Just one week into training camp, key Denver Broncos players are dropping like flies.

In a situation eerily reminiscent of last season, the Broncos have already lost three key players due to serious injuries since the start of camp. Wide receiver Tim Patrick — who led Denver with five receiving touchdowns during the 2021 season — is now out for the entire year for the second consecutive season (Achilles) due to a training camp injury. The injuries have occurred after Patrick signed a three-year, $34.5 million contract extension after his career season in 2021.

Along with Patrick, the Broncos will be without speedy wideout K.J. Hamler, who will be waived due to a heart condition that will require treatment.

And to top things off, Denver will be without key linebacker Jonas Griffith for the season, who tore his ACL on Tuesday after starting eight games last season for the Broncos. That’s in addition to rookie cornerback Riley Moss, who will be out for at least a month following core muscle surgery.

While neither of these veterans are star players, they represent a scary trend for the Broncos that dates back to last season — injuries. Much was made over the inept coaching of Nathaniel Hackett and the regression of quarterback Russell Wilson. But a lot of the team’s lack of wins — they lost nine of their 12 games by one possession — were due to their abundance of injuries.

No team was more affected by injuries than the Broncos last season, with 21 players ending up on injured reserve and nine players who were expected to start missing multiple games. Aaron Schatz of Football Insiders details how far and away the Broncos were affected by injuries compared to other teams.

“The Broncos finished with 148.6 AGL, which gives them a healthy lead over the rest of the league,” writes Schatz. “Tennessee ranked second, and the Los Angeles Rams ranked third. However, the gap between the Broncos and Titans was larger than the gap between the Titans and the team that was ranked eighth, the Baltimore Ravens.”

With a new head coach (Sean Payton) in town, the Broncos have high expectations. While a Super Bowl isn’t expected in his first season, the former Super Bowl head coach has brought an air of confidence with him to a franchise that desperately needs it after missing the playoffs for the past seven consecutive seasons.

However, Wilson losing two of his four projected top targets doesn’t help his, or the Broncos’ cause as they head into a pivotal season.

Denver is considered a fringe playoff contender and they’ll likely have to compete with their AFC West rival, the Los Angeles Chargers, for one of the three wild card spots in the AFC. When also factoring in just how stacked the conference is, every injury — especially season-ending ones — makes a major difference. The Broncos have already had three season-ending injuries to key players before their first preseason game.

Patrick — who was seeing significant work with the starters early in training camp — is a big loss. It also means that rookie second-round draft pick Marvin Mims Jr. will be expected to pick up the slack left over by the season-ending loss of the veteran receiver.

Outside of Mims, the Broncos also have former Saints receivers Marquez Callaway and Lil’Jordan Humphries on the roster.

"Look, we have a lot of guys working [at wide receiver], it's early," Payton said following Patrick’s injury. " ... [Mims] is doing well, he's feeling good. You're going to see more and more of him this week. He's ramping up and we're encouraged."

While the Broncos have certainly had their share of issues beyond just injuries in recent seasons, it’s no coincidence that Denver has ranked in the bottom 10 for adjusted games lost in each of the past four seasons, as Nick Kendell of Sports Illustrated notes.

“Alas, the Broncos continuously roll snake eyes in the game of injury luck,” writes Kendell. “According to FO, the Broncos have ranked in the bottom 10 for Adjusted Games Lost in each of the last four seasons.”

The Broncos’ win total over the past four seasons is as follows: seven wins, five wins, seven wins and five wins.

The injuries from last season led to the Broncos hiring a new strength and conditioning coach under Payton in Dan Dalrymple. Loren Landow had previously served as the Broncos’ strength and conditioning coach since the 2018 season.

Schatz details just how decimated the Broncos’ receiving core was last season, in addition to the offensive line.

“Tim Patrick tore up his knee in training camp, and wide receiver is where the Broncos had the most AGL. KJ Hamler also missed half the season, while Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, and Kendall Hinton all missed games,” writes Schatz. “On the offensive line, the Broncos went without left tackle Garett Bolles for two-thirds of the season and center Lloyd Cushenberry for half, while Quinn Meinerz missed four games and Dalton Risner fought injuries all over his body all season despite starting 15 games.”

Since emerging as a football powerhouse during the 1980’s, the Broncos are currently going through their longest stretch without a playoff appearance. It’s also well-accepted that Denver was the most disappointing team last season following their blockbuster trade acquisition of Wilson.

With Wilson facing tremendous pressure as he goes through the second season of a $245 million contract extension he signed with the Broncos last year, it’s imperative that Denver turns it around this season.

However, injuries continue to be a major problem for a franchise that can ill afford them. If more and more ailments spring up as training camp continues, we may see the Broncos fail to reach their potential for another season due to the injury bug.