After their AFC Championship game loss to the New England Patriots, the Denver Broncos find themselves on the sidelines and back to the proverbial drawing board. It was a remarkable season for the Broncos. Getting back to the top of the AFC West and earning the number one seed after ten years is nothing to be upset about. Though coming up short against New England certainly changes a bit of the perspective one may have on their efforts in 2025 and leave them wanting for more.
Now it’s offseason mode
for the Broncos. They will have free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft to try and make the necessary additions and adjustments to be better prepared to win it all next season. What’s the best way they can do that? Well, I have some thoughts and I’m sure you all do as well—so be sure to share those in the comments section.
It’s time for the Broncos to be aggressive.
“Close but no cigar.” The Broncos won a lot of close games this year. They boasted a penchant for fourth quarter comebacks and seemed to do well facing adversity more often than not. But let’s be real, it’s unlikely Denver will replicate their 14-win regular season success next season. That sort of regular season success is significantly hard to maintain.
In my opinion, they have a clear two or three-year window to legitimately compete for a Super Bowl. That is the length of time before the franchise will no longer have the benefit of roster building with Bo Nix on a rookie deal. The good thing is, the Broncos have a very strong roster. They also have ample cap space and could have more than ten selections in the 2026 NFL Draft.
So why not be aggressive? Things can change on a dime in the National Football League. I fully expect Head Coach Sean Payton and General Manager George Paton to have a serious heart-to-heart about the biggest weaknesses they need to address to make the team even stronger title contenders. And I wouldn’t be surprised to see if those discussions led to them taking a big swing and making a blockbuster trade this offseason.
The Broncos have to add playmakers on offense.
Speaking about upgrading the team, I think it’s pretty clear the Broncos have to make a splash or two on offense. I’ll say this though, I’m still excited about the potential the group of Denver’s still position players have. However, an in-house evaluation by the coaching staff will ultimately determine where they go in this regard. I have a feeling they are going to make some serious waves here.
Let’s face it. The Broncos tried funneling their aerial attack through Courtland Sutton and Troy Franklin. Both had impact games over the course of the season and some big moments. However, the two barely reeled in 60-percent of throws when targeted. That’s about ten percent less than where your top two targets in an offense should be—resulting in a lot of missed yards and production on the field. And they didn’t get much of an impact from tight end Evan Engram, who certainly wasn’t a ‘joker’ in their offense in ‘25.
On top of that, they need to address the running back room. What they have there simply isn’t enough. Good news is that it’s a deep free agent group with Breece Hall, Tyler Allgeier, and potentially Kenneth Walker available. For immediate impact, that might be the best idea. They could also look toward the 2026 NFL Draft here and try to find a bigger back whose better on inside runs to pair with RJ Harvey. We’ll be covering a lot of those prospects in Future Broncos segments over the coming months.
However, if they want to upgrade receiver, there isn’t much on the open market. With that in mind, don’t be surprised if some potential trade discussions begin brewing during the pre-draft circuit at the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine. It’s that time of the year and it wouldn’t be a shock to see Denver’s front office revisits after showing interest at the trading deadline this last season. Can the Broncos find a way to swing a deal for a top receiver via trade? I can’t wait to find out.
Whilst continuing to invest in the trenches.
Fortifying the offensive and defensive lines is something I’d expect Denver to do. They are arguably the strengths of the team and a primary focus of both Paton and Payton with their roster building philosophy. Nevertheless, they have room for improvement and have to keep an eye toward the future on both fronts.
It seems likely that defensive end John Franklin-Myers will depart in free agency. He played nearly 50-percent of the team’s defensive snaps this season. While they drafted Sai’vion Jones in the third round of last year’s draft to develop, he barely saw the field as a rookie. Can they count on just him to make a jump and replace Franklin-Myers? I don’t believe so. Keep in mind, ‘26 is the last year of Eyioma Uwazuruke’s rookie deal with Denver too. That’s a group they should certainly add to.
Meanwhile, the Broncos have a decision to make on Ben Powers at offensive guard. He missed a lot of the year due to injury and Alex Palczewski played well when he went down. Denver could save nearly $10 million on the cap by parting ways with Powers and choose to use those resources to make other upgrades.
Veteran tackles Garett Bolles and Mike McGlinchey had great seasons protecting Nix. Though they aren’t getting any younger. Adding a developmental tackle into the mix would be a wise decision. It’s something Denver hasn’t done with a premium pick in nearly a decade. This year might be the one to do it.
Revamp the inside linebacker room.
The Broncos’ defense had a pretty stellar year. However, I felt the play from the inside linebacker group was pretty inconsistent. Certainly, with respect to combating tight ends and running backs in the passing game. Dre Greenlaw appeared in just nine games in ‘25 and didn’t have much of an impact. One must also factor in that both Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad are set to hit free agency, and Drew Sanders was missing in action all year long.
I think Denver would be wise to make a big move here. It’s one of the position groups on the roster where clearly adding long-term talent has to be done. Luckily for Denver, this year’s draft class has a handful of quality prospects that carry first round grades. Not only that, but the free agent group at the position appears to have a lot of good players in the mix.
