The Broncos are heading toward one of the most watched seasons in recent memory, and the offense has a very different look than it did a year ago. A trade for Jaylen Waddle and the promotion of quarterbacks coach Davis Webb to offensive coordinator and play-caller are the two biggest changes, and both could reshape how Denver moves the ball.
That new setup makes the stat-leader race on offense worth watching closely. Outside of quarterback, the Broncos’ key names figure to sort out the team lead in catches, receiving yards, rushing yards, and touchdowns.
Waddle was added to bring more speed, more versatility, and more juice to the quick game and intermediate passing attack, areas where Denver was lacking in 2025. He should fit naturally with Bo Nix, who thrives on quick passes, and his route-running ability should turn short throws into chunk gains.
Between the 20-yard lines, Waddle is positioned to do the bulk of his damage, and playing opposite Courtland Sutton should help him see better matchups than he did in Miami, where he was the only real pass-catching threat. The expectation here is a big year: 70 catches and 1,100 yards.
Sutton, meanwhile, looks like the Broncos’ best bet to lead the team in receiving touchdowns again. He has done it every year since 2023, and there’s no reason to think 2026 changes that.
His knack for making difficult red-zone catches look routine makes him the obvious choice, and Waddle’s presence could also free him up for more one-on-one chances. Sutton has made a living on the 50/50 ball, and the projection here has him matching his career high with 10 touchdown grabs.
The rushing picture is trickier, but the edge goes to J.K. Dobbins.
RJ Harvey didn’t show much as a steady down-to-down runner, and rookie Jonah Coleman doesn’t look like the kind of player who will get enough volume to take over the category. Dobbins has already shown he can be Denver’s lead back, finishing fifth on the team in rushing yards with 772 before his injury in Week 10.
With the Broncos expected to lean more on the run and with Dobbins serving as the clear starter in a three-back setup, he’s the best pick to top the team on the ground. The projection has him finishing with 700-plus rushing yards.
Harvey still has a real role, though, and his value comes from a different place. He led the Broncos with 12 total touchdowns last season, including seven rushing scores and five receiving touchdowns, by using his speed and explosiveness to finish drives.
In Year 2, he should take a step toward becoming a more reliable runner, but his big-play ability will keep him involved. With Denver putting more emphasis on the run, Harvey is projected to score eight touchdowns in his sophomore season.
If these calls hit, the Broncos’ offense should be taking another step forward under Sean Payton and Nix. Sutton, Waddle, Dobbins, and Harvey are the pieces expected to drive that push, and the idea is simple: this group gives Denver a chance to build an offense that can stress defenses in a lot of different ways.
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The report says the concept never got traction inside Denver, and it is easy to see why. Even in a league that thrives on bold swings, the logistics would have been unusual enough to make the whole thing feel more like a thought experiment than a workable football decision. Belichick eventually took a different path anyway, landing at North Carolina in December 2024, while Tom Brady was publicly calling him the greatest coach in the game on a podcast discussion. [Read more 🡒]
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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 🡒]