5 reasons Broncos will not repeat as Super Bowl champions

1. The offensive line is a question mark

Manning wasn’t the only reason the Broncos offense struggled in 2015. The offensive line was Denver’s biggest weakness for much of the season, and looks to be the weak link heading into next year as well.

While the Broncos offensive line was far from the worst unit in the NFL and held up fairly well against Carolina’s defense, it had plenty of issues in both pass protection and run blocking. The situation could get worse in 2016 with a couple of free agent starters who may be out the door.

Guard Evan Mathis was arguably Denver’s best offensive lineman this year after being cut from the Philadelphia Eagles in the offseason. As a 34-year-old free agent, it’s hard to see Mathis fitting in to Denver’s budget, if he even wants to play another year.

Left tackle Ryan Harris, who struggled this year in place of the injured Ryan Clady, is also a free agent who probably won’t be retained. A healthy Clady is an upgrade at left tackle for Denver, but is a complete question mark as a 29-year old coming off a torn ACL among other major injuries, and could be a cap causality.

Right tackle is also a position the Broncos could use an upgrade, as Michael Schofield did not turn in a good year either. That’s a lot of holes for one unit to fill in a single offseason. It’s easy to see how Denver’s offensive line could improve next season if everything breaks right, but it could also turn into a major liability.

The draft will help address some of this, but rookie offensive lineman often struggle, and Denver obviously doesn’t have a high enough pick to add an impact player. With an inexperienced quarterback taking over, pass protection could be Denver’s undoing in 2016.