NFL Team Preview: Denver Broncos eye a second-straight Super Bowl

For a team coming off a dominant Super Bowl victory, there sure is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Denver Broncos. While the defense that truly carried the team is mostly intact, you can’t discount how much the Broncos will miss Malik Jackson (who ran to Jacksonville for $90 million) on that side of the ball. And then there’s the huge elephant in the room: With Peyton Manning retired and Brock Osweiler signing with the Texans, who will lead the offense – Paxton Lynch, Mark Sanchez, Trevor Siemian? While none of those names are reassuring, if the defense plays close to how they played last season, it won’t really matter so long as they can keep the turnovers down. The defense will once again have to step up in a big way, but another Super Bowl run is definitely in the cards for Denver.

Camp Report

With Miller getting paid on defense, the rest isn’t simple, but at least it’s straightforward.

“All I got to do is play football,” Miller told Jim Miller and Pat Kirwan at the Broncos’ training camp in Englewood, Co. “It sounds easy, but it’s tough in itself. But it’s a whole lot easier when you don’t have to worry about anything else.

“I come in every day, I just spend time with my teammates, worry about my teammates, worry about the task at hand, and it’s all football 24/7.”

Emmanuel Sanders also explained why his team was able to win the championship despite not always dominating on both sides of the ball.

We won so many games that were close games because a lot of teams gave up, so this team doesn’t give up.

“You’ve got to have heart out here.”

Fantasy Studs and Sleepers

Stud: Demaryius Thomas, WR. Thomas had a slightly down season in 2015, but that just means he managed 1,304 receiving yards and six touchdowns. If he has a quarterback can throw it generally in his direction, he’ll likely put up big numbers.

Sleeper: Ronnie Hillman, RB. Hillman is currently battling for a roster spot, but his solid running last season could be reason to pick him up in the later rounds. Again, especially considering the possibility of a weak presence at quarterback.