John Elway hoping Russell Wilson leads Broncos to Super Bowl

• NFL

Denver Broncos president of football operatios John Elway feels Russell Wilson is the piece the Broncos needed in order to contend for the Super Bowl. The Broncos entered this offseason determined to address the quarterback position and they went out and traded for Super Bowl winning quarterback Wilson.

The Broncos started Teddy Bridgewater at the quarterback last season but Drew Lock replaced Bridgewater after he went down injured. Neither of the two impressed and the Broncos entered this offseason wanting to trade for a big name quarterback.

"We're excited that he's in town, there's no question. He's kind of the piece that we needed," Elway said Wednesday, via the Associated Press. Wilson has one Super Bowl victory to his name and interestingly it came after the Seattle Seahawks crushed the Broncos in the 2013 Super Bowl.

"Like any year, we've got to stay healthy, and we've had a tough time doing that the last several years," Elway said. "So, if we can stay healthy, Russell's been there, he's won Super Bowls. He knows what it takes and the leadership that he's providing is tremendous."

The Broncos confident in Wilson

The Broncos have been in search for a quarterback ever since Peyton Manning retired after the 2015 season.

Manning signed with the Broncos in 2011 and retired after leading the team to a Super Bowl victory in 2015. Manning feels Wilson has one advantage that he didn't have when he signed with the Broncos - Wilson came along with a new coaching staff.

After the 2021 season ended, the Broncos fired their old coaching staff and brought in a new coaching staff. When Manning signed with the Broncos, they already had an established coaching staff and offensive scheme. "I think he's off to a fast start in talking to him," Manning said.

"I do think it's an advantage for Russell to be coming in with a new coaching staff, because everybody's learning and Russell is going to know this offense better than anybody. So he's going to be in teaching mode, as well.

If you're a new player and you're catching up to everybody else in a leadership position, that can be difficult. So I think Russell's at a real advantage where they're learning coach [Nathaniel] Hackett's offense together, figuring out what works and what doesn't work and I think he's going to be great obviously for our young receivers. Like all Broncos fans, [I'm] excited to see him get to work this fall."