Making a case for and against each team to win the AFC West in 2022

The Case For The Broncos To Win The AFC West in 2022

The Denver Broncos won seven football games in 2021 and remained competitive to the end in many of their losses. That alone is enough of a reason to predict positive regression for the team in the win column. A couple of major upgrades at positions of need and a shift in the coaching staff jump out as the primary reason for optimism in Denver.

New head coach Nathaniel Hackett comes over from Green Bay, after serving as the right-hand man to Matt LaFleur over the past couple of seasons. Hackett displays an impressive football IQ, dipping into his nearly 20 years of experience across both college football and the NFL. Hackett has served as an offensive coordinator for both the Bills and the Jaguars as well, even helping lead Jacksonville to the AFC Championship Game. He is now ready to craft an offense entirely in his vision. Lucky for him, he is going from designing plays for one Super Bowl-winning quarterback with the Packers to another one in Denver. The chips are stacked in Hackett’s favor.

Who is that Hall of Fame quarterback that we speak of? Former Seahawks legend, Russell Wilson. Wilson was taken in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks. He spent his first ten seasons in the NFL with Seattle, appearing in two Super Bowls and winning one in that timeframe. The win, ironically enough, came in a 43-8 beat down of his new team — the Denver Broncos. To further show how successful Wilson has been in the league, his injury-riddled 2021 campaign was the first team his team ever finished with a sub-.500 record. Wilson brings his winning pedigree to a roster that many believed was a quarterback away from being competitive in 2021. It’s time to find out.

The final major moves to highlight came at the pass rusher position. The team inked Randy Gregory to a four-year deal, mere moments after a potential deal with his former team, the Dallas Cowboys, fell through. Gregory pairs with Bradley Chubb to form a fierce duo coming off the edge in Denver. In the 2022 NFL Draft, general manager George Paton added a youthful presence to the position by selecting Nik Bonitto out of Oklahoma. Bonitto has a lot of growing to do before he is a consistent threat at the NFL level, but serving as a rotational pass rusher as a rookie should allow the former Sooner to make some plays in year one. Assuming the group can stay healthy, there’s a lot of reason to be excited in Denver.

The Case Against The Broncos Winning The AFC West In 2022

What happens if the health falters, though? Well, things could go downhill very, very quickly. Incumbent pass rusher Bradley Chubb has dealt with injuries on and off, with his last full season coming as a rookie in 2018. Their aforementioned newest addition, Randy Gregory, has had issues staying on the field himself. Whether it be due to suspensions or injuries, Gregory has never played a full season in his five-year career. Nik Bonitto adds insurance behind the duo, but even he comes with red flags of his own. The former Sooner bends the edge as well as anyone from the 2022 NFL Draft class, but he’s raw in nearly every other aspect. Malik Reed has quietly been the most consistent pass rusher on the roster the last few years, but he should never be at the top of the depth chart. If Chubb and Gregory miss time, and Bonitto struggles to adapt as a rookie, it could be a tough group of edge rushers to watch for the Broncos outside of the steady Reed.

The pass-catching department and offensive line are the biggest questions on the offense, by far. I believe that Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy are both destined to break out in 2022, but aside from one monster season from Sutton, the duo remains unproven as NFL receivers. As far as the offensive line goes, I’m not sure there’s an above-average player rostered. Garrett Bolles has been fine as a left tackle, but 2021 was not his best effort. Quinn Meinerz, Billy Turner, and Dalton Risner are decent, but forgive me for not being moved by them as a unit. I will say, Russell Wilson has rarely had a productive offensive line in terms of pass protection, so maybe this won’t impact them as much as it could. Still, the concern will exist until Wilson (or the line) puts it to rest.