The Broncos are 3-2 through five games, which is a perfectly respectable place to be after a rough opening stretch. It’s also becoming clear where Denver’s biggest problem lives: up front, where the offensive line hasn’t held up nearly well enough in the early part of 2026.
Garett Bolles and Quinn Meinerz are not the issue. Both are still playing at a high level, and both remain the kind of force Denver can build around.
Bolles and Meinerz were first-team All-Pros last year, and they’re again doing their jobs at a top-tier level. If this line ever turns around, those two are the foundation.
The trouble spots are Ben Powers and Luke Wattenberg. Powers took a pay cut this offseason after a 2025 season that included two notable injuries, while Wattenberg has never been viewed as a special player.
This year, though, both spots have become harder to ignore. Powers has been getting beaten in pass protection with too much regularity, and neither he nor Wattenberg has offered much in the run game.
That matters because the Broncos aren’t just struggling to run the ball - they’re also letting pressure get to Bo Nix too quickly and too often. If Denver wants the offense to function better, it should at least consider changing personnel at left guard and center.
Powers’ PFF numbers back up the eye test. He has a 51.2 overall grade, which ranks 59th among 74 guards, and his pass-blocking grade sits at a rough 33.3.
His run-blocking grade is 55.5. While some will always question PFF, those numbers fit what’s showing up on film.
That’s why Alex Palczewski and Alex Forsyth deserve a look. Palczewski started 10 games last year when Powers was injured and played every snap from Weeks 7-14.
The drop-off, at least from a production standpoint, never really seemed to show up. He also stepped in at right tackle for McGlinchey in 2024 and handled it well.
Forsyth is the other name that stands out, and the case for him is built around the run game. He’s long been considered the better run blocker compared to Wattenberg, and the numbers from his starts are hard to brush off.
In the four games he started in 2024, Denver rushed for 110 yards in Week 6, 225 in Week 7, 102 in Week 8 and 122 in Week 9. Then in Weeks 17 and 18 of 2025, with Forsyth back in the lineup, the Broncos posted 128 rushing yards and 116 rushing yards.
Altogether, the Broncos ran for 803 yards in those games, an average of 133.8 yards per game. That’s enough to suggest the ground game has been more productive with Forsyth in the middle, and not just by accident.
Wattenberg is playing on a fairly hefty contract, but Sean Payton’s Broncos have already shown they’re willing to move on from players under contract if the performance isn’t good enough. The same approach has to apply here if Denver wants a different result.
Right now, the Broncos are sending out the same offensive line every week, and the run game still isn’t getting anywhere. At some point, that stops being stability and starts looking like repetition.
In Other News...
Chargers Loss Just Added Fuel To Denvers Bo Nix Debate
The Broncos got the kind of win that should quiet a few arguments, but instead it only sharpened the one around Bo Nix. Denver beat the Chargers with Nix still in place at quarterback, yet the postgame conversation quickly shifted away from the result and back to how he looked doing it, with criticism following him even in a victory.
Nix was Denvers first-round pick in 2024 and remains under contract through 2027, so the organization has time before any real decision point arrives. Still, the longer his passer rating trends down and the offense stays below average, the harder it becomes to sell the idea that a long-term extension is coming anytime soon, no matter how the standings read in the moment. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Fans Need To Watch Seattles Injury Report Closely Thursday
The Seahawks did not practice Monday, but they still put out an estimated injury report for Thursday Night Football against the Broncos, and that kind of early-week snapshot can tell you plenty about how Seattle is lining up for a short-week matchup. For Denver fans, it is the sort of document worth reading closely, especially with players working back into the picture and others expected to be available despite the abbreviated preparation.
Irv Charles is aiming to make his debut after a stint on injured reserve, while George Holani is expected to play, giving Seattle a few more offensive options to monitor before kickoff. Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Zach Charbonnet also showed up on the report with injury designations, which leaves the Seahawks with some uncertainty as they head toward Thursday and keeps the Broncos guessing a little longer. [Read more 🡒]
Sean Payton Sends Mixed Message On Broncos Offense After Big Change
After the Broncos made a notable change in how the offense was being called, Sean Payton spent Monday trying to strike the right balance between reassurance and honesty. He said the group handled the adjustment well, and he singled out Webb for the work put in during the week, which suggested there was at least some belief the process is settling in.
Payton also made clear the bigger picture is still far from clean. Even with the response to the change, he acknowledged the Broncos are not doing a lot of things well through five games, a candid assessment that leaves the offense with more questions than answers as the team tries to sort out what actually moved the needle. [Read more 🡒]