Denver hired Sean Payton to bu...

Three first-round draft picks. Two second-round picks. Two solid NFL starters (Shelby Harris and Noah Fant), and two bar-setting contracts. This is the bounty that the Denver Broncos paid for Russell Wilson and his newly presumed career-resurrector, Sean Payton.

That represents one losing hand and a double-down to recoup the losses. Broncos fans should be prepared for the white-knuckling that comes along with it.

If 2022 taught Broncos fans anything, it’s that expecting big results and actually seeing them come to fruition is hardly guaranteed. Five months ago, Denver’s future was hotter than the surface of the sun. Then the regular season kicked off and the sun exploded, swallowing the entire season with it. Broncos Country and Wilson rode together off a cliff. It was an ill-fated journey that has been blamed largely (and rightfully) on the failings of Hackett, who didn’t appear to have the bandwidth required to be an NFL head coach. Payton has that in spades. That still doesn’t guarantee this is going to work.

Maybe the return of Denver’s litany of injured players helps to smooth that process in 2023. Maybe Payton’s reconstruction of everything under the hood helps to recapture Wilson’s Hall of Fame momentum. Or maybe all of the suggestive griping out of the Seattle Seahawks turns out to be founded in a reality that was concealed until after Wilson’s trade to the Broncos. Maybe he really is in a state of decay that can’t be repaired and this is all far worse than a Hackett issue.

The answers to those mysteries are coming. Payton’s hire assures that much. One way or another, something is going to change about this franchise and whatever went wrong in 2022. But the thought that this is going to be an easy process is another mistake. And the Broncos should have learned their lessons about that over the past five months.