3 Denver Broncos to watch Week 1 against Las Vegas Raiders

3. Russell Wilson

No one should be surprised by this. All eyes will be and should be on Russell Wilson, who is entering a make-or-break year not just for the Denver Broncos, but likely for his NFL career as we know it. Wilson was a shell of his former self in 2022. Not only was he playing at nearly 230 pounds, but between injuries, a clear loss in confidence, and a lack of an offensive identity, Wilson was arguably the worst starting QB in football.

Now, a new-look Wilson is here, well, new-look for the Broncos. He's down to about 213 pounds, and according to Sean Payton, has lost 15 pounds. He's back to his old self in many ways. He's moving like he used to and Payton has even said that he sees no physical difference between the Russell Wilson now and what he saw from him in 2020.

Wilson also gets to face a pretty bad defense in Week 1. The Las Vegas Raiders don't really have much to write home about on defense besides Maxx Crosby, so Denver should be able to move the ball against this team. Russell Wilson should be able to have a strong game through the air in Week 1, especially when the Raiders' best cornerback is a washed-up Marcus Peters.

Now, if Wilson is a bit shaky in Week 1, all isn't lost. It may take the Denver Broncos a little bit to get up to speed on offense and as a team, so I am bracing myself for some early-season struggles, but at the very least, we need to see something from Russell Wilson. Something to make us believe again.