The Denver Broncos defense is now being coached by Vance Joseph. Let's make some bold predictions for this unit in 2023. I think we should be preparing for a downgrade from Ejiro Evero. The Broncos let Evero leave and Sean Payton decided that he wanted to bring in former Denver Broncos' HC Vance Joseph as the new DC.
Joseph had just spent the past four seasons as the Arizona Cardinals' DC, so he does appear to be much more experienced in his second stint with Denver, which is a slight relief. The Broncos do have some talent on defense to be one of the better units in football in 2023.
Let's make some bold predictions for this unit in 2023.
3 bold predictions for the Denver Broncos' defense in 2023
1. Justin Simmons and Patrick Surtain II combine for 14 interceptions
My first bold prediction is a unique one. Both Patrick Surtain II and Justin Simmons are arguably the best cornerback and safety in football, and they both play in the Broncos' secondary. My prediction is that both players will end up combining for 14 interceptions.
The number 14 doesn't have any sort of meaning, but I think it's quite a bit between two players. Surtain is going to have a stellar season in 2023 and pick off a whopping eight passes, while Simmons will pick off six for the second year in a row.
Surtain's feat might be harder simply because the ball isn't thrown his way a ton, but he's an elite cornerback and is going to break out even further in his third year.
3 bold predictions for the Denver Broncos' defense in 2023
2. Nik Bonitto leads the team in sacks
How about a second-year breakout from 2022 second-round pick Nik Bonitto? Bonitto was hardly noticeable in his rookie year, notching three QB hits and 1.5 sacks in 15 games. For a second round pick, that isn't great production.
To be fair, just because he was a second-round pick, doesn't mean he needed to have better production in his rookie season. The thing with Bonitto is that he was a pass-rush specialist in Oklahoma and doesn't have much value as a run defender, yet.
Honestly, he kind of fits into that Yannick Ngakoue mold. Ngakoue has been a sack master since entering the league, never having a year less than eight sacks but also not being a great run defender. Well, I think Bonitto is going to notch at least 9.0 sacks in 2023, which will lead the team.
The Broncos don't appear to have someone on the defense who can hit that 10.0 sack mark, but just because a player might not hit it, doesn't mean Denver's pass rush will be ineffective.
3 bold predictions for the Denver Broncos' defense in 2023
3. Defense comes through with two game-winning defensive TDs
Let's get even more unique with this last prediction. One thing that I firmly believe about the 2023 Denver Broncos is that they will be a well-coached team. They may not truly excel at one thing, but they'll be good at the important things and won't shoot themselves in the foot in 2023.
That's something that has hurt them in prior seasons. They simply could not play complementary football and as a result, could not close out many games. I think this is where my prediction can come into play.
Denver might not field an elite defense, but I think it'll be a savvy unit that knows how to play in crunch time and knows how to take advantage of various matchups. Denver's defense will notch two game-winning defensive touchdowns in 2023. They'll have a pick-six and a strip-sack returned for a TD.
One of them will come against a division rival, as well. Vance Joseph is not going to be as good of a DC as Ejiro Evero was, but he is much more qualified in his second stint with Denver than he was in his first.