SEASON PREDICTION 

Looking at the offseason moves category, you may think that I missed a couple of players due to how short the list is. However, the reality is there isn't much to add to the offseason list for the Broncos. Denver is returning 21/22 starters from the 2025 season, which is unheard of in this day and age. The only major coaching change was the dismissal of offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi for Davis Webb. Critics and coaches around their league have high praise for Webb, and he is widely rumored to be one of the top coaching candidates in the 2027 offseason. Other than that, Denver was content with running it back with the 2025 squad plus Waddle. They finished 14-3 and clinched the number one seed in the AFC, so I can't fault the front office for believing that last year's squad is capable of winning a Super Bowl.   

Due to the Broncos keeping an identical team to 2025, my analysis for their season is straightforward. The defense is still a top three unit in the league falling just behind the Texans, and Rams. They were able to resign everyone beside Franklin Myers who is set to be replaced by Malcolm Roach who's a very capable D lineman in his own right. Speaking of the D line this is the best front seven in the league when it comes to rusting the quarterback as they led the NFL with 68 sacks last year blowing second place out of the water. And if a QB does have enough time to throw the ball down the field, their number one receiver will likely be locked up by the number three cornerback in the league in Pat Surtan II. The stats speak for themselves as last year Denver finished with the second ranked total defense and with them returning all their starters minus Myers, I see no reason why they won't repeat their success from last year and continue to be one of the NFL's most stout defenses.  

Transitioning on to the Denver offense they made one key trade in the offseason that I'm confident will exponentially boost their explosiveness in comparison to 2025. Last year the Broncos offense was good ranking, 11th in the league but the defense was the driving force behind their 14-3 record and first place finish in the AFC. This year, though Denver went out and acquired a true WR1 allowing Courtland Sutton to take a back seat as he ages. Most importantly Waddle has great hands which is something Denver desperately needed last year as they suffered 43 dropped passes. As for the backfield it appears to be a 2-man committee approach with RJ Harvey and JK Dobbins splitting the workload similar to 2025 before Dobbins got hurt. I have no worries about the ground game considering the Denver offensive line is returning all their starters and where a top unit in the league last year. The only concern for this whole team is how Bo Nix will return from his ankle injury that sidelined him from the AFC Championship game and subsequently ended the Broncos season.   

Thus, due to the Broncos returning nearly all of their starters and how they performed last year with all these players, I see no reason why they won't repeat as AFC West champions and finish with a record of 12-5. Despite a predicted fall off in the win column for 2026, I believe this squad is a much better team than the 2025 team who finished #1 in the AFC. The only concern is Bo's health but based on this blog post being written on the hypothetical that injuries do not occur I have this team firmly dominating the competition throughout the season and being a nightmare opponent for anyone that has to face them in playoffs.