Yesterday, ESPN, in partnership with Football Outsider’s Aaron Schatz, released their early AFC projections, and safe to say, they were not kind to the Denver Broncos.

According to Schatz, the Broncos are projected to finish third in the AFC West, behind the Chiefs and Chargers, with a 7-9 record. That would place them outside the playoffs and behind teams like the Houston Texans, Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Similar sentiments have been coming from analysts all across television and web, and it’s starting to get to the Broncos defense — in a good way, perhaps. Earlier this week, T.J. Ward said the disrespect of the Broncos defense is only giving them motivation to improve, and Chris Harris Jr. agrees.

Luckily, projections are just that: projections.

Harris, Ward and the rest of the Denver defense will have the opportunity to prove themselves on the field this fall, and they fully expect to do so.