The Denver Broncos are in the midst of their worst stretch in franchise history. They have gone seven straight seasons without reaching the playoffs and have a losing record in the last six. Last year they bottomed out, going 5-12 in a season that began with Super Bowl aspirations. First-year coach Nathaniel Hackett was fired after just 15 games.

Enter Sean Payton. The Super Bowl-winning coach for the New Orleans Saints "retired" after the 2021 season but was lured back to the sidelines in February by the opportunity to return Denver to its previous glory. In July he famously described Hackett's performance last season as "one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL."

Payton's challenge won't be easy. He takes over a team with a quarterback, 34-year-old Russell Wilson, who last year had the worst season of his NFL career. The roster does not feature even one homegrown player who has reached the playoffs. Oh, and the Broncos play in the AFC West, which has been ruled by Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs for the last seven years.  

The rehabilitation of Wilson would go a long way toward turning the franchise around. The former Super Bowl-winning quarterback had career lows in touchdown passes (16), completion percentage (60.5) and passer rating (84.4) last season while also enduring the most sacks (55) of his career. With Wilson receiving much of the blame, the offense averaged just 16.9 points per game, the worst in the league.

The defense -- which was one of the NFL's best last season, allowing just 320.0 yards per game (seventh in the NFL) -- adds Frank Clark and Zach Allen but loses coordinator Ejiro Evero, who's now with the Panthers. Former Broncos head coach Vance Joseph make his return to Denver as defensive coordinator.

• 2023 NFL Futures betting guide: Win totals, prop picks and more

Below, you'll find the Denver Broncos 2023 schedule, win total and more futures odds from Caesars Sportsbook, followed by picks from top SportsLine NFL analysts, including:

• Larry Hartstein, who tied for 52nd place (out of 1,598 entries) in the 2022 Westgate Las Vegas SuperContest, going 53-34-3 ATS (61 percent). Entering the 2023 season, Larry is 521-427 all-time on NFL sides and props (plus $3,679 for $100 players, every bet 1 unit) at SportsLine.
• Alex Selesnick, who specializes in NFL, MLB and NBA prop betting, where he implements a combination of research, statistical analysis and mathematical modeling. He is arguably the nation's No. 1 props expert, and he is 309-231 (plus 61.09 units with every bet 1 unit) in the NFL entering the 2023 season.
  
• R.J. White, who consistently crushes the NFL and shares his SuperContest and Survivor picks at SportsLine during the season. R.J. went 535-450-30 on ATS picks from 2017-22, returning $3,532 to $100 players as SportsLine's No. 1 NFL expert in against the spread picks.

Denver Broncos 2023 schedule

Week 1: vs. Raiders
Week 2: vs. Commanders
Week 3: at Dolphins
Week 4: at Bears
Week 5: vs. Jets
Week 6: at Chiefs (Thu.)
Week 7: vs. Packers
Week 8: vs. Chiefs
Week 9: Bye
Week 10: at Bills (Mon.)
Week 11: vs. Vikings (Sun.)
Week 12: vs. Browns
Week 13: at Texans
Week 14: at Chagers
Week 15: at Lions
Week 16: vs. Patriots (Sun.)
Week 17: vs. Chargers
Week 18: at Raiders

Denver Broncos 2023 futures odds

Win Total Over: 8.5 (-115)
Win Total Under: 8.5 (-105)

Make Playoffs: +175
Miss Playoffs: -210

Win Division: +500
Win Conference: +2500
Win Super Bowl: +4000

So will the Broncos go over or under their win total for the 2023 season? And what other futures bets are worth making? ... Join SportsLine right now to see SportsLine's Denver Broncos 2023 futures picks, all from the acclaimed experts who have crushed the NFL for years!