The hardest task every team in the NFL is faced with is finding a franchise quarterback. Not every team is blessed with the consistent quarterback play of the Green Bay Packers, who transitioned straight from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers. That’s 30 years of exceptional quarterback play. Not every team can find their Rodgers or Favre. However, the Denver Broncos might have just found their man in Russell Wilson.
The conclusion of 2015 saw Peyton Manning ride off into the sunset with his second Lombardi Trophy, but it left a void under center for the Broncos. Admittedly, Manning wasn’t himself in his final year with the Broncos but was still present enough to help get the team over the hump in his age-39 season. The last six years have been underwhelming for the Broncos following their triumph against the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50.
During that span, they’ve had 10 different starting quarterbacks without much to show for it. The Broncos have a record of 39-58 and posted five losing seasons in a row. Who knew the Mile-High Stadium was so close to purgatory?
The Broncos’ search for a franchise quarterback exhausted nearly every facet of team-building. They’ve drafted a quarterback in the first round, though Paxton Lynch only started four games in two seasons before he was sent off into the wilderness. They’ve tried drafting late, hoping to find a gem in Trevor Siemian who was actually the last quarterback to lead the Broncos to a winning record, but he never showed the potential to be more than a placeholder.
Everything the Broncos tried was futile. Case Keenum’s 2017 season with the Minnesota Vikings proved to be an outlier as he floundered in Denver a year later. Drew Lock, despite having some potential, just never looked like he was able to process the field, and Teddy Bridgewater, despite offering stability at the position for the first time in a couple of years, just isn’t a quarterback capable of elevating a team.
Much of the blame can be placed squarely on John Elway, who was tasked with finding their next franchise quarterback after Manning. Continuously, it was Elway’s misfires and mis-evaluations that led to a string of unwelcome tenures under center. Until Wilson.
However, it wasn’t Elway who orchestrated the trade for Wilson, it was current general manager George Paton who took over in 2021. And trading for Wilson came at the perfect moment for the franchise.
With the lack of on field success in recent years,one would assume it would be due to poor roster construction. However between 2016 and 2021, the Broncos were 7th in defensive EPA/play and finished third in scoring defense in 2021.
Overall, the Broncos have probably built one of the stronger rosters in the NFL. The defense is good, though it might show signs of regression without Vic Fangio in 2022. The offensive line isn’t perfect, but it’s better than a lot of other units in the NFL and there’s enough talent on the offensive side of the ball to make a significant impact.
The only thing that was truly holding the Broncos back on the field, aside from depth here or there, was their lack of a high-end quarterback. Acquiring Wilson doesn’t mean the Broncos are automatically guaranteed a spot in Super Bowl 57, but it certainly gives them their best shot since 2015.
Wilson shouldn’t be judged on his injury-disrupted 2021 season, the first time in his career that he missed a regular-season game. He struggled upon returning from a broken finger in Week 10, completing just 61 percent of his passes and finished 19th out of 37 qualifiable quarterbacks in EPA/play between Week 10 and 18. The counting numbers still looked acceptable in that span, though, as Wilson threw 15 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.
Though it’s the most recent version of Wilson we’ve seen, it’s unlikely that this is who he is now. For the last 10 seasons, Wilson has been one of the most consistent quarterbacks in the NFL. Once he’s fully healthy, he’ll revert back to what we know, and what the Broncos traded for.
Wilson essentially carried the Seahawks on his back for the last few years, but now he doesn’t have to. The Broncos offense is just as talented as any Wilson has had at his disposal, and the defense is a top-10 unit in the NFL at its best. Together, Wilson and the Broncos have the chance to make it to the Super Bowl and compete for the next few years. After much searching, the Broncos have finally found their man.
-Thomas Valentine
Twitter: @ThomasValenfine