The Denver Broncos brought in quarterback Russell Wilson this offseason and they are now ready to compete for the playoffs again.
To some fans, it feels similar to when the team signed Peyton Manning in 2012. Broncos kicker Brandon McManus can see some similarities between Wilson and Manning.
“They’re both, to me, the hardest workers and super studiers,” McManus said of Manning and Wilson last week. “They know what everyone is going to do before they know what they’re going to do. That’s such a unique talent and testament to their work ethic.”
McManus was Denver’s kicker when they won Super Bowl 50 in 2015. While he believes both QBs have a similar work ethic, McManus is not yet ready to say the 2022 Broncos will be a repeat of the 2015 team — he knows this year’s roster still has to prove itself.
“We’re still an unproven team,” McManus said. “We have a lot of young guys that haven’t won. We have to learn how to win and win consecutively. One thing that I was saying to some of the guys upstairs about is everyone talks about the culture change and stuff.
“It’s been exciting to be around everybody in there, but one of the things I want to see is when we get to a pressure-packed situation where things aren’t going our way, how do we act? Do we fall back into that hole we have been in the past couple of years, or have we really changed and push through? I’m looking forward to that and I’m looking forward to a lot of these new guys playing.”
The new guys are, of course, highlighted by Wilson. And while McManus is quite ready to crown the team as contenders again, fans in Denver have reason for optimism going into the 2022 season.
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