The Denver Broncos are chasing a Super Bowl, and the first step on that road comes Monday night at Arrowhead Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs. If they’re going to turn that goal into something real in 2026, it won’t happen on one player alone. It’ll take a core group stepping into the spotlight and delivering in all the places that matter most.
Bo Nix sits at the center of it all. That comes with the territory in the NFL, where quarterbacks drive everything and title teams almost always need their passer to be a major force.
The Broncos believe Nix is their franchise quarterback, and they’ve made it clear they expect him to carry a heavy load. In 2026, Denver will go as far as Nix can take them.
One of the biggest changes to the offense is Waddle, the major addition the Broncos made after deciding to mostly run it back from last season. They see him as a difference-maker in the passing game, both when the ball is in his hands and when he’s pulling attention away as a decoy. Denver made the trade because it believes Waddle is the missing piece it needed to get over the hump.
In the backfield, J.K. Dobbins brings talent, but the Broncos are looking at Harvey as the more essential piece because of how they use their running backs in the passing game. Harvey showed well as a receiver as a rookie in 2025, earned plenty of praise for his growth heading into Year 2, and fits the kind of back Sean Payton has leaned on before in his most successful teams.
Up front, Denver needs the same sort of impact from its linemen. Bolles is coming off a first-team All-Pro season, but he’s another year older and his quarterback is still working back from a serious ankle injury. The Broncos need their blindside protector to keep playing at a high level, maybe even higher.
Meinerz is another key piece. He’s one of the NFL’s best guards and a powerful run blocker, but his pass protection has room for improvement.
His 2025 season was more uneven than Denver expected after he dealt with a mysterious illness for much of the year. The Broncos need him to be stronger in pass protection and keep the line sturdy alongside Bolles.
On the defensive front, Uwazurike carries part of the burden created by Denver’s decision to let John Franklin-Myers walk without even opening contract talks. The Broncos will replace JFM through the group as a whole, with Malcolm Roach playing a big role, but Uwazurike still has to help fill that void. He’s a different kind of player than Franklin-Myers, and Denver needs him to handle the dirty work, be better against the run, and avoid becoming a major drop-off as a pass rusher.
Bonitto also belongs in the middle of this conversation. He’s the team’s top pass rusher, and that alone makes him essential.
Denver needs him to produce again, and it would love to see more of those sacks turn into forced fumbles. With Jonathon Cooper opening the season on the commissioner's exempt list, Bonitto may also have to shoulder even more of the edge-rushing load early.
Singleton makes the list for a different reason. The Broncos can survive some of his issues in coverage and still field a strong defense, but they rely on him as the green-dot player, the one who takes the calls from defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and gets everyone lined up.
His teammates voted him captain again, and the trust is there. The preseason, though, raised questions about his responsibilities, and that makes his role more sensitive than ever.
The Broncos don’t need Patrick Surtain II explained. He’s already the star.
But his presence puts pressure on the player opposite him, and that’s where Moss comes in. Last year, Moss was flagged for nearly 1,000 penalty yards.
After spending practice time trying to clean that up, his numbers and analytics dipped. Denver needs him to keep the penalties down without losing the level of play that makes the coverage work.
Jones rounds out the group. He wasn’t as effective in 2025 as he had been in 2024, then suffered a serious injury late in the season.
Denver needs him back at that 2024 level and needs him healthy, especially with the safety depth looking shaky. The Broncos also use Jones to help cover some linebacker issues, which only adds to how important he is to this defense.
In Other News...
Broncos Fans Have One Big Reason To Watch Mahomes Closely
Patrick Mahomes surgically repaired left knee has become one of the first big AFC West storylines of the season, and it has plenty of attention in Denver. Mahomes recently spoke at a press conference about the knee, and while he appeared to walk normally, some fans have latched onto video clips and tried to read more into his movement than the Chiefs are saying publicly.
For Broncos fans, the key detail is simple: there has been no official sign of a setback, and Mahomes is still expected to start in Week 1 against Denver. Even so, his recovery will be watched closely all the way up to kickoff, because any concern about his mobility changes the tone of a divisional opener that already carries plenty of weight. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Still Weighing A Linebacker Concern Before Chiefs Opener
With the season opener against the Chiefs closing in, the Broncos took another look at their linebacker depth by working out Cameron Goode, Elliott Brown and Jahfari Harvey. The move fits the way Denver has handled the edge of its roster late in the summer, with an emphasis on special teams help and on finding players who can fill out the practice squad if needed.
Inside, the Broncos are comfortable with their starting linebackers, but the search for more options has not stopped there. Depth at the position and contributions in the kicking game remain part of the conversation as Denver puts the finishing touches on its roster before a divisional test that will demand clean depth across the board. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos May Have A D-Line Breakout Fans Need To Watch
Eyioma Uwazurike is heading into his fourth NFL season with a little more attention on him than he has had before. After posting career highs in tackles and sacks last year, the Broncos defensive lineman has carried that momentum into an offseason and training camp that have reportedly gone well, the kind of steady progress teams like to see from a player trying to turn a promising stretch into something bigger.
For Denver, the appeal is obvious: if Uwazurike keeps building on last season, the interior of the defensive line could become a real strength rather than just a supporting piece. It is also the sort of development that matters in a division where Patrick Mahomes is pushing to be ready for Week 1 after ACL rehab and where even rival defenses are already sorting out key roles, like the Raiders plugging Treydan Stukes into a starting safety job. [Read more 🡒]