Plenty of people are bullish on the Denver Broncos right now. After all, Denver went 10-7 after losing its first two games last season and surprised many by making the NFL playoffs for the first time in nine years.
Quarterback Bo Nix, who was a rookie last year, led the charge. He overcame a shaky September to post 3,775 passing yards and 29 passing touchdowns while completing 66.3% of his pass attempts.
Nix's fine play down the stretch, along with a few notable offseason additions, has led to some rosy predictions for the Broncos this coming season. But Terrell Davis, the legendary running back who once won back-to-back Super Bowl championships with them, made an audacious statement about the expectations for his former team.
He told KMGH-TV in Denver that his former squad should be aiming for the sky.
"It reminds me of '95," Davis said. "We were 8-8 in 1995, and then in 1996, we end up winning 13 games. And so it was the same thing. No one was talking about a Super Bowl -- at least outside our locker room -- when we were 8-8. We knew it, and we were talking about it after we went 8-8, not because of the record, but because we knew. ... Our confidence level was through the roof. I think this Brocnos team has the same confidence and mentality right now.
"Anything short of a Super Bowl would be a disappointment for them."
Davis was once one of the NFL's most explosive and terrifying running backs. He joined a select club when he ran for over 2,000 yards in 1998, and his ascent coincided with that of the John Elway-led Broncos during the second half of the 1990s.
This current iteration of the Broncos doesn't exactly have a prolific tailback such as Davis, but Davis spoke highly of J.K. Dobbins, who is the team's presumed starter at the position.
Dobbins had a career-high 905 rushing yards last year while recording nine rushing touchdowns with the Los Angeles Chargers last year.
Courtland Sutton has become a sneaky good wide receiver, and he's coming off a season in which he tallied 1,081 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Meanwhile, fellow WR Marvin Mims Jr., who is entering his third season, seems to be ascending.
Denver's big additions this offseason were tight end Evan Engram, outside linebacker Dre Greenlaw and safety Talanoa Hufanga. All three have injury concerns surrounding them, but they also have the ability to elevate the squad.
Defense was Denver's calling card last year, as it finished third in points allowed. Combine that with Nix's production and the fact that he could be the QB1 coach Sean Payton has been looking for, and it is understandable why people throughout Colorado are stoked about the Broncos.
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