With the Denver Broncos offseason kicking off, it is a great time to step back, take a look at the roster, and play a little armchair GM leading up to all of the excitement of possible free-agent signings, trades, and, of course, the NFL Draft.
Let me give a tip of the hat to ftnfantasy.com for their information on snap percentages and www.overthecap.com for their information on current contracts for all players.
All of this is my personal opinion based on my tried-and-true eye test of what I’ve seen
from these players on the field this season. For the sake of brevity, I’ll be leaving out guys who didn’t see the field in any significant way in 2025 and most Unrestricted Free Agents.
Enjoy the discussion, join the subjective debate, and share your thoughts (good or bad) in the comments.
Next up, we’ll examine the quarterback/running backs and determine what holes the Broncos should look to fill in the 2026 NFL offseason.
Player Rating Key:
1 – Project / developmental – lacking the necessary skills to contribute as it stands today
2 – Backup quality – Can play, but isn’t a guy you want out there every snap
3 – Average starter – Doesn’t bring anything special to the table, but can do the job
4 – Good starter – An above-average talent
5 – Blue chip player – Top 10 talent in the NFL at what he does
Unit Rating Key:
1 – Critical Need – lack of talent at starter and depth
2 – Lacking at least one starter
3 – Mediocre need
4 – Solid talent and depth
5 – Elite talent level
Quarterbacks:
Bo Nix – 5
Contract Details
Bo Nix was, by and large, the offense as soon as the team lost Dobbins in week 10. He showed steady growth as a passer from his rookie season and absolutely oozed clutch ability over and over throughout the season.
The big knock I’d put on Nix from this past season was his lack of accuracy on deeper passes. He left a bunch of points out there on the field with many one-on-one opportunities because of overthrowing, underthrowing, or choosing poor angles on his throws (not leading the receiver laterally away from defenders was a big one that showed up on several deep throws).
The upside of Nix completely washes out this negative to me. He’s got complete control of this offense. He understands how to read defenses at an elite level. His ability to scramble to both avoid sacks and create running gains on busted plays is elite as well.
Nix is going into year three of his career, and in my mind, is easily a top 10 quarterback in the NFL.
Unit Rating – 5
We have the mythical franchise quarterback and are actively building around him. We have a backup under contract who has been with the team for several years and understands this offense at a deep level in Jarrett Stidham. The Broncos are set at quarterback going into the season, needing only a camp arm and 3rd backup option, which isn’t a hard role to fill.
Runningbacks:
R.J. Harvey – 3
Contract Details
R.J. Harvey’s rookie season was pretty darn good. He was drafted in my mind to be a play-making weapon, and we definitely got to see him in that role in 2025. He had trouble producing as a pure runner with any consistency, but I’d argue that’s not what his role is on the team, nor will it be in the future. He’s developing into a joker at runningback which you can see with how he contributed with touchdown plays and receptions out of the backfield.
The biggest negative I see from him is a lack of ability to run with vision. He seems to be a guy who just runs to the gap that the play was designed to go through, who lacks patience and the ability to project what’s going to happen in front of him as the play develops, so that he can cut or bounce to create yards. Time and coaching can develop this ability, and I hope to see him take a step forward in that area in 2026.
Jaleel McLaughlin – 2
Contract Details
Jaleel McLaughlin is such a talented back from a pure speed perspective. He’s able to switch gears so quickly that he is past initial blockers before they have a chance to react at times, which is why he’s able to generate such consistent production in a pure yards per carry perspective.
The problem is that he’s a smaller back who doesn’t protect the pass well. He’s also not great as a receiving back. That means the offense is really hamstrung when he’s out there. Bringing added pressure is a winning formula when he’s on the field. Leaving him one-on-one is perfectly fine since that’s an advantage to the defense as well. You can’t give him a ton of snaps if he’s not able to do at least two of the three core jobs you need from your running backs on any given play.
Tyler Badie – 1
Contract Details
Tyler Badie had many opportunities in 2025, and I just didn’t see him do enough with those opportunities. His best trait for the team is availability to contribute to special teams, which is likely the only big reason he has a shot to stay on the roster as a restricted free agent in 2026.
Unit Rating – 1
J.K. Dobbins is an unrestricted free agent. Harvey is a solid #2 back who is your playmaking 3rd down back. Behind them are two restricted free agents (McLaughlin and Badie) who I’m not even sure are worth keeping around in 2026, as we have seen both for multiple years and very little growth. The Broncos are very likely to sign a big free agent running back to upgrade their #1 spot this offseason and will likely draft another developmental back to the roster.
Defensive roster status overall – 4
- Defensive Linemen: 4.5
- Outside Linebackers: 5
- Inside Linebackers: 1
- Cornerbacks: 4
- Safety: 3
Special Teams status overall – 5
Offensive roster status overall – 2
- Interior Linemen: 4
- Tackles: 4
- Wide Receivers: 2
- Tight Ends: 2
- Quarterbacks: 5
- Running Backs: 1
