The Broncos have built a roster that looks ready to chase something bigger, and the 2026 season is shaping up as the year everything gets measured against the highest possible bar. With the acquisition of Waddle giving Denver a new wrinkle on offense and plenty of familiar faces back on defense, the pressure point is obvious: this group is expected to contend.
That’s what makes the conversation around the team’s most important players so interesting. When a roster is this loaded, the biggest names are still the ones who can tilt the whole operation one way or the other. For Denver, that list starts with the quarterback and works outward from there.
Bo Nix sits at No. 1 for a reason. His play will decide how far the Broncos go, plain and simple.
If he takes a step forward, Denver can win the Super Bowl. If he doesn’t, the team could come up short again.
The source material points out that the second-year Nix looked good enough for the Broncos to win it all before the heartbreaking broken ankle ended the year, and that’s the kind of reminder that makes his role impossible to overstate. In today’s NFL, quarterback play drives everything.
Right behind him is Jaylen Waddle, the big offseason swing. Denver gave up more than a first-round pick to get him, and the expectation is clear: he’s the new WR1 and the answer to the team’s need for consistent separation and route-running.
Waddle brings both. He already has three 1,000-yard seasons in his first five years, and the ideal outcome in 2026 is another one, because that would open things up for Courtland Sutton and Troy Franklin in ways they otherwise wouldn’t see.
The Broncos pushed their chips in on this move, so Waddle has to make it pay off.
J.K. Dobbins lands at No. 3, and the case for him is all about what happens when he’s actually on the field.
When healthy in Denver, he averaged 5.0 yards per carry and was a top-5 back through the first 10 weeks of the 2025 season. Across his career, he’s at 5.2 yards per carry, and the production has always been there.
The question is durability. If he can give the Broncos a full season - or even 15 games - the offense has a real chance to become top-tier.
Nik Bonitto checks in at No. 4 after putting together 27.5 sacks over the last two seasons and emerging as Denver’s best pass-rusher. Zach Allen has more quarterback hits over that span, 87 to Bonitto’s 52, but Bonitto is still the one setting the tone up front.
His burst off the snap and his knack for getting into the backfield are exactly what a defense wants from its lead edge threat. In a league where getting to the quarterback matters more than ever, Bonitto has become a major piece of the Broncos’ identity.
At No. 5, Patrick Surtain II remains the standard on the back end.
He’s the best defensive back in football and continues to erase one side of the field. That level of play has helped Denver finish third in scoring defense in each of the last two seasons.
There’s also the ripple effect that comes with being that dominant: teams often go after Riley Moss because Surtain is so difficult to attack. If Surtain and Moss both hold up, Denver’s defense stays in elite territory.
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 🡒]