5 reasons the Denver Broncos can go from worst to first in 2023

It's not overly uncommon in the NFL today to see teams go from worst to first. To go from last place in their division to division champions. As a matter of fact, we saw it just last year with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who not only went from last place in the AFC South to AFC South champions, but they went from picking first overall in the 2022 NFL Draft to winning a playoff game against the Chargers. The Denver Broncos have hope after winning just five games a season ago and losing 10 one-score contests.

Let's be real about the situation for the moment -- anyone but the Kansas City Chiefs winning the AFC West feels like a major stretch at this point. But it's not impossible to think the Denver Broncos are a candidate to go from worst to first, or at least worst to the playoffs. A number of teams did that last season including the Jaguars, Giants, and Seahawks.

How can the Broncos make it happen and get back to the playoffs for the first time since that 2015 season? Let's look at five reasons they can do it, or five things that need to happen.

5 reasons the Denver Broncos can go from worst to first in 2023

1. Russell Wilson rebounds in a big way

As I am typing up this post, this Tweet from Pro Football Focus popped up in my news feed:

It's kind of funny how that works, isn't it? At any rate, I think Russell Wilson is poised for a massive comeback year in his age-34 NFL season. Wilson came to the Denver Broncos with massive expectations a year ago at this time. Because of the way he played in the first 10 years of his NFL career (above average at worst every single year), people expected a sequel to the Peyton Manning years with the Denver Broncos, and they expected it immediately.

It didn't turn out that way. As we all know, Russ had the worst year of his career, marred by injuries and just flat-out ugly football. Tape that was tough to watch, as Sean Payton put it. I simply refuse to believe that the Russell Wilson we saw last year is just "who he is" now.

After dealing with a ton of injuries last season, I think we're going to see a rejuvenated Wilson in the Sean Payton offense in 2023. And when Russ is playing at a high level, I don't think you can count the Broncos out of any game and I think he gives them an edge in any game.

We're going to have to see it to believe it, of course, but I think a Russell Wilson bounce-back year could wind up leading to the Denver Broncos going from worst to first, or last place to the playoffs.

2. The arrival of Sean Payton is massive

Out of any acquisition made by any team in the 2023 NFL offseason, I don't know if any individual move is going to end up being more impactful than Sean Payton to the Denver Broncos. Aaron Rodgers to the Jets is up there, but the impact of Sean Payton is undeniable.

He coached 15 seasons with the New Orleans Saints and only twice did he have offenses rank outside the top 10 in total yards. Only three times did he have offenses rank outside the top-10 in total points scored, and two out of those three times the Saints ranked 11th and 12th.

This is not a head coach who is simply a bigger name than he is anything else at this point. Sean Payton is truly one of the best offensive coaches in the history of the league. Chalk it up to Drew Brees all you want, but it's simply inaccurate to credit all of Payton's success to Drew Brees, even if he and Brees worked great together for so many years.

In Payton's final year with the Saints, Jameis Winston was on pace for 50 touchdown passes through the first six weeks of the season. When Winston suffered a torn ACL, the Saints were forced to completely reshape the offense in the middle of the year to suit Taysom Hill's skill set. After sputtering to a 5-7 record 12 games into the season, the Saints finished 9-8 and with a 4-2 record over the final six games that year.

Payton had three top five defenses in his final five years with the Saints. His teams were top 10 in takeaways in four of his final five seasons there. They were in the top 9 of takeaway/giveaway ratio in each of his final five seasons in New Orleans.

Simply put, Sean Payton-coached teams are better than most. It's been proven over time and at this point, in different "eras" of NFL football. It's absolutely psychotic that there were actually people out there who didn't want Payton as the Denver Broncos head coach because he's "only" won one Super Bowl as a head coach in the NFL.

Imagine not wanting a coach with a .631 winning percentage, one of the best in league history.

Payton is a living legend and the Denver Broncos could go from worst to first simply due to his presence.

3. Offensive playmakers take a big leap forward

This really goes in combination with the first two points, but if the Denver Broncos are going to go from worst to first or last place to playoffs, they need the offensive skill players to take a huge leap forward in 2023.

