The Denver Broncos were once known as a relatively ‘old’ team. But when stalwart veterans like Peyton Manning and DeMarcus Ware hung up their cleats, it was a harbinger of just how different the team would look by 2018.

Without some of the vets the team had come to count on, the 2017 Broncos had to turn to their youth — probably much more than any of the coaches would have preferred. Their 5-11 finish is evidence to how that turned out.

While I wouldn’t completely lay Denver’s struggles last year on the youth of the roster — the QBs were pretty bad — the truth was these inexperienced players might not have been ready for their moment in the spotlight.

Think back to 2011, when the Broncos went 8-8 and won the AFC West. This was a team coming off a 4-12 finish and had no choice but to vault several players into live-bullet action. It was adapt or die.

As the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, Von Miller wasn’t exactly a sleeper but he made a significant impact on the team. Names like Eric Decker, Orlando Franklin, Chris Harris, Jr., Rahim Moore, Quinton Carter, and Wesley Woodyard — relatively unknown NFL quantities at that point in time — all stepped up in a big way and it helped change the course of Broncos history.

Denver will need a similar grass roots effort from it's young players in 2018. So which unheralded players on this roster can we spotlight as potential ‘sleepers’? Join me as I break down five candidates on each side of the ball.