The Denver Broncos have a ton of key players for the 2025 NFL Season, but who is the true X-factor? This team is in a great position to vault into contention in the 2025 season, but many of their key players are going to have to play their tails off.
In the 2025 offseason, Denver added a boatload of talent that should only make this team better and put them in the right direction for years to come, but a primary reason why this team has gotten to where they are now is the amount of draft picks that have developed.
Many of their best players are drafted, and that's the best way to sustain success for the long-term. Well, of their entire roster, which player sticks out the most as being the main X-factor? It's definitely not who you think...
ESPN's Ben Solak dubs Riley Moss as the Denver Broncos X-factor for 2025
Here is some of what Ben Solak had to say about Riley Moss being the Broncos' X-factor for the 2025 NFL Season:
Higgins is perhaps the best WR2 in football, and Moss was just off an MCL sprain. His film was a lot better than his coverage numbers imply -- he lost a lot of contested catches and should expect some positive regression there. But the target density isn't going away, especially now that the Broncos have improved at slot corner with first-round pick Jahdae Barron. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph wants to play man coverage and blitz, so opposing quarterbacks will default to challenging Moss with back-shoulder fades and dare him to make them pay at the catch point. Moss' first season as a starter was encouraging, but he'll need to take another step for the Broncos to remain atop the defensive charts. -- Ben Solak
Solak is 100% right, and the short of it is that Riley Moss is going to get a ton of passes thrown his way as the other outside cornerback opposite Patrick Surtain II, the best CB in football. Opposing QBs simply aren't going to target Surtain much, so Moss is going to see a ton of action, and him being able to holdup in the 2025 NFL Season is going to do wonders for the Broncos defense, period.
All in all, the added talent in the Broncos secondary should propel this defense forward enough to see the entire unit ascend to the best in the NFL.