The Denver Broncos are no longer the NFL’s quiet problem. After last season’s run and the way it ended with Bo Nix out of the AFC championship game because of an ankle injury, the league has had six months to catch up - and now Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer says the message is simple: “look out.”
Breer pointed to the injury in the AFC title game and the way Sean Payton had already framed the team last summer. As he wrote, "Had it not been for Bo Nix’s freak injury in the AFC title game, we might be talking now about the Broncos coming off a Super Bowl.
And here, to me, is the best part about it: Having to manage expectations won’t be a problem, because Sean Payton already foisted those upon his growing team last summer, when he told everyone who’d listen that he had a Super Bowl team. Now, with Jaylen Waddle aboard to add another dimension to the offense, Nix healthy and most of the rest of the operation intact (pending Jonathon Cooper’s legal situation), look out," Breer wrote.
That expectation game is part of what makes Denver different heading into 2026. Payton was talking Super Bowl before plenty of people around the league were ready to believe it, and the Broncos backed up that confidence once the season started rolling.
They went into Philly in Week 5 and beat the defending-champion Eagles. Later, after the Jacksonville Jaguars snapped Denver’s 11-game winning streak, the Broncos had already made the rest of the NFL pay attention.
By the end of the season, Denver had won 14 games, taken the AFC West from the Kansas City Chiefs, and secured the conference’s No. 1 playoff seed.
Now the Broncos are carrying that spotlight into a new season, and they won’t be sneaking up on anyone. Breer’s view is that the league should already understand what Denver is capable of, especially with Nix healthy again when training camp opens on July 28.
The offense also has a new wrinkle in Jaylen Waddle, and new offensive coordinator Davis Webb sees a familiar path. Webb pointed back to Buffalo in 2020, when the Bills traded for Stefon Diggs before Josh Allen’s third year. In his view, that move helped accelerate Allen’s rise.
Webb thinks Denver still has plenty to clean up, but he believes Waddle can help trigger a similar leap for Nix. If that happens, and if the defense keeps doing what it has done while replacing only one starter, the Broncos could be a brutal matchup for just about anybody.
The schedule won’t make things easy right away. Denver opens 2026 with a tough stretch, but the Broncos have usually welcomed the big stage. The more interesting question has been how they handle the other kind of game, because the Nix-era Broncos have shown they can play down to lesser opponents as much as they rise for elite ones.
That’s the next step for Payton’s group. If Denver is going to lock in as one of the NFL’s true heavyweights, the standard has to hold for all 60 minutes, no matter who is across the line.
Payton’s role is shifting more toward a CEO-style job in 2026, and the Broncos are confident Webb can handle the play-calling. That change has already created some buzz inside the building.
The NFL has finally stopped sleeping on Denver. The Broncos, though, haven’t moved off their target. For a young roster that already heard Super Bowl talk from its coach, handling the pressure is part of the deal now.
In Other News...
Sean Payton Suddenly Has A Broncos QB Decision To Watch
The Broncos quarterback picture has become a little more interesting behind the scenes as Sean Payton and the staff sort out the backup job between Jarrett Stidham and Sam Ehlinger. Both are getting a look as they settle into Davis Webbs new offensive system, with the team also monitoring the health of the starter as he works his way back from a broken ankle.
What has made the competition worth watching is the way the two have looked in practice. Ehlinger has been noted for smoother offensive execution and some sneaky athleticism, while Stidham has had moments that have not helped his case, including turnovers. It is still early, but this is the kind of camp battle that can shift quickly, especially when a coach like Payton is trying to find the most reliable option if the position gets tested. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Keep Proving Their Undrafted Pipeline Is Part Of Their DNA
Denvers reputation for finding talent after the draft keeps getting reinforced, and the latest reminder came with Pro Football Focus building its 2026 All-Undrafted Team. The Broncos landed three veterans on the list, another nod to a franchise that has long squeezed real value out of overlooked players and turned that lane into part of its identity. From steady contributors to edge rushers who kept climbing, the organization has made undrafted success look less like an exception than a recurring theme.
That pipeline is still active heading into 2026, with Denver adding more undrafted help from the UFL and giving a fresh batch of rookies a chance to fight for roster spots. Dondrea Tillman, Jonathon Cooper and McMillian were all recognized by PFF, but the bigger story for the Broncos is that the room behind them keeps filling up. If even a couple of those newcomers stick, Denvers long-running habit of turning overlooked players into meaningful pieces may be alive and well again. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Built A Roster Good Enough To Create A New Problem
The Broncos have spent the last couple of years assembling a roster with real depth, using smart draft choices and targeted signings to turn the group into something sturdier than the usual rebuild. That success has come with a familiar consequence, though: more of the lineup now sits on meaningful contracts, and the front office is no longer just trying to add talent but figuring out how long it can keep all of it in place.
Next offseason could get crowded fast, with several important players heading toward free agency at the same time and a salary-cap squeeze looming just as Denver will need to make decisions about its young core. Bo Nix figures to be a priority for the club, which only raises the stakes, and it may force the Broncos to lean harder on recent draft picks and younger players to fill out spots they otherwise would have liked to keep intact. [Read more 🡒]