The team was competitive last year
The team was right in the Wild Card mix late in the 2023 NFL Season. An insane defensive turnaround and a serviceable enough offense helped fuel the team to a 7-6 record at one point, having one six of their last seven games. Yes, the team kind of collapsed at the end of the season, but nonetheless, you can't say they weren't competitive.
The Broncos managed to beat several playoff teams in 2023. They finally broke their losing streak against the Kansas City Chiefs, and also took down the Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, and Buffalo Bills. It was kind of crazy seeing how many late-game wins the team had, and even more crazy that they were able to beat these teams that were much more talented than them.
Denver upgraded their roster at several positions this offseason, including quarterback, running back, wide receiver, defensive line, and secondary. Guys like Bo Nix, Audric Estime, Troy Franklin, Josh Reynols, John Franklin-Myers, Malcolm Roach, Levi Wallace, and Kris Abrams-Draine have all entered the equation.
It's a modest talent upgrade across the board, and that was further reflected in their 2024 NFL Draft class. The team was competitive last year, and they got better this year. What does that tell you about their chances in 2024?
No one seems to be high on the Broncos...
It's hard to find any sort of team rankings for the 2024 NFL Season where the Denver Broncos aren't at the very bottom, and it's just odd. This is a team that won eight games last year, finishing the year 7-4 after a brutal 1-5 start. This is also a team that fielded a historically bad defense for the first five weeks of the season.
And this is also a team that clearly upgraded numerous positions this offseason, including quarterback. But for some reason, most of the NFL world seems quite low on the Broncos, and that's even reflected in the Las Vegas betting world. Already being an underdog heading into the season may allow the Broncos to fly under the radar a bit, as most may not be expecting the team to be any good.
I would rather my favorite team have no pressure to perform well instead of having all the pressure and not being able to come through. This may end up benefitting the Broncos during the coming season. I guess if you're someone who is low on Bo Nix, then you might maintain that Denver won't be any good this year.
However, most of the NFL world being low on the Denver Broncos leads me to believe that the team can actually greatly outperform expectations.