This is the quietest period of the NFL season—minicamps wrapped up a few weeks ago and players won’t report back until mid-July when training camp begins. eDraft is staying busy and looking towards training camp, examining the biggest storylines and what fans can look forward to in a couple weeks.

The Broncos were phenomenal last season—they fought their way through the AFC before meeting up with the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVII. They were ultimately crushed on the biggest stage and Peyton Manning was left to walk off the field with another Super Bowl loss. General Manager John Elway made sure that level of embarrassment would never happen again—turning towards free agency and the draft to upgrade the roster.

Denver enters July with some major roster changes on both offense and defense. Eric Decker, Knowshon Moreno and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie all departed for richer pastures. While losing starters always hurts, the Broncos actually improved thanks to the additions of Demarcus Ware, Aqib Talib, Emmanuel Sanders, T.J. Ward, Bradley Roby and Cody Latimer

Now the improved Broncos’ roster has a few weeks left to train and relax at home before they head back to team facilities on July 23. Players will have a day to settle in before they head to the practice field on the 24 and the real work begins.

Offensive Outlook

Any time you have a Hall of Fame quarterback leading your team, you will always be in great shape. Having Manning out there on the field is like having another coach, his knowledge of the game is beyond his peers and he can command a team, while also helping young players.

Manning will certainly smile when he looks to his left and finds Ryan Clady back at left tackle. Clady missed most of the season after tearing his Lisfranc, resulting in the Broncos’ offensive line taking a massive hit. Manning still had a record-breaking season but the loss of Clady was still felt on a weekly basis.

Denver will also head to training camp with some new faces at wide receiver, Decker headed for the Big Apple but the Broncos still managed to upgrade at the position. Emmanuel Sanders came over from the Pittsburgh Steelers and is already showing a commitment to being moved inside and outside. Latimer will fight to be the Broncos’ fourth wide receiver, but the rookie should develop in a reliable, possession receiver.

The biggest question mark involving the Broncos’ offense is at running back. Moreno is gone and now the starting job is set to be taken over by Montee Ball. The 23-year-old was selected 58th overall last season, but didn’t see the field much for a stretch after Week 3 due to fumbles.

Ball picked up his first career touchdown in Week 8 and had his first 100-yard game a month later. He was finally settling into his role and getting adjusted to the speed of the NFL. He finished the regular season off on a stronger note, as his 4.7 yards per carry certainly impresses.

Now Ball is set to be the workhorse for Denver—the plan is for him to be out there on every down possible. While he certainly will have plenty of great holes to run through with defenses focused on Manning, coaches have also been impressed with his improvement as a receiver.

If Ball can step up and be the workhorse of Denver’s running attack, they will be in even better position to knock teams around in the AFC. The only question for him really is durability, with over 170 touches last season and nearly 1,000 in his college career.

It’s going to be nearly impossible for the Broncos’ passing attack to repeat their numbers from last season. What happened last year was historic; it would just take too many things going their way. All that said, this is the best offense in football and if Ball improves, could be a more all-around group than last year.

Defensive Outlook

There were so many things the Broncos did so well last season. They made it through their head coach’s heart surgery, their offense shattered record books. Denver made it all the way to the Super Bowl, but their defense ultimately came back to bite them.

The Broncos finished eighth against the run last season, allowing just 101.6 yards per game. That number can be deceiving though as opposing teams were often forced into a shootout and would turn away from the run. You could also use this argument to lend some support to their secondary, but they still ranked 27th versus the pass.

While they lost Rodgers-Cromartie, the Broncos made sure opposing quarterbacks in the future wouldn't as greatly expose them. While Ward is stronger versus the run, he has shown an ability to make plays in coverage and break up passes.

The front office also signed Talib, who they hope can avoid finding his way on the injury report and stay focused on the field. Talib has always shown the ability to be a very good corner but off the field issues and health has held him back. Now he arrives in a great situation with Chris Harris alongside him and Roby ready to prove why he was worth a first round pick.

The biggest aid in stopping quarterbacks should come via the pass rush and if Von Miller can remain on the field, he will show why he is one of the best defensive players in the game.

Miller was slowed by injuries and missed even more time last season due to a suspension, and was unable to come close to his 18 sacks in 2012.

Now that the 25-year-old is healthy and ready for camp, he can easily get back to double-digit sack numbers. He will also now have the opportunity to work with a legend and can pick up plenty of tips from Ware. While Ware’s prime is certainly past him, there is still enough ability to create some problems as a pass rusher. The biggest issue is Ware’s poor fit in the 4-3 scheme—it caused problems for him with the Dallas Cowboys and could prove to be a problem in Denver.

Overall, this is a defense that has made improvements to shore up their secondary and pass rush. They still have the firepower to win shootouts, but now have a strong enough defense to cut out the 51-48 or 35-28 games.

There shouldn’t be much question that the Broncos are best team in the AFC. While the New England Patriots made improvements, Denver still has the advantage on offense and a strong defense to go with it. The biggest question for Denver still remains unanswered—did this team do enough to push themselves ahead of the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks? We should start seeing signs of that when training camp opens up on July 24.