The Denver Broncos have built an insanely talented roster through every possible avenue. They've traded, signed, and drafted players, forming a group that is plenty good enough to win the Super Bowl this year, and that was certainly still possible back in 2025.
General Manager George Paton's tenure with the team got off to a very rocky start in 2021 and 2022, as there were even people who were already calling for his firing after the Nathaniel Hackett and Russell Wilson debacle.
With Sean Payton having entered the mix in 2023, things began to turn around, and now many of us would honestly be shocked if the Broncos didn't win it all this year. Once area that got a noticeable improvement this offseason was on offense, but some recent rankings would push back on that.
Denver Broncos only ranked 23rd in the league with offensive playmaker talent
For ESPN, Bill Barnwell ranked all 32 teams by their WR, TE, and RB talent for the 2026 season. The Broncos came up 23rd in the rankings, with Barnwell actually giving Denver the same ranking two years in a row:
"The Broncos added a second high-end wideout to their mix this offseason by trading for Jaylen Waddle. The former Dolphins wideout restored some of his efficiency last season without Tyreek Hill on the field, will be 28 this year and should be a good fit on the in-breakers Sean Payton wants Bo Nix to throw. The only concern with Waddle is injury, given that he missed games and hobbled through others in 2023 and 2024. He should settle in as the 1A ahead of Courtland Sutton.
I'd still like to see another player develop around those two. J.K. Dobbins is incredibly efficient when healthy, but even an optimistic projection for the 27-year-old running back would land around 10 or 11 games. Evan Engram was a disappointment in his first year with the Broncos, as the much-ballyhooed addition of the former Giants tight end as Payton's "joker" delivered a bog-standard Engram season, with 50 catches for 461 yards and one lone touchdown.
Will one of the young players the Broncos were counting on make this a big three? There were moments where Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant and RJ Harvey all flashed, but none was able to take over as an unquestioned starter. It seems telling that the Broncos traded for Waddle and used another middle-round pick on a running back by taking Washington's Jonah Coleman in the fourth round. Payton does a great job of scheming opportunities open in this offense, but the Broncos could use one more difference-maker if they want to start challenging for the top 10 here."
Despite sporting a deep stable of playmakers on offense, Barnwell ranked the Broncos group just 23rd in the league. This ranking doesn't factor in offensive line or quarterback play, and if it didn, Denver would have surely been a lot higher.
But 23rd for the playmakers does feel a bit low. Adding Jaylen Waddle at wide receiver somehow didn't improve Denver's ranking from 2025. There was also no mention of the rookie tight ends in Juston Joly and Dallen Bentley, and it even seems like Barnwell under-shot just how efficient J.K. Dobbins was in 2025.
Dobbins was on pace for 1,312 yards, which would have ranked sixth in the league. Some would also argue that the Broncos now have two No. 1 wide receivers, which is nothing to scoff at, and there is a chance that Denver has three capable running backs in the fold for 2026, which is rather unheard of.
The veteran Dobbins is always efficient when on the field, and then-rookie RJ Harvey got into the endzone 12 times in 2025. Rookie Jonah Coleman profiles as a rugged, tough runner with the ability to run in between the tackles, which was missing from this offense for much of 2025.
It is also odd that Barnwell mentions that Sean Payton does a "great job scheming opportunities" for the offense, as Davis Webb is going to be calling the plays, so that should fall on Webb's shoulders going forward, not Payton's.
It does feel like, overall, this ranking is a bit too low, as the team sports plenty enough talent to be among the best in the league, and even in 2025, the offense ranked 14th in points scored, so statistically speaking, this ranking is too low based on that alone.
Overall, the Broncos have a good enough setup to make this 23rd ranking look silly in the 2026 season.
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