7 moves Broncos must make to reach next year's Super Bowl

The Denver Broncos reaching the Super Bowl in the 2024-25 season and being a contender for the long term may be two completely different roster construction equations. The Broncos obviously want to be a contender for the long term. They want to build a program that can have sustained success and that's why they brought Sean Payton in as the head coach of the team. He is the one carrying the vision for the team, and we saw vast improvements in 2023.

But the bitter taste of disappointment is almost unshakable at this point. The Broncos got a much-needed victory over the Kansas City Chiefs this past season, but the Chiefs just won the Super Bowl...again...and John Elway handed them the dang Lombardi Trophy.

Broncos Country wants to win now, so let's take a look at what the team would need to do to make that happen. How can the Broncos build a roster to get to the Super Bowl in 2024?

7. Restructure Russell Wilson's contract, keep him around

Alright, let's start off with a hot take. Many of you will disagree with this and that's okay, but consider a few things for the moment.

The Denver Broncos were 7-4 in the final 11 games last season. That means, for the majority of the year, the Broncos were a pretty good team. Were they great in the passing game? No, and we've outlined that in a variety of ways. Was Russell Wilson able to operate Sean Payton's offense to perfection? Nope, and that's why it feels less likely that he's going to be the one running it in 2024.

But Russell Wilson is already on the books for $39 million this coming year. Is there even a slight chance we could see improvement from him in Sean Payton's offense for a second season? If there's a chance at improvement, this is a Broncos team that jumped from 32nd in the league in scoring to 19th in Payton's first year on the job.

I keep asking myself -- do the Broncos have a better chance to win in 2024 with Russ on the team or without him? Maybe that's not as clear of an answer as I think, but I just don't know who could realistically come in and give the team a better shot at competing in 2024. So perhaps the best way to appease everyone is for the Broncos to approach the 2024 offseason the same way the Chiefs did the 2017 offseason.

One more year of Alex Smith, but draft his replacement in round one.