By Lenn Robbins
Whether or not you’re a Vic Fangio fan, you’ve got to feel for the man.
An assistant coach/defensive coordinator since 1986, Fangio finally got his long-awaited, well-deserved head coaching job at the age of 60. The Denver Broncos brought in the defensive wiz, and man, did Fangio build a nasty defense. What they didn’t bring in was an elite, even an average quarterback – a must to win in the NFL these days.
After three years of trying to make chicken salad out of chicken poop, the Broncos fired Fangio, who had a 19-30 record in three seasons.
Then, after he had to make do with the likes of, Joe Flacco, Brandon Allen, Jeff Driskel, Brett Rypien and Teddy Bridgewater, the Broncos sold a ranch the size of Colorado and acquired All-Pro quarterback Russell Wilson. Frankly, it’s a little surprising we didn’t hear Fangio scream his bloody head off. Vince Lombardi couldn’t have won the Super Bowl with Fangio’s list of quarterbacks. Now the Broncos are squarely in the competition for the Lombardi Trophy.
New coach Nathaniel Hackett inherits a team blessed with two starting running backs, a trio of game-breaking receivers, a stout offensive line, a defense that allowed just 18.9 points per game last season (third best in the NFL) and, wait for it, Wilson.
Now you know why the Broncos are our pick to win the ridiculously tough AFC West and represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. The day the Russell trade was announced we took the Broncos (+850) at BetMGM.
The Broncos acquired Wilson and a 2022 fourth-round pick in exchange for tight end Noah Fant, defensive end Shelby Harris, a first and second-round pick in 2022 and 2023 and a 2022 fifth rounder. In Wilson they have the quarterback who has won more games in his first 10 seasons (104) than any quarterback in NFL history.
“I want to win three to four more Super Bowls,” Wilson said at his introductory news conference in Denver.
“That’s the plan, that’s the goal, that’s the mission, that’s the vision. So let’s do it. Why not?”
Well, we could offer a few reasons. The Kansas Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders and San Diego Chargers play in the AFC West. In addition to the West division rivals, the Bills and Bengals will have a say in the Super Bowl matchup.
Wilson, who said he sees himself playing for another 10 years, is 33, which isn’t necessarily a concern. There’s this guy in Tampa named Brady, 44, who can still chuck it all over the field. But Wilson had never missed a game until last season when a fractured finger kept him out of three.
Hackett, 42, has never been a head coach at any level, which could be a concern. There are hundreds of coaches across the country who look at the Broncos roster, now led by Wilson, and think, “I could win a Super Bowl with that team.” Fangio, no doubt, is one of them.
Major Moves: Talk about doubling down: The Broncos bring in a new coach and staff, and a nine-time All Pro at quarterback.
Free Agency: Harris had a career-high with six sacks last season so including him in the Wilson deal wasn’t a throw-in. The Broncos compensated for that loss by stealing away DE Randy Gregory from the Cowboys at the 11th and one-half hour. Gregory had agreed to a deal to stay in Dallas but a contract language issue blew that up and Denver had its pass-rusher to complement Bradley Chubb. Denver had an edition of Musical Chairs at linebacker last season. The signing of former Eagles LB Alex Singleton, who had more than 100 tackles in each of the last two seasons, should offer stability.
Draft: Considering the Broncos traded away most of their high picks, they did an excellent job. Second-round pick LB Nik Bonito from Oklahoma is going to be a force. He’ll rotate with Gregory and Chubb. With Fant included in the Wilson deal, third round pick TE Greg Dulcich out of UCLA should get immediate time.
Sleeper alert! Say hello to Montrell Washington, a special teams phenom out of Samford. He clocked a 4.38 in the 40 and led FCS schools with 1,967 all-purpose yards in 2021 and finished his career with five returns for touchdowns.
Warning: OK, call us worry warts. But if Wilson goes down, the Broncos signed Josh Johnson who will battle Rypien for the backup QB job. There’s a reason Johnson will be with his 14th NFL team. And Rypien has thrown two career TDs and four Ints. Perhaps there’s a veteran QB out there (Baker Mayfield?) who needs a one-year stopgap.
Key Early Game: The Week 1 opener against the Seahawks is not a key game in terms of playoff implications. But, c’mon. Wilson returns to Seattle? Monday night? Geez, I’m checking cross country flights and Stubhub.
Record: 11-6. What? You thought we were kidding when we said we’ve already put money down on Denver?
Fantasy: The entire Denver receiving corps accounted for a paltry 20 touchdown receptions. Wilson has never thrown less than 20 touchdown passes in a season. He’s +1600 at PointsBet to throw for the most TD passes this season. So take your pick of receivers Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, Tim Patrick and K.J. Hamler – all of them should have career highs in TD catches.
BetBasics.com Bite: Melvin Gordon III and Javonte Williams each got 203 carries last season. Kudos to the previous regime, who literally split carries and probably didn’t make either back happy. Gordon III rushed for 918 yards. Williams, who rushed for 903, is expected to get the workload this season although Gordon III is on record as saying he won’t go quietly into a backup role. The addition of Wilson means defenses can’t load the box, meaning the two backs should benefit.
The last team to have two 1,000-yard backs is the Carolina Panthers. DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart did it in 2009. Can the 2022 Broncos become the seventh team all time to do it? Depends on how much Hackett changes the game plan. That leads us to say, “No.” But from the school of, “If it Ain’t Broke Don’t Fix It,” the answer is “Yes.” We’re calling on our friends at all the Sportsbooks to please create some wagers on Denver’s Dynamic Duo.