The Denver Broncos are going into their second offseason with Sean Payton running the show, and the progress the team made in 2023 should fuel optimism for 2024. On the surface, going 8-9 and missing the postseason would be viewed as a failure, but given just how poorly the Broncos played last year, their eight-win 2023 season was a success.
At one point, the Broncos managed to claw their way to a 7-6 record after an abysmal 1-5 start. A strong defensive turnaround was a huge reason why the Broncos saved their season for a few weeks. Unfortunately, the Broncos went 2-4 over their last six games, but did go 7-4 over their last 11 games, so for a majority of the season, the Broncos were a good, winning football team.
Sean Payton and his coaching staff definitely brought immediate change to the franchise, and I think there should be a ton of optimism for the 2024 NFL Season.
3 reasons to be optimistic about the 2024 Denver Broncos
1. Year two of the Sean Payton era
Sean Payton has won over 60% of his games in the NFL as a head coach and has built a Hall of Fame resume. He brought immediate change to his first head coach stop with the New Orleans Saints, and by year four, they had won a Super Bowl. The Broncos, from 2022 to 2023, looked like a totally different team.
I have to assume that Payton's coaching style and culture will take a step forward in 2024. There were a bunch of new faces on offense especially, and I think being immersed within his offense for another year would bring more efficient play. Payton's roster vision will likely also take shape more in 2024.
Even though the Broncos are in a cap crunch, this is not something that Payton hasn't experienced before, and with a strong and deep free agent market, I think we'll see Payton again be aggressive in free agency, but I think he is planning on pursuing those cheap, smart, savvy veteran players that fit what the Broncos want to do.