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The Denver Broncos 2022 season hasn't really gotten off to a hot start. They have a 2-2 record, so things could be worse, but their wins haven't exactly been encouraging, and they haven't looked any better in their losses. Through four games, the Broncos look disjointed and confused, and they are probably lucky to be 2-2 at this point in the season.
Given all the upgrades the Broncos made this offseason, it's rather surprising to see them struggle like they have to start the season. They were expected to be one of the top teams in the NFL; instead, they have been one of the more disappointing teams throughout the entire league in the early stages of the season.
Disappointing results are often due to disappointing players, and Denver has had no shortage of those so far. But it's clear that one player's inability to show up through four games has cost his team dearly. Let's pick out who that player is and see why his struggles have been so worrisome for the Broncos so far.
Broncos biggest disappointment in 2022: QB Russell Wilson
I mean, who else could it be? The Broncos fortunes seemed set to change with the addition of Russell Wilson for the 2022 season from the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson has been one of the most consistent quarterbacks in the NFL over the past decade, and there was no reason to believe that his arrival wouldn't make Denver one of the best teams in the NFL.
Through four games, though, Wilson has looked mediocre at best. He hasn't been able to get on the same page as anyone other than Courtland Sutton, and it's disrupted the momentum of the offense as a whole. The Broncos offense, which was supposed to be deadly, has been one of the least effective units in the league.
It's strange, because in Denver's two wins, Wilson has played horribly. In Week 2 against the Houston Texans, Wilson completed just 45.2 percent of his passes, and barely was able to squeeze out a win over the only team in the league that hasn't won a game yet this season. In Week 3 against the San Francisco 49ers, Wilson didn't even manage to throw for 200 yards, and was lucky that Jimmy Garoppolo ran out of the back of his own end zone to gift him an 11-10 win.
In the Broncos two losses, Wilson has looked a bit better. He had a pretty solid debut in Week 1 against his former team (29/42, 340 YDS, 1 TD) but couldn't punch the ball in the end zone when he needed to. His best game came in Week 4 against the Las Vegas Raiders (17/25, 237 YDS, 2 TD, 4 CAR, 29 YDS 1 TD) but he didn't get any help from his defense.
Through four games, Wilson and the Broncos are a mystery. They have the talent to be one of the best teams in the NFL, but they have been all over the place every week, and much of that is due to Wilson's struggles. Wilson hasn't been bad, but he also hasn't exactly been good either.
Wilson's numbers to start the season have him pegged as a league average quarterback, which isn't what Denver was looking for when they traded for him this past offseason. Considering what the Broncos gave up to get Wilson (QB Drew Lock, TE Noah Fant, DL Shelby Harris, two first-round draft picks, two second-round draft picks, and a fifth-round draft pick) this makes Wilson's start even more disappointing.
There's not a primary reason for Wilson's struggles. Maybe it's the new system, but even then, he has two top tier wideouts in Sutton and Jerry Jeudy who are getting open consistently. First year head coach Nathaniel Hackett has seemed out of his depth four games into the season, so maybe that's an issue too, but he's not going out on the field and throwing passes for Wilson.
Wilson's struggles to open the season are mind-boggling to say the least. He has everything at his disposal that he needs to put together one of the best offenses in the league, yet he has looked horrible so far. Whether his strong outing against the Raiders will change things remains to be seen, but the hope is that with more time in the system, Wilson will begin to look like himself.
So far, though, it's tough to say that Wilson has been a success in Denver. He's getting out produced by his replacement (Geno Smith) with the Seahawks, and has barely gotten his first two wins with the Broncos. If Russell Wilson continues to disappoint in 2022, the Broncos could be in some serious trouble moving forward.