We started to see that at the end of the 2022 season as Jerry Jeudy began to take over games and truly look like a top-flight WR1. Although there were trade rumors involving Jeudy this offseason and dating back to last year's trade deadline, the Broncos saw what everyone else saw and picked up the fifth-year option on Jeudy's rookie contract for 2024.

Specifically speaking on the Denver Broncos' wide receiver position, there are three players on the roster who have all had outstanding years in the NFL, but somehow never all at the same time.

Courtland Sutton made the Pro Bowl in the 2019 season with the Broncos, but tore his ACL in 2020 and we haven't seen the Pro Bowl version of Court since that time.

Tim Patrick had an outstanding 2020 and 2021 season for the Broncos, really establishing himself as a top-flight WR2 in the league, but he tore his ACL in 2022 and missed the entire season.

Jeudy missed a number of games back in the 2021 season with an ankle injury, and we have seen flashes from him but not a lot of consistency (at least in terms of his involvement in the offense) until late last season.

If Russell Wilson is going to rebound and now with the presence of Sean Payton, is it possible that we could see all of these receivers finally put together great years all at the same time? I don't think it's out of the question. Getting a star QB in the building was a huge part of the equation. Having the right coach to "stir the drink" is the next piece. Payton is a master of utilizing offensive personnel and enhancing the strengths of his players.

If he can get the best out of these offensive skill players collectively, he will be the first to do it and the result in terms of wins and losses should greatly benefit the Denver Broncos.

4. The offensive line will be vastly improved

We hope for this every single year, but could 2023 finally be the year? Could the Denver Broncos offensive line actually be one of the most improved units in the league?

Let's ask a non-biased third party, like Mike Clay of ESPN who ranked every unit in the NFL at every position group.

So many people are freaked out by the Denver Broncos' current offensive line depth but not enough people are excited about the team's improved starting five. Sean Payton and George Paton attacked the offensive line in free agency, signing Mike McGlinchey to a big-money deal and adding Ben Powers from the Baltimore Ravens as another high-priced starter at the guard position.

Garett Bolles is coming back from injury, and Quinn Meinerz looked last season like the team's best overall offensive lineman. There are very few "perfect" offensive lines in the NFL outside of Philadelphia, and not every team is just loaded with big-money free agents or top 50 picks as backup offensive linemen.

The Broncos have a really good starting five on the offensive line, and they have a coach in Sean Payton whose offensive lines have always performed exceptionally well. It's hard to know just how good the Broncos can be in 2023 if they have a good offensive line, or even an average offensive line, because we haven't really seen that in Denver the last however many years.

Going from worst to first is possible if the Broncos control the line of scrimmage.

5. The secondary continues to grow, become dominant

Almost the entire focus of this post thus far has been the idea that if the Broncos are better offensively, they've got a shot to go from worst to first in the AFC West. But as we know, the defense is going to have to continue playing at the high level we've seen over the last seven years as the offense has struggled.

Specifically, the Broncos need their secondary to be the strength of this team, shutting out some of the top receivers they will face throughout the year and making life difficult for opposing quarterbacks by jumping passing lanes, getting their hands on the ball, and dominating their one-on-one coverage.

The Broncos have arguably the best cornerback and the best safety in the NFL in Pat Surtain II and Justin Simmons. Together, those guys are the gold standard in terms of size, athletic ability, production, and consistency.

Outside of those two, there are some question marks, but there are also a ton of young players and veterans alike who have potential to be the best secondary in the league this coming season if they live up to that potential.

Damarri Mathis showed tremendous growth this past year as a rookie, and he's now joined at the outside cornerback position by rookie Riley Moss, another athletic option at the position. Veterans K'Waun Williams and Kareem Jackson return this year to give the Broncos more leadership and consistency at their respective positions, and third-year player Caden Sterns is expected to take a big step forward this season as well.

If defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and defensive backs coach Christian Parker can keep getting the best out of the personnel the Denver Broncos have in the secondary, then this team is going to be able to do more than just hang around in every game. This unit is going to be key from going worst to first, or last place to playoffs.