What Do the Denver Broncos Need To Do This Offseason?
After losing in the AFC Championship, the Denver Broncos will enter a crucial offseason. With Bo Nix fracturing his ankle late in overtime against the Buffalo Bills the week prior, Denver entered the game against the New England Patriots with a ton of optimism, with Jarrett Stidham at the helm.
Unfortunately, Stidham had costly turnovers in the first half and could not overcome a blizzard to close out the game. It was an incredible season for Denver, but GM George Paton and Head Coach Sean Payton are quickly back to the drawing board. The championship window is wide open, but this is the perfect opportunity to go all in.
Broncos Need Offensive Weapons
The defense is one of the best in football, but Nix simply needs more playmakers around him if the Broncos want to win a Super Bowl. Courtland Sutton is a good receiver, but he is not good enough to be a team’s best weapon. The Broncos must add a high-end wideout this offseason, no matter how high the cost. Not adding one at the trade deadline proved to be costly, and now is not the time to hold onto draft capital.
The Broncos were one of the teams showing interest in Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle, but a trade never materialized. Paton needs to revisit that and see if Miami is still willing to at least listen to offers. The days of saying “we like what we have in our receiving room” are over. You cannot have guys like Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Elijah Moore catching passes in a championship game. It is completely unacceptable.
Denver added TE Evan Engram and RB JK Dobbins last year, and while both moves turned out to be good, it wasn’t enough. The biggest piece of the foundation is now set in stone, and Payton needs to be the driving force in adding a big-time playmaker for Nix next year. The fact that Nix has been this good without a truly elite receiver is a huge positive, but the days of sitting back and waiting for young players to take the next step are over.
The RB Room Needs a Makeover
Payton’s offense thrives on one thing: effectively running the football. When Dobbins was healthy, Payton was able to open up the playbook and keep defenses on their toes. Without Dobbins, the running game was basically a non-factor for the Broncos. RJ Harvey is a great receiver, but hasn’t shown that he can be the workhorse in the backfield when needed.
Alongside Havrey was Jaleel McLaughlin, who was yet another undersized running back. The Broncos were completely unprepared when Dobbins went down, and he has a huge injury history. Taking CB Jahdae Barron in the first round as opposed to players like Omarion Hampton or TreyVeon Henderson proved to be costly. If they were to bring back Dobbins, they need to sign a big, physical running back who can handle the load if another injury occurs.
It would also be a smart decision to cut ties with Dobbins. He is way too injury-prone, and there could be some intriguing options in free agency. If Breece Hall and Kenneth Walker III are not franchised tagged, they would easily become the best offensive players on the open market. I think Hall entering free agency is more likely than Walker, as it doesn’t make sense for the Jets to allocate a ton of money to a running back when they don’t even have a quarterback.
Denver’s In a Great Spot
When you compare this year’s roster heading into the offseason with last year’s, they have a lot less work to do. This allows Paton to zero in on one or two crucial areas of the roster and allocate more resources to fewer positions. The defense doesn’t need much outside of another inside linebacker and some depth along the defensive line. This goes back to my main point of putting all the focus on building around Nix.
The Broncos have the draft capital and cap space to make a big splash this offseason. Ultimately, it will be up to Paton to seize this rare opportunity and make bold moves that could redefine the franchise’s future.
