LA Chargers: The biggest weakness for each AFC West foe in 2022
By Jason Reed
Denver Broncos: Defensive depth (and some Russell Wilson regression)
Russell Wilson is by no means a weakness on this team and even if he regresses he is going to be better than what the Denver Broncos had before. However, we wanted to make a point about Wilson and will circle back to that at the end of the page.
The biggest weakness for the Denver Broncos heading into the 2022 season reminds me a lot of the weaknesses that the Chargers had in 2021. The Broncos have the star power on the defensive side of the ball to make plays happen with Bradley Chubb, Justin Simmons and Patrick Surtain.
However, outside of that trio (and Randy Gregory), the depth of the defense is not that great. Sure, they have some serviceable guys on defense but they are a team that cannot afford to get hurt really at all on the defensive side of the ball. And if there is one thing we know about football, it is that players get hurt.
If one of that trio gets hurt then the Broncos are in trouble and even with them playing there are holes on defense that teams can exploit. It is a new age for the Denver defense with Vic Fangio out of the building and there could be a learning curve similar to that of the Chargers last year.
As far as Wilson goes, while he is still a top-10 quarterback he may no longer be that MVP-caliber quarterback that he was three years ago. He is a smaller, mobile quarterback who is entering his mid-30s. We have never seen a quarterback like him play this late in his career and still be elite.
Again, Wilson is still much better than they had and with the right pieces around him can make a Super Bowl run. He just is not the world-beater that he once was. Yes, Seattle had some bad offensive lines in the last two years but it is not like Denver was that much better. Seattle also had better weapons than Denver does.
Wilson ranked 19th in EPA and 10th in quarterback rating last season. For comparison, Justin Herbert ranked first in EPA and third in quarterback rating.