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This time next week, fans, media and coaches will be out in the scorching sun, searching for the next team to throw down the gauntlet and try to repeat as World Champions. The backbone of the team that will take the field September 8 versus the defending NFC Champion Carolina Panthers will undoubtedly be the defense.

When training camp opens July 28, Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips will be amped up and ready to see who wants to step into a bigger role. The historic defense of 2015 will be in search of starting linebacker Danny Trevathan’s and defensive end Malik Jackson’s replacements. At safety, the departures of Omar Bolden and David Bruton Jr. have impacted the depth of the roster as well.

The defense remains largely intact but opportunities to join the onslaught of opposing offenses will be numerous. Here’s a prediction of how it shakes out and who might surprise some people:

Defensive Line

Left Defensive End

Derek Wolfe

Adam Gotsis

Kyle Peko

Shanell Jenkins

Nose Tackle

Sylvester Williams

Darius Kilgo

Phillip Taylor

Calvin Heurtelou

David Moala

Right Defensive End

Vance Walker

Jared Crick

Kenny Anunike

Eddie Yarbrough

Injury impact: Gotsis, the team’s 2016 second-round pick, will enter camp nearing 100-percent as he continues to recover from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee that occurred October 31 of last year. While the team hopes he will be ready, it will provide more opportunities for players like Anunike and newcomer Crick. Anunike has continued to put on muscle but has also been sidelined with elbow and knee injuries during his two seasons with the team.

Dark horse: Taylor has an opportunity to move into the backup role at nose tackle and push Williams. He is entering his fifth season, first with the Broncos, after tallying 42 starts in Cleveland. Kilgo gained some valuable experience last year but didn’t have much competition in his way. This year will be different. As far as starting roles go, the battle to watch along the defensive line is Crick and Walker. Walker provided great depth in 2015 but has yet to establish himself as Jackson’s successor in 2016.

Linebackers

SAM

Von Miller

Shaquil Barrett

Vontarrius Dora

Sadat Sulleyman

MIKE

Brandon Marshall

Dekoda Watson

Frank Shannon

Dwayne Norman

MO

Todd Davis

Corey Nelson

Zaire Anderson

WILL

DeMarcus Ware

Shane Ray

Kyle Kragen

Injury impact: Outside of the aging wonder, Ware, the linebacker group is rather healthy. Ware missed nearly all of the team’s offseason practices and workouts as he continues to deal with an ailing back problem that cropped up in the middle of last season. He will be moved along very slowly and due to his lengthy experience, would not benefit greatly from being rushed back. That gives friends and fellow pass rushers, Ray and Barrett opportunities to compete for snaps in camp.

Dark horse: Frank Shannon, formerly of the Oklahoma Sooners, is a bit of an unknown. After an impressive 2013 at OU in which he started 13 of 13 games, he was excused from the team for off-field issues. He returned in 2015, starting just nine games but had an impressive 11 tackle game in the Orange Bowl versus Clemson. He is now ready to prove he belongs in the National Football League. Inside linebacker certainly has opportunities to move up. Outside of Brandon Marshall’s starting job, there is an open completion for the MO position and as Marshall’s backup. Another undrafted college free agent, second-year player Anderson is ready to make more strides. He was talked highly of by the Broncos’ staff last season but spent the year on the practice squad after six tackles in the 2015 preseason.

Cornerbacks

Left Cornerback

Chris Harris Jr.

Bradley Roby

Taurean Nixon

John Tidwell

Right Cornerback

Aqib Talib

Kayvon Webster

Lorenzo Doss

B.J. Lowery

Injury impact: The only injury in the cornerback is the highly publicized bullet wound Talib sustained June 6. He appeared at T.J. Ward’s charity golf tournament last week and reportedly stated he should be fine when camp starts next week. Kubiak and Co. will certainly ease him back into the starting rotation at practice after he missed minicamp. That will only benefit every cornerback behind him. Roby, in particular, will get more extended time with the first team.

Dark horse: This group is mostly set with three dynamic starting-caliber corners in Harris, Talib and Roby. Webster has also solidified himself as a valuable piece to the secondary and on special teams over his three seasons with the team. However, Nixon and Doss were selected in last year’s draft for a reason. Doss appeared in six games last season while Nixon spent the team’s first 17 games on the practice squad before signing to the active roster for the AFC Championship and Super bowl 50. Unless they take a significant step back, it will be tough for Tidwell and Lowery at camp.

Safeties

Strong Safety

T.J. Ward

Shiloh Keo

Will Parks

Free Safety

Darian Stewart

Brandian Ross

Justin Simmons

Antonio Glover

Injury impact: There are no injuries to report for this group, however, both Stewart and Ward missed time last season and were not near 100-percent for significant parts of the 2015 season. The Broncos will look to keep all of their starters workload low for the most part.

Dark horse: The group contains veterans Keo and Ross but the rookies, Parks and Simmons, have already been turning heads. Parks and Simmons were drafted in part because they show the versatility that Stewart and Ward possess and if they show that despite their inexperience, they can handle the mental side of things, Ross or Keo may move down the chart or off the roster altogether.

The defense showed how great they were in 2015 and certainly outplayed the expectations that were placed on them this time last year. Despite some big departures, the defense is as confident as ever and looking for new contributors that can match their intensity. The starters will not except a drop off in performance. The tryout starts next Thursday and the job openings are few.