The Denver Broncos understood completely. The worst pain comes from hope. Like the hope of seeing a young franchise quarterback pilot his team to a home date in the AFC Championship Game, only to cede his place to a backup due to injury.
That's what happened last January. Bo Nix suffered a broken ankle late in Denver's 33-30 Divisional Round win over the Buffalo Bills. Jarrett Stidham replaced him to face his former team on a snowy afternoon in Colorado. The Broncos held the New England Patriots to only 10 points and lost anyway.
Denver could have held tight and run it back for 2026. Instead, the Broncos got proactive. They traded for a 27-year-old wide receiver with three 1,000-yard seasons to his name. Another talented wideout who can win one-on-one
should help Nix from hitting a wall and reduce the team's reliance on play-action fakes and roll-outs, establishing him as a more stable pocket presence and giving head coach Sean Payton the Drew Brees surrogate to get him back to the Super Bowl.
Will it work? Let's take a closer look.
Key addition: WR Jaylen Waddle
Denver's WR2-by-committee behind Courtland Sutton was occasionally electric but often inconsistent. Now Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant and Marvin Mims will fight to be Bo Nix's third target in an offense that continues to add ways to beat you.
Waddle's average target distance rose as he emerged as the Dolphins' top receiver last fall, filling some of the role Tyreek Hill left behind (albeit with mixed results. Bringing some extra deep ball credibility for a quarterback who has polished his bomb-lobbing skills after being criticized for a low-impact passing game at Oregon. It should also set the stage for a player like Franklin, Bryant or Mims to shine in the space created, even if snaps in the Broncos offense suddenly became harder to find.
Key departure: DL John Franklin-Myers
Denver was arguably one injury away from a Super Bowl appearance and paying a quarterback on a rookie contract, so it largely kept the band together for 2026. Swapping out Joe Lombardi for Davis Webb at offensive coordinator could create issues, but Sean Payton's history suggests a smooth transition.
Instead, let's look at the underappreciated Franklin-Myers. The defensive lineman has been a consistent pressure generator from his end spot, and while his pressure rate dipped toa career-low 11 percent last season — still good! — his 7.5 sacks were third-most on the team. Can recent third round picks Tyler Onyedim and Sai'vion Jones fill the void he leaves?
Potential 2026 breakout player: RB Jonah Coleman
JK Dobbins remains electric. He also remains injury prone. RJ Harvey was one of the league's least efficient runners, racking up -89 rushing yards over expected (RYOE) in just 146 carries (though he was an asset in the passing game).
That leaves room for the fourth round rookie to shine. Coleman is a bowling ball of a runner with a hard-charging first step and the power to blast through rapidly closing holes to keep his offense on schedule. He may not be a sensation right away, but he'll be ready when opportunity knocks.
Position ranks
- QB rank (expected points added per dropback, via RBSDM.com): 18
- WR corps rank: 6
- RB corps rank: 18
- TE corps rank: 30
Will they improve in 2026?
Yes, but only a little. There's not much room to improve when you were one injury away from a potential Super Bowl invitation.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Broncos 2026 season preview: Raining vengeance upon the football gods
