After the Denver Broncos acquired Russell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks, they moved into the top five in odds to win Super Bowl LVII, but they fell flat, going 5-12. With new head coach Sean Payton, is Denver a viable pick to surge up the standings from pretender to playoff contender?
Before we answer that question and provide alternative teams to consider, let's examine what qualifies as an NFL pretender.
As noted, the Broncos came into the 2022 campaign with Super Bowl hype (based on betting odds), though a few other teams picked up playoff buzz but came up short down the stretch last year.