The ESSENTIAL Football Show 
Top 51 Cap Space (per Spotrac): 2026: $37.7 million | 2027: -$27.2 million | 2028: $46.1 million
Draft Picks: 2027: 1-7, NO 7 | 2028: 1-7
Football Decision Makers: GM George Paton | HC Sean Payton | OC Davis Webb | DC Vance Joseph | ST Darren Rizzi
State of the Team
It’s a common theme for last year’s AFC playoff field, but if things had broken a bit differently for the Broncos, they could very well have made it to the Super Bowl to face Seattle. (In Denver’s case, I suppose it would have been Bo Nix’s ankle not breaking, but you get the point.)
Last year’s misfortune aside, the Broncos are still firmly in the open part of the window opened by Nix’s rookie contract. Whether Nix ascends to be one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks remains an open question - and discussions on his next contract will start to come into play soon - but at the least, I think it’s fair to say Nix is a quality quarterback who can make big-time plays and pull his weight in playoff games, which is enough to win a Super Bowl with the right roster around him.
The Broncos already had that, and while the loss of defensive tackle John Franklin-Myers might not be getting enough attention, it’s more than offset by the addition of Jaylen Waddle, who brings an entirely new dimension to this offense; not only is Waddle a well-rounded route-runner who can uncover at every level of the field, he is among the NFL’s most dynamic athletes, and can turn short catches into explosives and long balls into touchdowns.
It all sets up for a fun year of football in Denver, where there will be one notable change on the coaching side, with offensive coordinator Davis Webb calling the offense.
Offense
Of all the things that could turn this season in Denver, it seems like the handoff from Payton to Webb has the greatest potential to blow things up; if it’s smooth, Webb is in a great position to be a first-time play-caller with a well-rounded, talented group on offense, but if things go sour - and play-calling handoffs can definitely go that way - then this group might not realize their potential.
I choose that last phrasing carefully, because Denver is too talented not to be productive on offense. The line features five proven, returning starters, with All-Pro type talent at left tackle in Garret Bolles and at right guard in Quinn Meinerz. They have depth on the interior with Alex Palczewski, and while Matt Pearth isn’t a standout swing tackle, he has played his share of snaps if Bolles or right tackle Mike McGlinchey is forced to miss time.
The addition of Waddle puts the skill group over the top; Courtland Sutton remains a highly productive receiver, but he is a certain type of pass-catcher, and Waddle will bring a dynamic element that Sutton lacks. (On the flip side, Sutton’s ability to handle the on-ball receiver role will allow Waddle to get unlocked in all sorts of creative ways). The group around them features more good players than great ones, but there are a lot of them; 4th-round draft pick Jonah Coleman joins J.K. Dobbins, R.J. Harvey, and Jaleel McLaughlin in the running back room, while Evan Engram is in place as a pass-catching “move” tight end, Adam Trautman can handle inline duties at that spot, and Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant, and Marvin Mims offer enviable depth at the 3-5 positions without upsetting the pecking order of the receiving room as a whole.
That leaves it on Nix to bring it all together, and based on what we’ve seen in his career so far, I expect him to do that at a reasonably high level. Nix got off to an abysmal start as a rookie, but he’s rebounded in a big way, and while I’d be surprised to see him contend for First-Team All-Pro, I expect to see him continue developing his acumen as a full-field passer while adding a playmaking element with his athleticism.
Defense
The 2025 Broncos may have provided the answer to the age-old question, What do you get for the man who has everything?
Apparently, the answer is Jahdae Barron.
Through no fault of his own, Barron, Denver’s 2025 1st-round pick, wound up playing less than 30% of the snaps for this unit as the Broncos turned in another stellar season under coordinator Vance Joseph.
I don’t want to entirely hand-wave the loss of defensive tackle John Franklin-Myers, as I think he has been an important contributor to top-flight defenses with both the Jets and Broncos, but with Zach Allen, D.J. Jones, and Malcolm Roach in place, and 3rd-round pick Tyler Onyedim added to the mix, Denver should have enough bodies on the interior, where the All-Pro caliber Allen is the key pass rusher.
The Broncos have juice to complement him off the edges; Nik Bonitto is as explosive as any edge rusher in the NFL and Jonathon Cooper, legal troubles aside, provides a nice complement as a longer-armed pass rusher who understands how to max out his attributes while engaging and redirecting off offensive linemen. The second wave also features interesting options; Dondrea Tillman is a notably stout player setting the edge, and Jonah Elliss has racked up 7.5 sacks over 2 seasons in a complementary role.
Off-ball linebacker is the least exciting group, but Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad aren’t necessarily targets; similar to the Los Angeles Rams, this duo is good enough to get by, but you don’t expect the Broncos to be an elite defense because of their off-ball linebacker play.
Also similar to the Rams is Denver’s ability and willingness to play in sub packages, which has a lot to do with the terrific safety duo of Talanoa Hufanga, who played every game for the first time since 2022 during his first year with the Broncos, and Brandon Jones, a “solid/plus” defender who has been perennially underrated dating back to his time partnering with Jevon Holland on the back end of Miami’s defense under Brian Flores.
The Broncos also have an outstanding slot cornerback in Jaquan McMillian, who largely relegated Jahdae Barron to dime sub package duty (which is one more reason for Denver to lean into those packages; they get a lot of talent on the field in dime).
On the outside, Patrick Surtain II has some competition as the best cornerback in football, but even in a golden era of outside corner play, PS2 stands out as the top option out there. His running mate, Riley Moss, isn’t on the level of a Kamari Lassiter working in tandem with Derek Stingley down in Houston, but Moss is a competitive corner who is going to make his share of plays, even if sheer volume dictates that he will give up some the other way.
Final Takeaways
The Rams are a strong contender for the title of “best roster in football”, and the gap between an MVP-caliber quarterback (Matthew Stafford) and a QB good enough to win in the biggest moments (Bo Nix) makes the overall comparison a clear lean to the Rams, but if we take that out of it, the Broncos arguably have the best roster in the NFL. There are no holes, there are elite players along both lines, in the skill room, and in the secondary, and regardless of what precipitated Sean Payton’s play-calling handoff, the coaching consistently stands out as above-average.
It’s a reminder of how thin the difference between success and failure can be in this league, because one offseason ago, the Vikings and Broncos were on a similar track; both had assembled potentially outstanding rosters around a “second-tier” QB draft prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft. (The Falcons might have provided a third test case, but the third team to pick in that second trio of quarterbacks instead elected to spend their excess cap space at backup quarterback).
Fast-forward one season, and Denver is up another standout player in Jaylen Waddle, and by all appearances, set up to push for a repeat AFC West title and another playoff run, while the Vikings desperately try to right the ship after the J.J. McCarthy gamble came up short. There’s still a lot that needs to go their way - Nix’s injury last year is a reminder of exactly that - but in terms of giving themselves a chance, the Broncos have done a tremendous job assembling this roster since Sean Payton took the reins as head coach.