ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- At a training complex just a few miles from the Denver Broncos' facility, a few of the team's players are already getting a head start on 2017 with a week still to go until Super Bowl LI ends the 2016 season.

The Broncos can't report to the team's official offseason program for weeks, but defensive end Derek Wolfe and linebacker Brandon Marshall are among players already putting in work. After all, a new coaching staff always brings the potential for change.

And the Broncos do find themselves in a bit of a transition with their five-year playoff run snapped, a new coach in Vance Joseph and an edict from football boss John Elway to get back in the postseason conversation far sooner rather than later.

That means that as the new coaching staff gets to work together for the first time this week -- the group will gather at the Broncos' complex Monday -- the expectation will be that all players need to raise their games. That's a given at quarterback -- Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch don't get the luxury of an offseason if winning the starting job is on their agenda -- but a significant part of the Broncos' fortunes will depend on how big a step others make in these weeks when they're on their own.

Here's a look at some of those players:

Broncos linebacker Shane Ray's offseason needs to focus on making opposing offenses pay for ganging up on Von Miller. Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire

LB Shane Ray: He leads the way, by a long shot, among Broncos needing to step up. Ray finished second on the team with eight sacks and played 58.1 percent of the defensive snaps this past season, a total that included eight starts. He's been a luxury item in the pass-rush to this point behind Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware. But with Ware an unrestricted free agent and coming off back surgery, the expectation is Ray will be a starter in '17. That means he has to be up to that challenge. Miller didn't have a sack in the Broncos' last four games or in five of the last seven overall. That's because down the stretch, no other Broncos player made opposing offenses pay a big-enough price consistently for ganging up on Miller snap after snap. Ray has to be that guy.

LB Brandon Marshall: The 2016 season was one frustrating affair for Marshall, largely because of a hamstring injury. Wven when healthy, Marshall didn't reach his expected level of play and he is the first to say so: "I didn't, I didn't make enough plays." Marshall was signed to a four-year contract extension last year as the player who was the sideline-to-sideline, do-it-all linebacker in the league's No. 1 defense in 2015. He wasn't that guy last season. He missed five games, and it showed in how often opposing running backs caught passes that mattered and how the Broncos' run defense was just never quite right. The unit checked in at 28th by season's end, having allowed 130.3 rushing yards per game.

RB Devontae Booker: Booker looked gassed by season's end. Even with C.J. Anderson and Kapri Bibbs on injured reserve down the stretch, Booker did not have a 60-yard rushing game over the season's last five weeks despite ample opportunities. He had seven games over the last nine in which he didn't average 3.5 yards per carry, and five in which he didn't reach 3 yards per carry. Some of that was to be expected for a rookie back who had two knee surgeries in the calendar year leading up to his first NFL season, but Booker needs to be stronger and has to finish runs with more pop. The position will be wide open with the new offensive staff, and the lead back will be the guy who shows he can consistently produce and close out runs.

TE Jeff Heuerman: A third-round pick in 2015, Heuerman missed his rookie season with a torn ACL. His second season had a long wind-up given he missed almost all of the offseason work and most of training camp with hamstring and ankle injuries. He was a game-day inactive three times, dressed but did not play in another game and played in seven games in which he did not catch a pass. That has to change for Heuerman, who had seven catches combined over the last three games of the season. Former coach Gary Kubiak was frustrated at times with Heuerman but was also patient with him. The new offensive staff may not give him that luxury.