Pro Football Talk gives Broncos little respect in Week 1 Power Rankings

Don’t count Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk and NBC sports as a fan of the Broncos heading into Week 1.

Florio released his initial Power Rankings for the 2022 season on Tuesday morning and Denver is low. Almost shockingly low. It’s the lowest I’ve seen of any major national outlet in the country. Florio has the Broncos ranked No. 19 in the NFL.

“The bar is higher than it should be for a team that has undergone many changes over the past two years. Especially since they have to compete with the Chiefs, Raiders, and Chargers,” Florio writes.

Um, Earth to Mike, the Broncos have undergone a lot of changes. And all of those changes have been overwhelmingly positive.

Denver ditched the grumpy Vic Fangio for the young and energetic Nathaniel Hackett at head coach. They went from the dreadful Drew Lock / Teddy Bridgewater QB combination to future Hall of Famer Russell Wilson at QB. And oh, by the way, they sold for the largest sports franchise price in North American history at $4.65 billion. The Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group has already dished out a mega-contract extension to Wilson.

So yes, the Broncos have undergone a lot of change. A lot of change for the way, way better.

Looking around the AFC West, Florio has the Chiefs at No. 4, the Raiders at No. 14 and the Chargers at No. 15. That’s not exactly a lot of respect for what many expect to be the best division in the NFL. Considering Florio also has the rebuilding Steelers at No. 16, it’s fair to wonder if he put this list together just to get a rise out of folks.

Well, he already succeeded with one guy.

The Broncos journey to silence the critics begins in just six days on Monday Night Football in Seattle.

***

Related

ESPN ranks Broncos among NFL’s elite for the futureThe Broncos beating up the Falcons shows just how far the they’ve comeBroncos get Jaylen Waddle back; can he and Bo Nix make up for lost time?Is there a Taysom Hill-type weapon hiding in the Broncos’ quarterback room?Von Miller finds a team for 2026 seasonBroncos reserve QB Ehlinger: “I feel a lot different” than at this time last year