State of the 2023 Denver Broncos: Can Sean Payton get Russell Wilson, team back on track?

Where does your squad stand in 2023? Adam Rank sets the table by providing a State of the Franchise look at all 32 teams, zeroing in on the key figures to watch and setting the stakes for the season to come.

Members of the Broncos organization, Broncos fans around the world and those who are starting to wonder if Drew Lock was really all that bad?

He was. And you know who else was bad last season? Russell Wilson. But I don't want to be one of those people who's taking victory laps over Russ' downfall. There were plenty of people who thought this was a great move for the Broncos. It didn't work out. Now it's time to look at 2023 with a brand new football coach. But, as always, before we move forward, let's take one last look back.

One high from last season: The Russell Wilson trade. It was exciting. It was kind of like when you heard that Michael Keaton was going to be Batman again in the new The Flash movie. How could you not be fired up for that? Don't be ashamed for being thrilled to land one of the best quarterbacks of the last decade.

One low from last season: That buzz lasted about a week into the NFL season.If that.The Broncos played in Seattle to open the season onMonday Night Football. It did not go as expected. The Broncos were not only outplayed, but even with a chance to salvage the game, they looked out of touch in the final sequence, letting so much time slip by on the final drive, waiting what seemed like forever before calling a timeout and settling for a long field-goal attempt -- that missed. Even Peyton and Eli Manning did not paint the Broncos in a great light in that moment on theManningCast. And it never got better, resulting in head coach Nathaniel Hackett's firing after 15 games (4-11).

Quarterback: