6 Broncos players who could come out of nowhere to be key pieces in 2023

The Denver Broncos are a team that has been headed in the wrong direction for the better part of a decade now. The team has been through multiple head coaches and multiple starting quarterbacks looking for an answer.

This season, the hope is that Sean Payton can be the one that finally gets it going in the right direction, but he's going to need his quarterback, Russell Wilson, to be a lot better than he was last year.

But all good teams have a few pleasant surprises as well and with roster turnover the way it is in today's NFL, some relative unknowns are going to need to step up and help a team's overall success as well.

Who are some players who could step up for the Broncos this season and come from out of nowhere to be a key piece of the team's hopeful turnaround and overall success?

Eyioma Uwazurike, Defensive lineman

The Broncos chose Eyioma Uwazurike in the fourth round of last year's draft and when I followed up with my draft grades, he was my favorite pick in the team's class. It seemed like the Broncos got incredible value with that pick.

But he had a quiet rookie season, playing on just 14 percent of the team's defensive snaps. He suited up for just eight games and finished the season with 17 total tackles.

Sounds a lot like McTelvin Agim, doesn't it?

The Broncos will have to hope that he is much better than Agim, a former third-round pick, ended up being, and he'll have the chance.

The Broncos are still somewhat thin on the defensive line, even after signing Zach Allen in free agency. Dre'Mont Jones and DeShawn Williams signed with new teams, leaving a lot of question marks with that unit, Uwazurike being one of them.

Uwazurike could end up in the starting lineup along with Allen and D.J. Jones, that's not too much to expect. The only other names on the roster at the moment are Jonathan Harris, Mike Purcell, Matt Henningsen, Elijah Garcia and Jordan Jackson.

Uwazurike needs to have a much bigger role in 2023.