Keeler: Broncos, Sean Payton reuniting Justin Simmons would be a surprise. Denver becoming AFC West’s next dynasty would not be.

The Grinch has more room for nostalgia in his heart than one Patrick Sean Payton Before we get to the good stuff just know that what applies to Von Miller and Payton absolutely applies to Justin Simmons too Even though the Broncos now have a starting safety slot wide open while a former Pro Bowl safety in Simmons is local and looking for a gig the locker room in Dove Valley might not be big enough for the both of them Although stranger things have happened and it s almost Christmas Speaking of presents the Chiefs definitively returned the AFC West throne to the store receipt and all after hogging that thing for days Eight years months and days officially A child born on New Year s Day the actual start of the Kansas City Chiefs AFC West dynasty would be halfway through third grade as of Monday At last Heaven help us we can clearly see the end a light at the end of long red tunnel of darkness The Chiefs were mathematically eliminated from the postseason this past Sunday Kansas City is slated to be million over the cap in Travis Kelce just turned Chris Jones will be next summer Mahomes will be next September and his left knee just went kablooey in a home loss to the Chargers Legends live forever in our hearts but every anterior cruciate ligament comes with an expiration date The second-hardest thing in the NFL is to win a championship The hardest is to pull it off multiple times It never ceases to amuse me how the majority of popular sports league in America land of me-first is simultaneously a screaming bastion of socialism and enforced parity The good of all before the one Bad teams get the best draft picks A salary cap that prevents elite teams from hoarding all the elite players so long as those elite players want to get paid And they do All that being stated the Broncos - aren t just poised to win a division title this fall They re in a really good position to follow in the Chiefs cleats and go on a little dynastic run of their own And we ll give you five reasons why The Chiefs best players are getting old Even if Kelce who can become an unrestricted free agent next year elects to return the Chiefs books are looking fairly lopsided Per Spotrac Kansas City will have of its cap space for taken up by four players who will be years or older Jones million K Harrison Butker million LB Drue Tranquill million and Mahomes million The Broncos -and-older club depending on what becomes of linebacker Alex Singleton is slated to take up of next year s cap The Chargers best players are already old The Bolts have of their ongoing roster cap tied up in players who are at least years old And at least of those guys are scheduled to hit the open territory after this season QB Justin Herbert is better with one good hand than bulk NFL signal-callers are with two He s just Although working with Jim Harbaugh has been known to age people prematurely The Broncos best players are not The Broncos went into Week per PhillyVoice com with the eighth fewest number of players among NFL rosters who were aged or older Bo Nix the QB who keeps rising to the moment is and on a rookie contract through for now Also signed through per Spotrac com deep breath CB Pat Surtain II RT Mike McGlinchey DL Zach Allen WR Courtland Sutton LT Garett Bolles OLB Jonathon Cooper OLB Nik Bonitto S Talanoa Hufanga DB Jahdae Barron DL D J Jones LB Dre Greenlaw G Quinn Meinerz DL Malcolm Roach C Luke Wattenberg OLB Jonah Elliss RB RJ Harvey CB Kris Abrams-Draine K Wil Lutz and P Jeremy Crawshaw Oh and WRs Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant Pretty good core that Especially when you consider that only five of those guys are years or older and one of those five happens to be Lutz GM George Paton has the drafting part down And he invariably did Nine of Denver s starters are former Broncos draft picks or former collegiate free agents As are five of the guys who usually start for Vance Joseph s defense The more expensive Nix s contract becomes the more pivotal hitting on rookies right now is going to get Sean Payton has done this before Yes Sunshine Sean loves the screen meeting more than Homer Simpson loves Duff Beer Yes he holds fools and journalists in equal disdain But the man also won seven division titles in New Orleans including four straight - after his suspension From - talk about the Broncos largely focused on the franchise s sagging floor Now it s about the ceiling Whether you like him personally or not there s no denying the degree to which Payton flipped the script Tom Brady was when he signed with Tampa Bay and when he retired for the second time Rob Gronkowski hung em up for the USAA life at age Savor the now When a window opens you don t walk through it You sprint like there s a raging snorting Nederland moose in hot pursuit In the NFL age is a running clock As any Broncomaniac can tell you there s one defensive coordinator worse than Belichick a mastermind not even Mahomes Brees Elway or Manning could lick Father Time For the first time in a decade he s decisively on the Broncos side