A) Win the Super Bowl
B) Make a playoff run
C) Earn a playoff berth
D) Finish above .500
E) Show progress

My answer: E) Show progress. I hate to say this, because Denver is a great sports town with awesome fans, but all you really need from this season is to figure out if Bo Nix can play ball at this level. If he comes in and enjoys a rookie season akin to that of, say, Justin Herbert, then you know you’re money. Maybe Nix doesn’t hit that level in Year 1, but his encouraging highs comfortably exceed the growing pains. That’ll play. Frankly, if Bo and the Broncos have one of those seasons where they score points and routinely compete, but still end up with a pretty high draft slot … That’s not bad. Don’t forget: Denver hasn’t made the playoffs since winning the Super Bowl in the 2015 campaign and hasn’t posted a winning record since going 9-7 in 2016. Since Peyton Manning’s retirement following the Lombardi triumph, the Broncos have cycled through 12 starting quarterbacks — only the Browns (15), Commanders (13) and Jets (13) have had more in that time period. It’s been a rough stretch. But I also have a strange feeling that, in Year 2 of the Payton era, Denver could be sneaky good.