The Broncos have reached a settlement with Kaiser’s estate and the team can move toward a sale this offseason. They have received five initial bids to purchase the team, including one from Walmart heir Rob Walton. The firm regulating the sale for the Pat Bolen Trust is expected to meet with the five prospective bidding groups alongside team representatives in early May. The oddsmakers are taking bets on the most likely victor to become the Broncos owner and they favor an anonymous bidder over number two Rob Walton.

Broncos

Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett’’s offense is going to do what Wilson does best – and what he wants to do. They will still run the ball a lot, but they’re going to "let Russ cook" on offense, i. e., use his arm to attack defenses. However, remember that the Shanahan Offense is a run to set up the passing game offense. The system matters. Confident and capable offensive systems must be able to change parts and endure injury or change. The Hackett/Wilson duo will work, but it will need to work quickly to keep the Broncos in the hunt in the AFC West.

Hackett and his staff are all coaching in higher positions then they have before. They are brand new, first timers. Every thing will work out, but how quickly!

Russell Wilson’s house features an entire workout facility in his backyard. He has a "full body team": physical therapists, trainers, mental coaches and chefs. Every thing and every one is available for his teammates. He paid for the Broncos players to stay at nearby hotels and they arrived at 7:15 AM and began the workout at 8:00 AM. He started the workout at 5:30 AM. The workout was a crash course into his mindset, his expectations, the way he operates and the way he expects them to operate. Wilson respects the Denver Broncos’ winning culture and he made it very clear what the expectations demanded of them are, for each and every single day, during the four day workout. Wilson will continue these workouts "here and there" throughout the off season, with a big workout in July right before the Broncos’ training camp begins.

Special Teams

STC Dwayne Stukes wants to cultivate and build a standard in Denver where players want to play on special teams. He wants physical, violent players with an attack mentality to dictate the flow of the game to their opponents. They will need to be smart, know the rules and be prepared to deal with whatever the opponent throws at them.. Adding to special teams was a "big priority" on day three of the draft.

Music returned to Dove Valley, with new head coach Nathaniel Hackett, personally ending the prohibition as for the first time, the coaches and players joined each other on the field and moved toward the new season. "This is why we do this — to be able to get out there and practice football and have some fun together and slowly learn the system," Hackett said. Hackett said his goals for the three-day (voluntary veteran) minicamp are "efficiency, operating [and] understanding what we're trying to accomplish," and Wilson helped set the tone during the team's first practice. "We have a very, very large playbook, and there's a process of how you teach everything," Hackett said of the installation process. "[It's] kind of like the foundations of what you want to build. Sometimes you have to put plays in that you might not necessarily run, but that are in other parts of the playbook. It's just kind of understanding it and learning it in the proper way so when guys are out there, they can react fast. It's just a long kind of deal, all the things that we do. Today was just kind of the very basics of what we do and then we'll slowly start expanding that with the guys moving forward through Phase II and OTAs." Wilson said he was pleased with the team's performance, noting that the Broncos lacked the normal missed assignments and false starts. Draft Paton set out to improve Denver’s speed and is slowly accomplishing it. He entered the draft with no glaring needs and a love of prospects with very high Relative Athletic Scores (RAS). However, he has said, "You can never have enough corners," and IMO, the Broncos don't have enough. The meat of this draft (50-120) had loads of talent: ILB, CB, RB, OT and Edge. And Paton was comfortable with his picks: a second, two thirds and two fours in the top ten of the round, an area where teams can draft solid starters. But Paton didn’t feel pressured to take week one starters because he wanted the best players who would be in Denver for the long-term with Wilson.

Pick 64 OLB Nik Bonitto, Oklahoma Can be a weapon right away. 9.31 RAS. He is a pass rusher that could have a big impact in Year 1, but needs to develop his run games skills to be more than a situational pass-rusher.

Pick 80 TE Greg Dulcich, UCLA Will compete for significant playing time.8.24 RAS. He will fit in immediately and eat into Albert O’s production as a rookie. Dulcich has good speed and play making ability for Wilson’s arsenal.

Pick 115 CB Damarri Mathis, Pittsburgh. A developmental cornerback who has starter upside as a rookie. 9.72 RAS Pick 116 DE Eyioma Uwazurike, Iowa State Uwazurike will have a versatile role on the defensive front. He will shake things up for Denver.

Pick 152 S Delarrin Turner-Yell, Oklahoma. He will help defense and special teams. Turner-Yell is a 5-foot-10, 197-pound enforcer that can play in the box as a dime-backer and help against the run.

Pick 162 WR Montrell Washington, Samford. He is a weapon for Russell Wilson and special teams. He was chosen to immediately add juice to the special teams while being developed as a wide receiver.

