Indianapolis Colts 2016 opponent preview: Getting to know the Denver Broncos

In week two of the 2016 NFL regular season, the Indianapolis Colts will travel to Denver to take on the reigning Super Bowl champion Broncos.

It will be a big matchup, particularly because the Colts defeated the Broncos last year in Andrew Luck’s last game of the 2015 season. The week two contest will be a 4:25 p.m. eastern kickoff and will be a game with plenty of storylines, and with training camps looming we are taking a look at each opponent on the Colts’ schedule.

One of the benefits of being a part of SB Nation is that we have plenty of capable people running team sites that prove to be experts on the teams that they cover, so we are getting the chance to hear from different voices. So to help us find out more about the Denver Broncos, here’s what Mile High Report had to say:

Denver Broncos

Notable free agent additions:

OT Russell Okung, OT Donald Stephenson, QB Mark Sanchez

Notable free agent departures:

DE Malik Jackson, QB Brock Osweiler, ILB Danny Trevathan, S David Bruton Jr, others

Trades:

Traded up in First Round of NFL Draft for Paxton Lynch

Draft picks expected to contribute as rookies:

QB Paxton Lynch (1st Round) - Not expected to contribute, but one sure hopes he surpasses Sanchez on the depth chart sooner rather than later.

RB Devontae Booker (4th Round) - Seems to be a perfect fit for Gary Kubiak’s zone blocking scheme.

FB Andy Janovich (6th Round) - Again, another perfect fit for Gary Kubiak’s zone scheme.

P Riley Dixon (7th Round) - As the punter, he’ll see some major action as a rookie.

Biggest offseason addition:

Paxton Lynch - With all of the turmoil the defending Super Bowl champions faced from the onset of free agency, it was the drafting of Lynch that seemed to calm the waters some. The kneejerk reaction to the loss of a few good players has begun to give way to the reality that the Broncos didn’t really lose any of their great ones.

Biggest storyline heading into training camp:

Von Miller. Any rational person knows that a contract will get done by the July 15th deadline, but the drama is slowly eating away at the fan base. TMZ is now even stalking a drunk John Elway for updates on the Von Miller situation.

UPDATE: Since the write-up by Mile High Report, Von Miller has indeed signed a contract extension with the Broncos, though it came close to the last minute. It was a six-year deal worth $114 million with $70 million guaranteed, giving the reining Super Bowl MVP the largest contract for a defensive player in NFL history.

Under-the-radar storyline heading into training camp:

With the Broncos drafting two safeties in Justin Simmons and Will Parks, it would appear 2016 could be the final year we see the No Fly Zone in all its glory. The Broncos had three big time players needing extensions in Emmanuel Sanders, Brandon Marshall and Darian Stewart. Elway got Marshall signed and has stated over and over he wants to lock in Sanders long term. However, he has not once mentioned Stewart as guys he wants long-term. It sure looks like this will be his final season with the Broncos.

Notable injuries heading into training camp:

Aqib Talib shot himself (maybe) in the leg. Talib’s people are in lockdown mode, so it would appear there will be no formal charges of any kind. Whether the NFL takes action against Talib is another matter, but he’ll at least be playing at some point in 2016.