7 Players Most Responsible for the Denver Broncos' Success or Failure in 2012

The Denver Broncos saw a major overhaul of their roster during the 2012 offseason.

This major overhaul was most felt in the signing of Peyton Manning. With the signing of possibly the biggest free agent in history, the Broncos jettisoned former starting quarterback Tim Tebow for a draft pick.

In the process of this major change at the most important position in the NFL, the Broncos also signed notable free agents such as Tracy Porter, Jacob Tamme, Joel Dreessen and Drayton Florence.

With the Broncos having increased expectations with the four-time NFL MVP under center, and after going on a midseason turnaround that led to an 8-8 record and a division title, there are several players who will need to step up or prove their worth in order for the Broncos to live up to said expectations.

Here are seven players most responsible for whether the Broncos succeed or fail in 2012.

Peyton Manning

This is the most obvious selection.

The question begs, "Can Peyton Manning return to being the quarterback that he was before neck surgery?"

If Manning can return to even being close to the form that made him the NFL's only four-time MVP, the Broncos can be true contenders in a weak division and a weak conference.

In the AFC, only four teams truly scare you: the Ravens, Texans, Patriots and Steelers. Over the years, the NFC has won the past three Super Bowls.

With the Patriots possessing the second-worst defense in the NFL last year, the Ravens lacking a premier quarterback and the Steelers slowly regressing due to age, the AFC will be wide-open this year.

It's really simple. If Manning returns as an elite quarterback, the Broncos will be a playoff team and likely one of the handful of teams that has a chance to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl next season.

If he doesn't return as the quarterback that we're using to seeing, the Broncos will crash and burn, whether that's with Caleb Hanie or Brock Osweiler under center.

The Broncos rolled the dice with Peyton Manning. Now it's time to see if they come up on the winning end.

Demaryius Thomas

Demaryius Thomas was a late bloomer last season.

With an injury shelving him for nearly the first half of the season, Thomas didn't truly emerge until the last five games of 2011.

In the first six games Thomas played in, he had just seven receptions for 103 yards and one touchdown.

In the last five regular season games Thomas played in, he had 25 receptions for 444 yards and three touchdowns.

In the two playoff games, Demaryius had 10 receptions for 297 yards and one touchdown.

With Eric Decker slumping and becoming less of a focal point of the offense as the 2011 season came to a close, Thomas became Tebow's go-to-guy.

Expect that to continue over into 2012 with Peyton Manning as Denver's new starting quarterback.

Having said that, if the Broncos are to be true contenders in the AFC, Thomas will have to take that step into becoming the elite receiver that the Broncos envisioned he'd be when they made him the first selection at the wide receiver position in 2010.

If Thomas can do this, the Broncos offense will look a lot like the Colts' did during the Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne days.

If Thomas cannot take the steps into becoming "that guy," expect Manning to rely heavily upon Decker and his tight ends, which isn't entirely a bad thing, but it's not a good thing, either.

If Manning doesn't have a true game breaker at receiver, it will make the Broncos a bit one-dimensional in the passing attack, and they will get shut down in the playoffs without a true go-to-guy.

It's up to Thomas to become that go-to guy.

For more than half a season.

Champ Bailey

Bailey may be 34 years old, and the Broncos may have added extra cushion with the free agency signings of starting cornerbacks Tracy Porter and Drayton Florence, but his role in 2012 will not change from the role it's always been since he began wearing a Broncos jersey in 2004.

To be dominant.

Bailey may not be the cornerback that he was just several years back, but he indispensable to Denver's success in 2012, just as he has always been.

Porter is a nice cornerback that make the occasional game-changing play. Florence is also nice to have around because of his plethora of starting experience.

Having said that, Denver's backfield is still a bit iffy with the retirement of Brian Dawkins and the slow development of 2011 draft pick Rahim Moore at safety.

With the Broncos having an undeveloped and unproven safety corps, and the Broncos losing DJ Williams and Brodrick Bunkley to suspension/free agency, veterans such as Bailey will need to remain as consistent as they have ever been in order to keep to boat afloat.

If Bailey shows his age in 2012, it can mean a huge step backwards for the Denver Broncos.

Von Miller

Speaking of Bronco veterans needing to maintain their play in 2012, no defensive player outside of Bailey comes to mind more than Von Miller.

Miller was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, and he lived up to that billing in every sense when he was named the Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Miller was a force to be reckoned with as he racked up 11.5 sacks and proved the be Denver's best linebacker and most consistent playmaker on the defensive end.

Miller will enter his second year, and he will enter it as the clear-cut leader of the linebacker corps. DJ Williams is suspended for the first six games of the 2012 season. With the Broncos losing out on Bunkley, Denver has very little cushion and depth up front to stop the running game.

It will be up to Miller to step up his game into becoming a more consistent run stopper, instead of just an elite pass rusher on the outside.

If Miller is incapable of doing so, the Broncos will be gashed up the middle, and regardless of how well Manning and the offense plays, many games will be lost due to time of possession and the controlling of the clock by the opposing team's running game.

Joel Dreessen

Of the Broncos' tight ends on the roster, Dreessen has the most potential to be the next Dallas Clark for Peyton Manning.

