Some pundits picked the 2022 Denver Broncos to go to the Super Bowl after the Russell Wilson trade. Boy, were they wrong. The Nathaniel Hackett and Russell Wilson Era in Denver started off as a disaster. In fact, the 5-12 season was so bad, it is now the Sean Payton and Russell Wilson Era after the team fired Hackett after just 15 games. With Payton in place now, though, there is hope. The coach once took a moribund franchise in New Orleans and turned them into a Super Bowl winner.

The Broncos are a much better franchise than the Saints, but Payton still has a lot of work to do during the Broncos' offseason. The good news is, if Payton and the front office can make some smart Broncos free agent moves off the field and fix the quarterback in, there is no reason the team can’t make the postseason in 2023. Here are the three major fixes the Broncos must make this offseason to reach the NFL playoffs in 2023.

3. Clear space for Broncos free agents

The Broncos' offseason salary cap issues aren’t that bad, which is pretty incredible considering they have Russell Wilson on a contract with an annual average value of $48.5 million last year. This contract will become an albatross around the Broncos' neck someday, but for now, his cap hit is a very reasonable $22 million in 2023.

Still, Denver has some moves to make this summer when it comes to the salary cap and Broncos free agents.

Right now, the team is in the upper half of the league with just under $12 million in free space. With a few veteran contract restructures, though, they can add another $40-plus million on top of that.

This is great news for Sean Payton and company because the franchise will have to build through free agency in the Broncos' offseason. After the Wilson and Payton trades, the team has just five picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, and none until the third round.

That means the team will likely try to re-sign Broncos free agents like safety Kareem Jackson, guard Dalton Risner, tackle Cameron Fleming, and defensive end Dre'Mont Jones

2. Go all-in to sign Saquon Barkley from the Giants

Even if all those Broncos free agents get re-signed (and especially if they don’t), the team should still have a good amount of cap space left. That means they can splurge on a luxury item to help turn Wilson and the offense around.

That luxury item should be New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley.

The Pro Bowl running back has been hurt, but he proved in 2022 that he can still stay healthy for a full season, playing 16 games and putting up 1,650 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns. This performance helped remind the NFL universe that, when healthy, there isn’t a more talented RB in the NFL than Barkley.

Wilson is 34 years old, so his window as an NFL playoff quarterback is coming to an end (if it’s still open). Paying big money for a superstar running back is generally not the smartest move for an organization, but for the Broncos in 2023, it makes a lot of sense.

1. Sean Payton needs to fix Russell Wilson and the offense

Salary cap management and Broncos free agent moves are one thing. However, there is only one true fix that the team needs during this Broncos offseason to get back to the NFL playoffs, and that’s for Sean Payton to fix Russell Wilson and the Denver offense.

Last season, the Broncos offense was abysmal. The unit was dead last in scoring (287 points), 21st in yards gained (5,527), 19th in passing yards (3,592), and 21st in rushing yards (1,935). This was partially on Wilson and partially on Hackett, especially with the amount of talent the team has on that side of the ball.

This is why the new owners hired Sean Payton, though. The coach had been an offensive mastermind throughout his career and once took a short quarterback (Drew Brees), got the most out of him, and won the Super Bowl.

We’ll see about the Super Bowl, but the NFL playoffs should be within reach if Payton can work his magic on Wilson in 2023. Reports surrounding Wilson and Nathaniel Hackett last season were that the quarterback was freelancing way too much, even though Hackett’s play calls weren’t great either.

With a proven veteran coach like Payton at the helm, Wilson won’t have as much freedom, and that’s probably a good thing. The coach will definitely come up with a solid offensive scheme next season, so now it’s a matter of whether Wilson can get it together and fall in line.