Who Are Denver Broncos' Biggest Wild Cards Entering 2015 Season?

The Denver Broncos will have a new look in 2015 compared to the team fans have seen in recent years. For starters, a brand-new coaching staff is in place. As a result, a new offense will be installed and the defense will switch to a 3-4 scheme.

However, the team will still feature plenty of familiar faces. Peyton Manning will connect often with No. 1 target Demaryius Thomas, and Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware will put the heat on opposing quarterbacks.

These are some of the things fans can expect to see this coming season, but what about the players who we aren't quite sure about? Who are some of the guys on the team who could become either a pleasant surprise or a disappointing flop?

Here, we will identify five players on the roster who are facing true make-or-break seasons. Their success or failure could go quite a long way in determining how the 2015 season will go for the Broncos.

Gino Gradkowski, Center

Gino Gradkowski will be entering his fourth season in the NFL, but it will be his first in Denver. The Broncos obtained Gradkowski in April via trade with the Baltimore Ravens.

"

Trading Manny Ramirez (pending a physical) tells you the @Broncos think highly of Gino Gradkowski.

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) May 1, 2015"

The center position has been a bit of a revolving door in Denver over the course of the last few seasons, and that could be the case again this year. With Matt Paradis and Max Garcia on the roster, Gradkowski will have to perform well in training camp and preseason.

Experience will be key for Gradkowski, and he will have to lean on it to hold off the youth of Paradis and Garcia. Gradkowski has played in 40 games in the NFL, starting 16. Paradis spent the 2014 season on the practice squad and Garcia is a rookie.

Manning likely prefers the experience as well and will probably endorse Gradkowski as the starting center. Because of that, it is probably his job to lose.

Gradkowski has also played under Kubiak while he was the Ravens' offensive coordinator last season, so the center will be able to apply that experience too. Still, what kind of player did the Broncos receive in this trade?

For the 2013 season, Pro Football Focus ranked Gradkowski dead last out of the 35 centers it had listed. He'll obviously need to be much better this year.

Cody Latimer, Wide Receiver

The list of rookie wide receivers who made an immediate impact in 2014 was extensive. Whether it was Odell Beckham, Mike Evans, Kelvin Benjamin, Sammy Watkins or someone else, plenty of first-year players had big seasons.

Cody Latimer was nowhere to be found on that list, mainly because he was nowhere to be found on game days.

He will need to turn things around in a big way in 2015, starting right off the bat. Last season, the team had enough depth at the wide receiver position to get away with its second-round pick rarely seeing the field.

Week	Opponent	Team Total Offensive Snaps	Snaps for Latimer	Targets	Receptions	Yards
9	New England	83	2	0	0	0
10	Oakland	84	14	1	1	9
12	Miami	77	2	0	0	0
13	Kansas City	83	1	0	0	0
16	Cincinnati	70	6	0	0	0
17	Oakland	78	12	2	1	14

That won't be the case this year, as Latimer will be counted on in a big way. With Wes Welker no longer on the team and tight end Julius Thomas moving on through free agency, Manning will need another target in the passing game to complement Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders.

Latimer will get every opportunity to be that player, and the organization will have to hope he is the player it drafted in the second round in 2014.

There could have been a variety of reasons for Latimer's lack of production last season. Perhaps he didn't fully understand the playbook or the previous coaching staff didn't have faith in him.

Latimer will need to use the knowledge he gained as a rookie to become a productive second-year player who is ready to go from the first snap of Week 1.

Ronnie Hillman and Montee Ball, Running Backs

Who expected C.J. Anderson, an undrafted rookie in 2013, to be the team's most productive running back in 2014? Probably not a lot of people. The team was fortunate to have him when Montee Ball went down with an injury in Week 5.

As a result, Anderson is the clear starting running back for the Broncos, but the team will need to have multiple backs at its disposal.

Ronnie Hillman and Montee Ball were both high draft picks who have both been disappointments to this point in their careers, at least to some extent.

Hillman has never run for more than 434 yards in any of his three seasons in the league, and he is really nothing more than a good change-of-pace runner to be used in certain situations.

But does his shifty running style translate to Kubiak's zone-blocking scheme? That is a question he will have to answer in camp or he could be sitting squarely on the roster bubble.

As for Ball, he does seem to be a good fit in the zone-blocking scheme, but he'll have to prove he can stay healthy.

The Broncos gave up on Knowshon Moreno following the 2013 season despite the fact that he rushed for over 1,000 yards. The main reason that decision was made was the confidence that the team had in Ball.

After playing in just five games and averaging just 3.1 yards per carry last season, that confidence is all but gone. For Ball to get it back, he will not only need to be more durable, but also more productive when he's on the field.

Running for 172 yards on 55 carries is not going to get it done.

But if he can be the player that averaged 4.7 yards per carry and ran for 559 yards as a rookie, Ball could combine with Anderson to form a terrific duo in the backfield.

Sylvester Williams, Defensive Tackle

Jack Dempsey/Associated Press

Is there a bigger potential boom-or-bust player on the entire roster than Sylvester Williams?

The former first-round pick will be entering his third season. His career statistics are definitely underwhelming—40 tackles, two sacks and one fumble recovery.

As a defensive tackle, Williams will play a critical role in Wade Phillips' 3-4 alignment. Fortunately for him, the Broncos didn't do much to bring in competition for the position. Darius Kilgo was drafted in the sixth round, but he is more of a project player with upside as a run-stuffer.

That leaves Marvin Austin as the only other defensive tackle on the roster, and the Broncos will probably use a steady rotation of him and Williams.

The fact that the team didn't draft a defensive tackle higher has to be considered a vote of confidence in Williams. Now it's time for him to respond.

Phillips is an innovative coach who will use his players at multiple positions on defense. Guys like Malik Jackson and Vance Walker could get time at the nose tackle spot, while Williams could line up at defensive end in certain packages.

"

Sylvester Williams: "Everybody (on the DL) knows all three positions."

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) May 6, 2015"

Working with Phillips and defensive line coach Bill Kollar should be exactly what Williams needs to turn things around.

If he doesn't turn into the player the team felt it was getting in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft, his time in Denver will almost certainly be up.