The Broncos are heading into their Monday Night Football opener against the Kansas City Chiefs with their leadership group already set.
Denver announced nine team captains for 2026, all chosen by the players, with three on offense, four on defense and two on special teams. For quarterback Bo Nix, it’s familiar territory. He’s been voted a captain in each of his three seasons with the Broncos, a clear sign of how quickly he’s become a fixture in the locker room.
Courtland Sutton is right there with him. The veteran receiver, a 2018 second-round pick, was around when Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders were still in Denver, and he’s carried that old-school professionalism forward. This is the sixth straight year Sutton has been named a captain, and his role is backed up by the numbers: back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and a Pro Bowl selection.
The offensive line is represented by Quinn Meinerz, a two-time first-team All-Pro right guard who has become the tone-setter up front. It’s his third straight year as a captain.
On defense, the Broncos kept leaning on familiar voices. D.J.
Jones is a captain again, marking consecutive seasons in the role for the starting nose tackle who arrived in Denver as a free agent in 2022. Alex Singleton and Pat Surtain II were each chosen for the third straight year as well.
Singleton, re-signed this offseason, is the kind of linebacker who piles up 100 tackles without much fuss. Surtain, meanwhile, remains one of the league’s biggest names - a perennial Pro Bowler and All-Pro, and just two years removed from being named NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
He and Hall-of-Fame linebacker Randy Gradishar are the only Broncos to ever win that honor.
The Broncos also turned to some newer faces in leadership roles. Talanoa Hufanga, who joined as a free agent last season, was named a captain again after first getting the nod in 2025. That surprised him then, but he answered with production and presence, finishing with second-team All-Pro honors.
Special teams brought one of the more interesting choices: JL Skinner, listed as a backup safety on the depth chart, but a first-team All-Pro on special teams and the franchise record-holder for third-phase tackles last season. His captaincy says plenty about how teammates view his value.
Wil Lutz rounds out the group, earning the captain’s “C” for the third straight year. He may not have the biggest leg in football, but he has become one of the league’s most reliable clutch kickers, helping Denver win 11 one-score games last season, not counting the team’s first playoff win since Super Bowl 50.
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Former Broncos First-Round Picks Death Leaves Family Desperate For Answers
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His family now suspects Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head impacts, may have played a role in those changes and in the emotional turmoil that followed. They are seeking a brain autopsy to confirm whether CTE was a factor, a step they believe could provide answers in a tragedy that has reopened difficult questions about the long-term toll of the game on former players. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Hit With A Brutal AFC West Projection After 14-Win Season
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A projected step back is part of the picture, and one ESPN simulation was especially harsh, putting Denver at 7-10 and deadlocked with the Raiders for the bottom spot in the AFC West. Across thousands of runs, though, the Broncos settle closer to about 9.2 wins, which leaves plenty of room between a disappointing outcome and the kind of follow-up season that would keep them in the division race. [Read more 🡒]
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That is why Jamari Johnson has started to show up in the conversation as a possible first-round target down the line. The Oregon tight end already has the kind of size and receiving profile that can make evaluators dream on upside, and his college production keeps giving scouts more to work with. If Denver is still looking for a foundational fix at the position, Johnson is the sort of name worth keeping in the back of the notebook. [Read more 🡒]