National Football League

Wilson, Hackett or Broncos roster to blame for slow start?

Updated Oct. 19, 2022 6:50 p.m. ET

The Denver Broncos made one of the statement moves of the NFL offseason in acquiring Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks.

But in the present, it's difficult to find a team that's off to a more puzzling and disappointing start.

The early returns on Wilson under center and head coach Nathaniel Hackett on the sidelines have been troubling, to put it kindly. Denver's offense is averaging 15.2 points (last in NFL), 329.3 total yards (22nd), 110.2 rushing yards (19th) and 219.2 passing yards (21st).

They've converted on 30.2% of third downs (30th), gone three-and-out on 29.4% of their drives (third-most), have two rushing touchdowns (tied for 30th) and five passing touchdowns (tied for 26th) on the season. Furthermore, they've scored on 66.7% of their red zone trips (last) and scored a touchdown on 20% of their red zone trips (last).

The Broncos brought in former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory on a five-year, $70 million deal, adding to a talented defense that includes Bradley Chubb, Justin Simmons and Patrick Surtain. Denver's defense is surrendering just 290.3 total yards (third in NFL) and 16.5 points (fourth) per game.

Denver is 2-4, good for third in the AFC West. Their two wins have come against the Houston Texans (1-3-1) and San Francisco 49ers (3-3). Furthermore, their last two games have been overtime losses to the Los Angeles Chargers and Indianapolis Colts. To boot, left tackle Garett Bolles is out for the season with a broken leg.

Who or what is the culprit?

Colin Cowherd devised a Broncos blame pie on Wednesday's edition of "The Herd," assigning the bulk of the blame to coaching and those around Wilson, though he noted that the quarterback needs to run the ball more.

The host also made the case that the Broncos haven't given Wilson enough to work with when compared to what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did for Tom Brady and the Los Angeles Rams did for Matthew Stafford.

"When Brady and Stafford went to their teams, they had three things they got offensively," Cowherd said. "They got an experienced NFL coach who was considered upper echelon, a star receiver — Cooper Kupp or Mike Evans, you could depend on [for] 10-12 targets a game — and good offensive lines. The Bucs drafted Tristan Wirfs, who immediately became the best right tackle in football. Russell got none of those.

"He doesn't have an elite offensive coach or an experienced coach. The offensive line's a disaster, and he doesn't have a No. 1 receiver. You can't go from an A-student to a D-student. There's got to be something in there."