Denver has six tight ends, the most notable of them being Dreessen, free agent pickup Jacob Tamme and holdovers in Virgil Green and Julius Thomas.

Tamme is a nice tight end, but the facts are that he's a better blocker than a receiver. He had one great year catching the football, and even though he proved to be a nice safety blanket after the season-ending injury to Clark in 2010, Tamme was not an explosive pass catcher by any means. He averaged just 9.4 yards per reception on 67 catches.

Green and Thomas are athletic tight ends, with more potential probably leaning in favor of the former basketball star Thomas.

However, both are green, and despite the fact that both tight ends are athletic and have potential, they don't have a proven track record.

That leaves Dreessen.

Is it possible that Dreessen proves to be an OK tight end like he was in Houston, and Manning utilizes Tamme, Green and Thomas to their fullest potential and creates a flowing passing game without the use of an elite tight end? Of course, he's Peyton Manning. He's done it before.

However, Manning is now 36 years of age, missed one full season due to injury and is several neck surgeries removed from the last snap he took in a real NFL game.

Manning can use every bit of help that he can get at this point in his career.

That's why the more plausible and hopeful scenario sees Dreessen emerging as a Dallas Clark-type player that is reliable, can stretch the field and can act as a glorified slot receiver at the tight end position.

If Dreessen can become the tight end that he backed up in Houston in Owen Daniels, it would go a long way in establishing Manning's return to the NFL.

More importantly, it would go a long way towards establishing the Broncos as a true threat.

Willis McGahee/Knowshon Moreno/Lance Ball/Ronnie Hillman

Technically, this list doesn't contain seven players—it contains 10 players.

Having said that, the reason all four running backs are listed are because somebody needs to emerge from this group in order to provide the Broncos with balance.

Is it true the Broncos were the best rushing team in the NFL in 2011? Yes. All of the statistics back this up.

However, that was the offense led by Tim Tebow.

Tebow only ran for nearly 900 yards in just 11 starts and ranked fourth in the NFL with a 5.4 yards per carry average.

Oh, not to mention a resurgent 30-year-old Willis McGahee ran for over 1,200 yards.

Tebow is gone, and McGahee is another year older. You do the math.

Is it plausible McGahee has another season similar to 2011? Yes.

Is it likely? No.

McGahee will be 31 in October, and he doesn't have Tebow to lead the option attack anymore. What he does have now is a quarterback who probably is the greatest passer in NFL history and can open up the HB draw like no other quarterback in the NFL.

Having said that, although the HB draw will be used frequently in the new-look Manning offense, Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes didn't exactly light the world on fire when they were leading the Colts to the worst rushing attack in all of the league.

What's my point?

McGahee likely won't be the running back he was in 2011.

Chances are, the Broncos might not have one guy that steps up as a true go-to running back. They might have to rely on several, if not all four of these running backs in order to make the ship sail.

Every back has his strengths, the only problem is, none of these guys look like they can hold up as the starting running back from Week 1 through 17.

Moreno is a strong blocker and pass catcher out of the backfield. He's terrible at running the football and choosing holes to run through.

Lance Ball is your prototypical third-string running back who can run the ball occasionally and play on third down-and-long situations. He has never proven to be a capable runner in prolonged stretches of reps.

Ronnie Hillman is a rookie. Enough said.

McGahee is 31 years old, and before his resurgent season in 2011, hadn't been heard from as a consistent starting running back since 2007.

Whoever it is, the Broncos will need at least one (or several) of these guys to show their worth in 2012.

Derek Wolfe

Denver's second-round and first overall selection comes in as a bit of a mystery to most Broncos fans.

Even as an unheralded selection, Wolfe will be depended upon in his rookie season because of Denver's lack of depth on the interior of the defensive line.

Brodrick Bunkley is gone. He held the fort, and although the Broncos weren't an amazing run defense, they improved from their league-worst ranking in 2010 to a respectable 15th ranking in 2011.

Justin Bannan was brought back, Ty Warren will be back from injury and the rest of Denver's defensive tackles are either inexperienced or just not worth noting.

This is the reason Derek Wolfe will need to make an impact upon his rookie season.

Is Bannan a respectable defensive tackle? Sure.

Was Ty Warren a respectable defensive tackle in New England? Yes.

But the facts are, Bannan was a part of the 2010 Broncos defense that got shredded and embarrassed every week. Was that his fault? No. But it's not like he helped matters. He was a starter because Denver had nobody better to start in front of him.

Notice the similarities between 2010 and 2012?

Warren might also get a starting nod just because of his experience in New England. But he's missed a full season, is past 30 years of age, and is no longer playing with Vince Wilfork. Who knows what to expect from Warren?

This is the reason Wolfe will need to at least prove to be an adequate defensive tackle who can hold the fort similar to how Bunkley held the same position in 2011.

If Wolfe can prove to succeed in this role, keeping Denver at least average in the run defense department, it will go a long way towards ensuring the Broncos as a contender in the AFC.

If Wolfe proves to be a green rookie, it won't be pretty.

Just remember 2010.