NFL
NFL Insider Predicts a Denver Broncos ‘Super Team' Around Russell Wilson: ‘They Are Not Done Spending'
Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined Sports7 in 2021. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL and soccer landscape, as well as his expertise breaking down sports media, which stems from his many years downloading podcasts before they were even cool and countless hours spent listening to Mike & The Mad Dog and The Dan Patrick Show, among other programs. As a longtime self-professed sports junkie who even played DII lacrosse at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, Tim loves reading about all the latest sports news every day and considers it a dream to write about sports professionally. He's a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York who mistakenly thought, back in the early '90s, that his team would be in the Super Bowl every year. He started following European soccer — with a Manchester City focus — in the early 2000s after spending far too much time playing FIFA. When he's not enjoying a round of golf or coaching youth soccer and flag football, Tim likes reading the work of Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, Chuck Klosterman, and Tom Wolfe.
Get to know Tim Crean betterUpdated13 Mar 2022
When the confetti fell on this season's Super Bowl, it was the Los Angeles Rams holding the Lombardi Trophy. The franchise went all-in and put together a super team, and it paid off with a championship. Now, after trading for Russell Wilson, at least one NFL insider thinks that the Denver Broncos could follow the Rams' title-winning blueprint.
The Denver Broncos had a solid roster, minus the QB
The Denver Broncos started the 2021 season 3-0 and were in contention in the rugged AFC West. Then a four-game losing streak tanked their season. The team finished the season 7-10 and in last place in its division, and the reason is the squad's quarterbacks.
Teddy Bridgewater started 14 games for Denver, and Drew Lock took the opening snap in the remaining three games. The two combined for a respectable 3,839 yards with 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
That's just not good enough to win consistently, though, especially in a division like the AFC West. By comparison, in new Broncos QB Russell Wilson's last full season, he went for 4,212 yards, 40 TDs, and 13 INTS.
Outside the poor quarterback play, the Broncos do have the bones of a winning roster. The offense has two solid tackles in Bobby Massie and Garrett Bolles and two solid RBs with veteran ball-carrier Melvin Gordon and rookie sensation Javonte Williams.
The WR corps is stacked, too. Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, Jerry Jeudy, and K.J. Hamler make up one of the most promising young pass-catching groups in the league.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Broncos also have playmakers. LB Bradley Chubb, S Justin Simmons, and rookie CB Patrick Surtain II are all defensive difference-makers.
Now that the organization has a true QB1 to go with this roster adding more stars to become the 2022 version of the LA Rams comes next, according to CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora.
NFL Insider Jason La Canfora says Denver could build another ‘super team' around Russell Wilson
The Denver Broncos paid a heavy price in the Russell Wilson trade. The team gave the Seattle Seahawks two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-round pick, TE Noah Fant, DE Shelby Harris, and QB Drew Lock.
Despite the price, though, most of Denver's promising 2021 roster remains intact, and general manager George Paton may not be finished yet.
CBS Sports insider Jason La Canfora joined The Tony Kornheiser Show following the Wilson trade and told the PTI host that he thinks the Broncos' ultimate goal is creating a super team:
I think we're seeing the era of the super team in the NFL and superstar quarterbacks calling their shots [saying] ‘I'm Tom Brady and I want Antonio Brown and I want Gronk with me,' ‘I'm Aaron Rodgers, and if I stay you're bringing this guy back and this guy back and you're getting me Randall Cobb.' I think you're going to see a super team form around Russell Wilson. They are not done spending there.
Jason La Canfora on a Denver Broncos super team
If La Canfora is correct, and there's more Denver dealing to come, the question is now, who are the team's next targets?
Potential free-agent targets
In 2021, the LA Rams created the super team blueprint. The team traded for QB Matthew Stafford and added star WR Odell Beckham Jr. and the Denver Broncos' own LB Von Miller during the season.
To create a super team of its own, Denver can start by bringing back Miller to the place he played the first nine seasons of his career and won his first Super Bowl. On defense, the Broncos can also target other veterans hungry for a ring.
This includes Russell Wilson's longtime teammate LB Bobby Wagner, CB Stephon Gilmore, and even more pass-rushers in Chandler Jones or Jadeveon Clowney.
On the offensive side of the ball, there's less room for star vets, but the team could upgrade at the interior offensive line spots and at tight end, now that last season's leading pass-catcher, Noah Fant, is a Seahawk.
On the line, Brandon Scherff, Ryan Jensen, Rodger Saffold, and Laken Tomlinson could all be options. The free-agent tight end market is less exciting, but Evan Engram is a possibility, and, who knows, maybe Wilson can talk Rob Gronkowski into joining the party.
The Broncos currently have the ninth-most cap space in the NFL, so the moves are not done, and a super team seems inevitable.
Now the question is, can Wilson and first-time head coach Nathaniel Hackett get the same results as the Rams?
All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference
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