Pick 171 C Luke Wattenberg, Washington. He is versatile offensive line depth. Wattenberg can excel in Denver’s excel in Denver's wide-zone rushing scheme, but he's also a bully. He provides insurance for the Broncos if Cushenberry fails. Round 6

Pick 206 DE Matt Henningsen, Wisconsin. He fits the defensive line rotation. Look for him to push the bottom of Denver's D-line depth chart as a rookie.

Pick 232 CB Faion Hicks, Wisconsin. Hicks is a developmental cornerback. At 5’10. 192, he is adept at breaking up passes.

The Broncos were concerned about their cornerback depth entering the draft. Paton addressed the need twice in the draft. There was also concern about proven depth depth on the defensive line. Paton also addressed this need twice in the draft. Paton was comfortable about their prospects at right tackle and didn’t address the position. He did, however, add a long-term alternative at center. All of the draft picks should make the team in some capacity. Several should contribute in 2022, making this a successful draft for Paton, even though the draft didn’t fall Denver’s way. He will face a similar challenge in next year’s draft with no first or second round pick. He did add a third round for next year. He will be on a quest from here on out to improve his five picks to his preferred 10 picks for 2023.

First Day April 11 Voluntary Minicamp April 25-27 OTA Offseason Workouts May 23-24 May 26 May 31-June 1 June 3 June 6-7 June 9-10 Mandatory Minicamp June 13-15 Then the Broncos will have a six-week break before the start of training camp. Russell Wilson will intersperse his passing camps through out the off season and right up to the opening of training camp.

Transactions

ILB Jonas Griffith signed ERFA tender. Waived OT Cody Conway. QB Brett Rypien and S P. J. Locke signed their exclusive rights contracts. S Kareem Jackson and LB Malik Reed signed their 1-year deals. Resigned RB Melvin Gordon III. Signed DB Blessaun Austin. signed wide receiver/returner Trey Quinn Signed CB Donnie Lewis.

Alabama OLB Christopher Allen (really wanted); Buffalo LB Kadofi Wright; USC LB Kana’i Mauga; East Carolina CB Ja'Quan McMillian; Hawaii CB Cortez Davis; Charleston; RB Tyriek McCallister; App State WR Jalen Virgil; Northwest Missouri State WR Kaden Davis; Central Florida WR Brandon Johnson; NC State TE Dylan Parham; UT Martin TE Rodney Williams; Temple OL Michael Niese; Minot State OT Sebastian Gutierrez April 11 Two weeks of conditioning-only work. Hackett will use some of what he saw Matt LaFleur do as the first-year coach installing an offense for a proven Pro Bowl quarterback. Top of the to do list: create, and distribute the playbook. The goal: make Wilson comfortable in everything he does. On-field work will start in voluntary minicamp, April 25-27, where the competition for jobs will begin.

Orangeman’s Take

The Broncos are the only team in the AFC with both new coaches and a new quarterback. Their task isn’t impossible, but it is a real challenge! Peyton Manning has had conversations with Wilson about some of the things that helped him to transition to Denver. He has also had conversations with Hackett about some things that helped him and can apply to Wilson so he can hit the ground running. However, a talented roster and a Hall of Fame quarterback doesn’t gurantee immediate success for a new head coach. If Nathaniel Hackett and the Broncos don’t meet fans expectations in 2022, don’t panic. 2022 will be their first steps towards ultimate success. John Elway did not feel comfortable in the original Shanahan Offense for two years and the "sweet spot" for the evolved Shanahan Offense seems to be year three.

Russell Wilson is a QB1 and top pick at his current ADP as QB 12.

Javonte Williams is a RB2 with elite upside, He should be getting 60% of the carries by week 3..

Melvin Gordon III is a RB2. He will time share with Williams to start the season, settling to 40% of carries by week 3.

RB3 Mike Boone could see some third down and red zone use.

WR Courtland Sutton is a WR2 with upside as a deep threat.

WR Jerry Jeudy is a WR2 with up side as the potential "Davante Adams".

WR Tim Patrick is a blue collar WR4.

WR KJ Hamler is "the top lifter" and will be inconsistent. Before Denver's minicamp, there was concern that Hamler’s knee injury would limit him in 2022, but that no longer appears to be the case.

TE Albert Okwuegbunam is a move TE2 (receiver) with TE1 upside. TE Eric Tomlinson will be this offenses’ important blocking tight end.

TE Andrew Beck will be the out-of-the-backfield tight end (FB).

K Brandon McManus is a K1.

DST is a D1.

More to come next month!

End.