Sitting at 5-9, the Broncos’ Christmas list is quite long this year. 

From good quarterback play to a deeper cornerback room to a playoff berth to ownership, the Broncos need a lot of things to improve in 2021. So here’s what should be included on the Broncos’ Christmas list this year:

Trevor Lawrence

A no-brainer, right? Nearly every team that misses the playoffs this season should probably have the Clemson quarterback on their Christmas list. Lawrence is widely considered maybe the best quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck in 2021. Unfortunately for the Broncos, Lawrence is likely either headed to the Jacksonville Jaguars or New York Jets, who have each only won one game this season. The Broncos would have to give up a lot to move up to the No. 1 spot and that’s highly unlikely. 

The Broncos may miss out on Lawrence, but the 2021 quarterback class is relatively deep. Maybe Florida’s Kyle Trask or Alabama’s Mac Jones will be available in the second round if Denver decides not to go with a quarterback in the first. All in all, the Broncos’ future at quarterback will largely depend on how much faith they have in Drew Lock. 

Cornerback depth

If the Broncos don’t take a quarterback in the first round of the NFL draft, the clear choice would be to take a cornerback. Losing Bryce Callahan, Essang Bassey, Duke Dawson and Kevin Tolliver II to injury this season, and with A.J. Bouye’s future in Denver being up in the air with his suspension and no guaranteed money left on his contract, the cornerback room is certainly one of their weakest units on the team. 

Rookie Michael Ojemudia appears to be a part of the Broncos’ future, but taking a corner in this year’s draft would be wise. It’s a deep class, too, with Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II, Ohio State’s Shaun Wade and Virginia Tech’s Caleb Farley, among others, leading the way in the class. 

A playoff berth

The Broncos haven’t made the playoffs in five consecutive seasons and they haven’t been relatively close the last four seasons, posting a losing record in each. 

For this to happen, it’ll likely have to be in a wildcard spot, being that the Broncos would have to beat the Chiefs to win the AFC West. The Broncos have lost to the Chiefs in each of their last 11 meetings, including both games this year. And with quarterback Patrick Mahomes at the helm for the long term, topping their rivals is going to be a tall task for years to come. But who knows, maybe they’ll receive a Christmas miracle in 2021. 

A healthy season

For Denver to get back in the playoffs several things will have to happen, including staying healthy. The Broncos have had the fourth most players on the injured reserve this season at 34. The only teams that have had more are the 1-13 Jaguars (40), 9-5 Ravens (49) and the 5-9 49ers (51). 

Would star players like outside linebacker Von Miller and wide receiver Courtland Sutherland helped the Broncos this season? Most certainly. Would the Broncos have made the playoffs? That’s up in the air, but they likely would have closer than they are right now.  

A committed owner

This should be the Broncos No. 1 priority this offseason. It’s often that the most successful teams in the NFL have a committed owner — Pat Bowlen is the perfect example, before suffering from Alzheimer’s in 2013 and passing away at age 75 in 2019. The Broncos rarely struggled under Bowlen’s leadership and won three Super Bowls.

Now, Bowlen’s kids are fighting over the ownership of the team, as CEO Joe Ellis and the board of trustees oversee the franchise, after the team was handed over the Pat Bowlen Trust in 2013. One of Bowlen’s daughters, Beth Bowlen Wallace, released a statement on Dec. 2 implying she wants the team sold, saying she wants a “smooth and timely transition.” Beth, along with her sister Amie Bowlen Klemmer, are contesting their father’s mental capacity at the time of his final trust in 2009, which ended up giving the team to the trustees.

But not all of Bowlen’s kids agree, including Brittany Bowlen, who is currently an executive for the Broncos and someone the trustees have said they would like to be the owner in the future. 

Either way, with a court date set for July 12, 2021 to determine Bowlen’s mental capacity at the time of his final trust and essentially the next owner of the Broncos, probably the best thing that could happen for the franchise moving forward is having a strong and committed owner, whoever that may be.