The Broncos are getting a major boost in the one area that can make everything else click: the offensive line. And according to Sharp Football Analysis, Denver’s front is not just good - it’s the best in the league heading into 2026.
That’s a strong statement on its own, but the way the rankings were built makes it even louder. Sharp Football Analysis said it used a blend of numbers, film, and projections to sort out quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers/tight ends, offensive line, defensive front seven, defensive secondary, and head coach.
For Denver, the result was a unanimous No. 1 grade of 100 for the offensive line.
“Denver’s offensive line was our only unanimous selection for the top spot at any unit. Left tackle Garett Bolles played a key role, leading all left tackles in pressure rate allowed (2.9%).”
That kind of praise doesn’t come around often for a single unit. And for a Broncos team that already looks like one of the league’s strongest rosters on paper, it lands at exactly the right time.
The line has been a strength for multiple years, and it showed again in 2025. Denver’s success that season was a reminder that the roster was built to contend, even if the wider NFL conversation hasn’t exactly treated the Broncos like a true title threat this offseason.
A big part of that is how well the protection has worked with Bo Nix under center. Through 34 regular season games, Nix has been sacked 46 times total. He took 24 sacks in 2024 and 22 in 2025, and his sack rate this past season was 3.47 percent.
That stands out even more next to Drake Maye, who entered the league at the same time as Nix. Maye has been sacked 81 times in 30 regular season games, and his sack rate in 2025 was 8.72 percent.
Sacks are never just one player’s problem, and they’re never just the offensive line’s fault either. But Denver has a setup that gives it a real edge: a front with four players who have been in the starting lineup since 2023, plus two top-3 players at their positions in Garett Bolles and Quinn Meinerz.
Ben Powers and Luke Wattenberg are more in the middle of the pack, but they’ve been steady. Mike McGlinchey has also been a reliable presence at right tackle for years.
And that matters because the line is still where games are shaped. With the league continuing to lean more toward the run, being able to set the tone from the first snap is a real advantage.
If the Broncos are going to make a Super Bowl run this season, this group has to stay near the top of the league. Denver’s offensive line is in a strong enough place to make that possible, and the timing of this recognition couldn’t be better.
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Keys appeal is easy to see. He arrived with a solid college rsum at Kentucky and the kind of size and ball skills that can make an undrafted player harder to ignore once the practices get competitive. If he keeps that momentum going, the Broncos may have to decide whether he can push for one of the final receiver spots or settle into a practice squad path that still keeps him in the building. [Read more 🡒]
Sean Paytons Davis Webb Endorsement Says A Lot About Denvers Offense
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Payton even reached back to his own early days calling plays, pulling up a box score from a 1999 preseason game when he was the Giants quarterbacks coach to make a point to Webb. It was the kind of veteran-to-apprentice reminder that fits Denvers current setup, where the coach who has seen just about everything is still willing to teach while letting a new play-caller find his own rhythm. [Read more 🡒]