NFL executives like what they see from the Denver Broncos’ defense, but that trust doesn’t stretch across the entire roster.
Denver is coming off a 14-3 season and entering the year with plenty of preseason buzz, yet Mike Sando of The Athletic’s annual poll of NFL executives shows a more guarded view behind the scenes. The Broncos drew praise for the way Sean Payton has his team playing, and for the defensive foundation that helped power last year’s run.
"Sean Payton does a masterful job of making his teams feel they are better than where they are, and that exudes through their play," one exec said.
That defensive continuity came up again in another evaluation, even from someone who admitted to not fully buying the Broncos.
"As much as I don't buy Denver," said another, "they have the defense, they have the head coach, they have the quarterback (Bo Nix) healthy, they added Jaylen Waddle. I don't know about their run game or Houston's run game, but I trust the continuity of those defenses."
The AFC West could also shape how far Denver can go. The division is viewed as tight, and the Kansas City Chiefs are trying to bounce back from a 6-11 season.
In Sando’s AFC contender rankings, the Chiefs came in sixth, with Denver second. The Los Angeles Chargers were eighth, and there’s been speculation that 10 wins could be enough to take the division.
Even so, some executives still leaned on the Chiefs’ proven formula. One who ranked Kansas City third pointed to Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes ahead of the Broncos’ trip to Arrowhead on Sept. 14.
"Yeah, Andy Reid and a healthy Patrick Mahomes?" the exec slotting Kansas City third said. "I'll take my chances with them coming away with 11 wins."
At the same time, there was real skepticism about whether Kansas City has enough in place to stay at that level. The Chiefs overhauled their secondary and still have questions on the offensive line.
"Mahomes coming off the knee, they lose the corners in (the offseason) - those are all good players, right?" said an exec who had the Chiefs ranked fifth.
"I'm a little skeptical how they are going to replace those corners. We know Mahomes is good, but I don't know how healthy he is."
"They need tackles, and we don't know if Mahomes can move," another exec said. "That's one team that could really go either way."
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 🡒]