7 good storylines to watch at Broncos Camp ‘22

Good morning, Broncos Country!

Training Camp is just around the corner and for the first time in six seasons, Broncos fans will not be coming into this time of year wondering who will be quarterback and will that player be able to win any games?

Halle-freakin-lujah for the Russell Wilson Era!! Where competence and competitiveness returns to the Broncos offense.

But heading into camp there are still a lot of question marks to be answered in just a few short weeks...

No. 1 - Will the Broncos’ elite pass rush return?

Since Von Miller’s MVP in Super Bowl 50, the question of the Broncos’ pass rush each offseason was always asked in terms of degrees - how dominant would Von Miller be? How many QBs would end up in concussion protocol thanks to the Miller-Chubb duo? And each season since 2016, the answer has been a letdown, mainly because other than Miller, no Broncos pass rusher has lived up to his hype.

Now that Miller is a Bill (boooo), all attention will turn toward former first-round pick Bradley Chubb and free agent acquisition Randy Gregory to see if this new partnership can bring Broncos’ pass rush back to prominence.

With potential help from rookie Nik Benitto, second year players Baron Browning and Jonathan Cooper, plus veteran starter Malik Reed, there are a lot of question marks for how this edge rush group fills out. But if Chubb and Gregory can stay healthy, that is clearly the biggest dual threat to quarterbacks.

No. 2 - Who will be RB1?

By all official accounts, this isn’t a real question because the coaches have said Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon will split carries and basically operate as two “RB1s.”

But all eyes will still be focused on Williams as he rolls into his second training camp after a big freshman campaign. Don’t count out Gordon, though, who at 29 is still hungry to compete for the RB1 slot. The answer to those will give some hints on whether the “split carries” will be more like 50-50...or more like 70-30 in favor of one.

No. 3 - Which tandem will emerge at inside linebacker?

Last year’s starting ILBs were Josey Jewell and Alexander Johnson, but neither lasted the full season as injuries forced them to the sidelines.

Former head coach Vic Fangio worked his defensive magic to maintain a high level of play out of a rotating crew of backups, and now it will be up to new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and linebackers coach Peter Hansen to find the pair that can be the “quarterbacks of the defense” and still cover running backs and tight ends in space all game long.

Jewell was playing his best football when he got injured in Week 2 last season, so he’ll be the early favorite heading into camp. Jonas Griffith III surprised with his play last year and is expected to compete with free agent Alex Singleton for the second starting spot. Singleton led the Eagles in tackles the last two seasons.

The Broncos can look to Barrington Wade, Justin Strnad and rookie undrafted free agents Kana’i Mauga and Kadofi Wright to fill in for depth.

No. 4 - Chemistry between Russell Wilson and his all-star WR corps?

We’ve all spent a lot of time watching Wilson’s hype videos this season (and if you haven’t, why not????) but the important question really is - who is he going to throw to and how well are they clicking together this early in camp?

There’s no question Wilson is an elite passer, and he has a plethora of receivers to throw to, each with a different skillset, speed and level of strength. But the most important part of their resumés now has to be “how well does he click with Wilson on the field?”

Great speed, separation and route running will be useless if the receivers and their quarterback aren’t on the same page. And with a treasure chest of targets - from Jerry Jeudy to Courtland Sutton to Tim Patrick to K.J. Hamler to Kendall Hinton to Tyrie Cleveland, etc. - Wilson has a lot of chemistry to get right.

But for once it will be fun to watch just the receivers duking it out for the roster spot rankings and not the quarterbacks.

No. 5 - Just how strong will that defensive line be anyway?

Thanks to the addition of stout run stopper D.J. Jones, the Broncos should be stronger on the D-line this season, even with the absence of Shelby Harris.

Combining Dre’Mont’s overall athleticism with D.J.’s power and strength, “keeping up with the Joneses” could be a thing on this d-line.

At this point, the most likely trio of starters is D.J. Jones, Mike Purcell as nose, and Dre’Mont Jones, making them a much greater force to reckon with against the run while maintaining the ability to get after the quarterback when called upon.

Purcell may find himself fighting for a roster spot this season as both D.J. Jones and rookie Eyioma Uwazurike can play the position at a high level.

All in all, this defensive line should be more consistent at stopping the run as well as capable of bringing pressure up the middle on the QB when necessary - a great combination from your line.

No. 6 - Is this the year Special Teams is actually going to be better?

Since 2016, Broncos’ special teams units have been basically atrocious. 104.3 The Fan recently compiled rankings from three different sources and averaged them for each year since the Super Bowl win. That came out to yearly rankings ranging between 19th and 25th across those years. Those are game-killing rankings.

But there’s new leadership with Dwayne Stukes taking the coaching reins so that already indicates likely improvement. But the obvious test will be in coverage and returns, and Broncos Country will be hoping competition between Kendall Hinton, Tyrie Cleveland and rookie Montrell Washington will yield major improvements in kickoff and punt returns.

No. 7 - What will the offensive line look like after camp?

If there’s one position group with more questions than answers, it has to be the O-line. But thankfully among the multitude of the answers, all look to be upgrades over previous years.

Sixth-year left tackle Garett Bolles is about the only definitive name for a specific position on the line at this point as so many of the others are fluid.

Over at right tackle, veteran Billy Turner is expected to earn the starting role. Turner, who played for Denver from 2016-18, spent the last two years with Nathaniel Hackett at the Packers, where he started 27 games (mostly at RT) and allowed only three sacks in 810 snaps last year, according to Pro Football Focus. Pushing right behind Turner will be Calvin Anderson, Tom Compton and Ben Braden, who all saw reps during OTAs and minicamp.

Among the most competitive o-line positions will be right tackle, where three players - all with experience as starters - will be in the hunt.

Dalton Risner, Quinn Meinerz and Graham Glasgow will be jockeying for the guard spots, and Netane Muti, who got first-team reps this spring, may get a look too.

Although Risner has been the starter since his rookie year, it may be impossible to ignore Meinerz, who started against the Eagles last season and was an instant video sensation with highlights of his soul-crushing blocks. He also famously cleared a way for Javonte Williams to scamper downfield the field and later did the same for Mike Boone in Kansas City.

The center position is likely to remain with Lloyd Cushenberry, who will be a third year starter. Rookie Luke Wattenburg from the University of Washington could compete with him at center, but it’s likely he needs more time to see the field.

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