Denver Broncos Offseason Preview
The Broncos were one bad break and a fourth-down stop away from the Super Bowl. How can they prevent themselves from backsliding in 2026?
This is the latest in an ongoing series of NFL offseason previews.
2025 Season in a Nutshell
Their second-year quarterback blossomed. They caught some breaks with an easy schedule. They got red hot after a stumbling start. They caught their divisional powerhouse on a down year and made the most of it.
Then the football deities realized that two teams with this exact profile were about to reach the AFC Championship, so they struck Bo Nix’s right ankle with a lightning bolt so the Patriots could go to the Super Bowl.
Coaching Situation
Sean Payton is too old and established to be cool, not quite decorated enough to be considered a legend, but too effective to get the “OK Boomer” treatment from tastemakers and fans. He’s not even the most cantankerous weirdo in the AFC West; the Chargers preview is coming soon. Payton is just a very successful coach who does things his own way, says what’s on his mind and gets results.
The Bills hired away longtime Payton sidekick Pete Carmichael to be their offensive coordinator and well-regarded DBs coach Jim Leonhard to run their defense. Payton promoted up-and-comer Davis Webb to replace Carmichael; Payton has even handed 2026 play calling off to Webb. Vance Joseph remains the defensive coordinator.
Quarterback Situation
Bo Nix is pretty good. Quarterbacks are allowed to be pretty good. Not everything in life is an endless argument about whether every quarterback is a first-ballot Hall of Famer or goose poop.
State of the Roster
The Broncos veteran offensive line, headlined by Garrett Bolles and Quinn Meinerz, is among the league’s best.
The defensive front, featuring Nik Bonitto, Zach Allen and Jonathon Cooper, is full of versatile pass rushers who work well in Joseph’s system.
The secondary, led by Patrick Surtain and flag bearer Riley Moss, is talented but penalty prone. It could use an infusion of depth.
The playmakers – Courtland Sutton, Evan Engram, RJ Harvey and others – are a step slow and seem to think YAC is a big hairy animal from Asia.
Cap and Draft Stuff
The Broncos possess $28 million in paper cap space and can make a little more by fiddling with the veteran linemen’s contracts. They are a year away from worrying about Nix’s compensation.
Alex Singleton and John Franklin-Myers are the biggest names in an in-house free agent group heavy on defenders. Running back J.K. Dobbins is also a free agent who will be signed onto some other team’s injured reserve.
The Broncos will select 30th, 62nd and 94th in the first three rounds of the 2026 draft. They own the Saints’ fourth-round pick thanks to the Devaughn Vele trade.
One Thing the Broncos Should Not Do
Don’t sign Taysom Hill. Sure, Hill is an unrestricted free agent, so he can be signed for a short, incentive-laden contract, not a Saints 40-year mortgage. And yes, Hill is still useful as a trick-play and short-yardage Wildcat specialist, and the Broncos would have reached the Super Bowl if they converted that fourth down, or they had a way to generate one or two more first downs in the snow in the fourth quarter …
Come to think of it, go nuts, guys. Payton and Taysom: Perfect together.
In Summary
The Broncos are prime regression candidates because of their relatively easy 2025 schedule and 11-2 regular-season record in one-score games. They need to become more dynamic on offense without losing ground on defense.
This free agent class is full of offensive playmakers who could make an immediate difference. “One player away from the Super Bowl” reasoning is usually faulty, but the Broncos should put themselves in the market for that one player, whether it’s Kenneth Walker, Alec Pierce or one of the veteran tight ends. And maybe a rookie playmaker too. And perhaps Taysom.
