Broncos.
And part of that is due to them avoiding some disasters this past offseason.
3 disasters the Denver Broncos avoided in the 2024 NFL Offseason
Broncos avoided disaster by cutting Russell Wilson
Many people across the NFL landscape did not agree with the team's decision to cut Russell Wilson last offseason, as he scored 29 total touchdowns for Denver in 2023 against eight interceptions. Denver's defense was the main contributor for the team starting 1-5, so it's not like Wilson was totally dragging the team down at first.
However, it became clear as the season went on that the Broncos were not in a good situation with Wilson as their QB, and their historic decision to cut ties and absorb an $85 million dead cap hit seemed to be unpopular at first, but it's clear that it was the right move.
The team potentially keeping Russell Wilson in 2025 would have likely meant that they passed on a QB in the 2024 NFL Draft, which would have prevent them from drafting Bo Nix, who now gives the Broncos a long-term option.
Denver cutting Russell Wilson and embracing a mini-rebuild with a rookie QB was the right move.
Broncos avoided disaster by staying put at pick 12 in the 2024 NFL Draft
Coming into the 2024 NFL Draft, a lot of people thought that the Denver Broncos were a great fit for Bo Nix, and they were right. However, some of those same people also thought that Denver would be able to trade down in the NFL Draft, acquire more capital, and still be able to take Nix. Them not having a second-round pick was a huge reason why a lot of us thought the Broncos could trade back.
Well, if the Broncos had traded down, Bo Nix could have fallen off the board before Denver would have made their pick:
For all who think the Broncos could have traded down and still gotten Bo Nix … @chad_reuter of @NFLMedia says, “No,” that wouldn’t have worked.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) May 2, 2024
Why? Because the Rams wanted Nix.
"The Rams were taking Nix at 19. Absolutely, if he was available,” Reuter told @CecilLammey & me. pic.twitter.com/SHxQxEdZSw
Denver didn't risk anything and just took the guy that they wanted, and they avoided disaster
Broncos avoided disaster by keeping Vance Joseph as the Defensive Coordinator
I was absolutely one of those people that called for the firing of Vance Joseph from time to time during the 2023 NFL Season. The defense was just bad those first six games, figured themselves out in the middle of the season, and then kind of tapered off again toward the end. Statistically speaking, it was not a good unit overall, and it's clear that Sean Payton trusted the man he hired to be the DC in the first place.
Vance Joseph now has a top-3 unit in football, and let's not act like the Broncos Week 13 defensive collapse was the norm. This is still among the best units in football and is the best pass-rushing unit in the NFL. Potentially making a knee-jerk reaction to fire Joseph for someone else may not have given the team what they were looking for.
Keeping Joseph for 2024 was the right move, as the defense has truly been the main reason why the Denver Broncos are 8-5 and in a playoff spot.