The Denver Broncos don’t look like a team that needs much help on paper in 2026, and that’s exactly why the pressure is about to feel heavier, not lighter. With Super Bowl expectations hanging over the roster, training camp arrives with a simple reality: some players can afford a little margin for error, and others absolutely cannot.
Bo Nix sits near the top of that list. That comes with the territory for a quarterback, but this is a different kind of spotlight.
Denver has loaded up the offense this offseason, and Nix may have more support around him than any quarterback in the league. That doesn’t mean the Broncos are asking him to carry everything alone.
It means the front office has done its part, the roster has been built to help him, and now the next step is on him. If Nix raises his level, Denver can win the Super Bowl.
If he doesn’t, the questions about whether he is really the long-term answer are going to get louder.
Jaylen Waddle is in a similar spot, just for a different reason. The Broncos made him their big offseason prize, paying more than a first-round pick to get him after years of uneven production from the wide receiver room.
That kind of move does not happen unless the expectation is immediate impact. Waddle brings three 1,000-yard seasons in five years, and Denver clearly believes he can step right into the WR1 role and top 1,000 yards again.
The fit matters here, too. This wasn’t a random swing for a receiver; the Broncos targeted a skill set they felt was missing.
If Waddle falls short of what people are expecting, the trade itself will come under the microscope fast.
J.K. Dobbins has pressure of a different sort: he has to stay on the field.
Denver gave him a contract that can be worth up to $20 million over two seasons, though it could also end up being a one-year deal worth $8 million. That’s a wide gap, and it tells you how much of this is tied to availability.
The Broncos also used a fourth-round pick on Jonah Coleman in the 2026 NFL Draft, which means they may already have a backup plan if Dobbins can’t hold up again. At 27, he still has plenty of runway, and when he’s healthy he can be one of the most efficient backs in the league.
The problem is that health has been the story too often, and Denver’s run game fell off hard when he got hurt. If he stays upright, the Broncos can ride that ground game deep into the season.
Then there’s Riley Moss, who may have the toughest assignment in football: lining up opposite Patrick Surtain II. That’s a brutal place to live, because Surtain is the best cornerback in the NFL and offenses are already forced to work around him.
Moss handled a heavy workload in 2025, getting targeted 118 times, while Surtain was targeted just 61 times. PFF gave Moss a 65.9 grade, good for 42nd among 114 qualified cornerbacks, and noted that he allowed a 92.5 passer rating in coverage with 15 passes defended.
Pro Football Reference had him with 19 passes defended, an 88.2 passer rating allowed in coverage, and a 57.6 percent completion rate allowed.
The numbers show a corner who was solid, but the penalties remain the issue. The pass interference calls were part of the conversation all season, and some of them were viewed as rough calls.
Moss’ coverage work was in a decent place, but he has to clean up the flags. If he does, Denver should be willing to extend him.
If he doesn’t, that extension becomes a lot less likely. And with Jahdae Barron waiting behind him, Moss has plenty on the line in 2026.
In Other News...
Broncos May Already Have A Favorite For Their Biggest Defensive Hole
John Franklin-Myers move to Tennessee left a real opening in Denvers defensive front, and the Broncos did not wait around to address it. They traded back into the third round and used the 101st pick on Saivion Jones with that exact kind of vacancy in mind, a move that now looks even more pointed as the team sorts through its options for 2026.
Jones is in the mix with Eyioma Uwazurike and Tyler Onyedim for the snaps that Franklin-Myers once handled, and the early edge appears to belong to the rookie. He has a year of experience under his belt, has turned heads in practice, and brings the kind of nonstop motor coaches tend to notice quickly, which is why this spot already feels like his to lose even before the competition is settled. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Could Make A Defensive Move Fans Never Saw Coming
After a run to the AFC Championship Game, Denver spent the offseason mostly standing pat, with the biggest splash being the addition of wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. That quiet approach has left plenty of room for speculation about what the Broncos might do next, especially on a roster that already looks close enough to contend but still has a few expensive decisions looming.
One of the more surprising ideas floating around involves the secondary, where Riley Moss has emerged as a steady starter and Jahdae Barron gives Denver a first-round insurance policy if the front office wants to get ahead of the curve. Moss has been productive enough to matter in any conversation about the defense, but the Broncos may still have to weigh whether keeping the current setup is the best long-term play. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Linked To Tough Call On Beloved Weapon Amid Win-Now Push
The Broncos offseason overhaul at receiver has created one of the more interesting roster puzzles in the league, and Marvin Mims has ended up right in the middle of it. With Jaylen Waddle now in the mix alongside Courtland Sutton, Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant, Denver suddenly has more pass-catching talent than obvious snaps, which is exactly the kind of problem a win-now team expects to have and still hates to solve.
Mims remains too useful to dismiss, especially because of what he brings on special teams, but that also makes him a tricky piece to move if the Broncos decide they need to balance the roster elsewhere. The question hanging over Denver is whether it can afford to keep all of its top weapons in place while chasing a Super Bowl, or whether one of those receivers becomes the price of tightening the rest of the roster. [Read more 🡒]