The Broncos finally got through a 2026 offseason that felt like it dragged on forever, and the clearest takeaway is that the months of waiting produced a pretty sharp split between players and coaches who helped themselves and the few who didn’t.
Denver’s spring and summer were defined by a whole lot of patience. The Jaylen Waddle trade in mid-March gave the fan base its biggest jolt, but that was about it for outside movement.
The Broncos signed only one external free agent, Tycen Anderson, and didn’t make their first draft pick until the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft. On top of that, fans had to wait until June to get even a look at Bo Nix back on the field after the ankle injury that ended his playoff run last season.
Once training camp and preseason football rolled around, though, the picture started to settle. Some people came out of the offseason looking better than ever. Others left with their stock heading the wrong way.
Bo Nix sits at the top of the winner list. There was real concern after the fractured ankle he suffered in the Divisional Round win over the Buffalo Bills last season, and that worry only grew when he had a second procedure in April to remove bone spurs.
In the end, the main effect was a delayed return to full speed. Nix looked strong throughout training camp and carried that into his lone preseason appearance against the Green Bay Packers.
He also benefited from a supporting cast that appears stronger than it did before.
Another major winner was offensive coordinator Davis Webb. Coaches’ paychecks usually stay private, but it’s fair to assume Webb is now one of the better-paid assistants in the league.
He drew interest from a number of teams during the offseason, including being one of the apparent finalists for the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coaching job, yet the Broncos kept him in house and did more than just bump his title. Sean Payton handed him the offense.
For the first time in his coaching career, Payton is doing for an assistant what Bill Parcells once did for him: letting the hotshot apprentice call the plays.
Pat Bryant was one of the biggest offensive standouts of the entire offseason. Even with Jaylen Waddle now in the mix, Bryant’s second NFL season is set to bring a much larger role.
He was making plays constantly in camp, to the point that there was almost always a report about him showing up in a big way. When Kay Adams asked Sean Payton during training camp how the Broncos planned to keep Bryant off the field, Payton answered, "We're not."
Riley Moss was the defensive equivalent of Bryant. He was on his way to a nearly perfect offseason before a rib injury in the preseason game against the Packers, suffered when he dove on a loose ball.
Even with that brief setback, the buzz around camp was consistent: Moss has taken another step. He enters 2026 in a contract year, carries the label of being the league’s most-targeted player, and has dealt with too many penalties, but the Broncos seem to believe he’s ready to change that conversation.
Jonah Coleman also made a major impression. It’s rare for a rookie to be held out of preseason games because the team felt it had seen enough, and it’s even more unusual for that to happen to a fourth-round pick.
Coleman was that convincing in his first offseason with Denver. Sean Payton has said more than once that you don’t "feel" a rookie with Coleman, and the rookie from Washington is expected to have a significant role this season, even if Payton would rather lean on two backs instead of three.
The losers side of the ledger is much shorter, but it’s still notable. Jonathon Cooper is in a bad spot after multiple arrests during mandatory minicamp led to him being placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List to begin the season.
He can’t practice or play until his legal situation is resolved. Cooper pleaded "not guilty" to 5 charges of domestic violence incidents, and his trial is scheduled for November 10.
The Broncos have other options to fill in, but that doesn’t make the situation any less disappointing.
Jarrett Stidham also comes out of the offseason looking worse in the eyes of Broncos Country, even if he still holds the backup quarterback job. He seemed to miss a chance in the AFC Championship Game, then followed that with an uneven preseason after the opener against the Falcons.
He had some ugly throws, and at times he was outplayed in camp and preseason by third-string quarterback Sam Ehlinger. Stidham’s role on the roster hasn’t changed, but the fan base’s view of him has.
His approval rating has probably never been lower, and he doesn’t look like he’s justifying the $8M cap hit Denver is carrying.
One more player on the wrong side of the offseason is Jahdae Barron. There was some early chatter about whether he might push Riley Moss for a starting job on the outside, but that never really materialized.
Barron wasn’t competing for a spot in the starting defense so much as for his place in the dime package. For a first-round pick entering his second season, that’s at least a little underwhelming, even with the Broncos’ depth at the position.
In Other News...
Broncos Rookie RB Is Already Pressing A Bigger Role
Jonah Coleman arrived in Denver with the kind of profile that tends to earn immediate trust from coaches: a fourth-round pick with a balanced running style, the size to handle a physical workload and the pass protection chops to stay on the field in more than just obvious rushing situations. For a Broncos backfield that has already dealt with injury concerns elsewhere, that versatility gives him a real path to playing time before long.
What makes Coleman even more intriguing is how broad that path could become as the season unfolds. Scouts and executives see a runner who can contribute in multiple ways, and that kind of skill set usually leads to a role that grows by the week if the player handles the early opportunities well. The Broncos do not have to force it, but they may not be able to keep him in a small package for very long either. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Still Have One Defensive Concern Entering Week 1
Less than a week before their regular-season opener, the Broncos were still looking around for defensive help, bringing in four players for tryouts as they worked through the final stretch of roster decisions. Dean Clark, Jack Henderson, Jack Dingle and Emany Johnson all got a look as Denver continued to assess the back end of the defense and the middle of the field, two spots where the team has more questions than answers.
The fact that none of the four had been signed by the time of the report suggests the Broncos are not rushing into a move, even with safety and inside linebacker still standing out as relative depth concerns. It is the kind of late-August roster housekeeping that can say plenty about how a team feels about its current group, and for Denver it leaves one defensive subplot worth monitoring as Week 1 approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Cap Flexibility Just Raised The Stakes For Their Next Core Decisions
The Broncos enter the next phase of roster building with real breathing room, and that matters because the choices coming over the next year are no longer being made under cap stress. Denver currently has about $23.99 million in space for the 2026 season, good for fifth in the league, a position that gives the front office more options as it weighs extensions, free agency and the kind of move-by-move housekeeping that can shape a contenders window.
There is still some drag on the books, including roughly $5.984 million in dead money tied mostly to former linebacker Dre Greenlaw, along with smaller cap hits from players on the practice squad, injured reserve and the commissioners exempt list. The bigger point is what comes next: Denver is also projected to be in a healthy spot for 2027, and with that kind of flexibility, the stakes only rise for how aggressively the Broncos choose to lock in their core before the market starts pushing harder. [Read more 🡒]