The Denver Broncos were quite close to the Super Bowl. Even without Bo Nix in the AFC Championship Game, the team was putting up a great fight against the New England Patriots, and if that random snowstorm had not hit in the second half, we could've been talking about this team at least having reached the Super Bowl.
The beginning of the 2026 NFL Offseason then had Broncos fans excited about what the team was going to do. The Broncos had enough cap space to go out and make some big-time moves, but the offseason primarily consisted of bringing many of the in-house free agents back, which fans didn't like that much.
All of a sudden though, news broke that the Broncos traded for Jaylen Waddle, which felt like a major step in the right direction. Following that up in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Broncos also got a ton of awesome value with a few of their picks, and as the summer months quickly approach, it's clear that the Broncos are in a much better spot now than when the offseason began.
Denver Broncos offseason grade proves that the front office understood the assignment
For FanSided.com, Cody Williams handed out a B+ grade for the Broncos this offseason:
"Offseason Grade: B+
Best Move: Trading for Jaylen Waddle
Worst Move: Not replacing John Franklin-Myers
Considering that a change in the weather forecast might've put the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl a season ago, I loved that this team got aggressive in trading for Jaylen Waddle to upgrade the offense. It also felt like they pushed a lot of the right buttons in making smart re-signings on both sides of the ball. The only big question for me is if losing John Franklin-Myers will prove costly for this team, but they did plenty enough this offseason to be right back in the Super Bowl mix."
Williams notes that the Broncos best move of the offseason, and it might be the best move that any team made, was trading for Waddle. This wasn't just a random trade, either. Waddle fits the Broncos wide receiver room like a glove, and all the team had to part with were first and third-round picks in a draft that lacked key talent.
However, the Broncos worst move, according to Williams, was not replacing John Franklin-Myers, but I would push back a bit. The Broncos did use their first selection in this year's draft on a defensive end in Tyler Onyedim, so, practically, the Broncos did replace Franklin-Myers, and the presence of another young defensive end, Sai'vion Jones, could give the Broncos two legitimate starting options.
But it's not like there aren't other players left on the free agency market who could come in and help along the defensive line. Given how much money Franklin-Myers got in free agency - over $20 million - the Broncos were likely never going to truly replace him, as adding Waddle and re-signing many of their own players didn't necessarily leave the Broncos with a ton of cap space.
Replacing a key veteran with a rookie draft pick is sound roster-building by the front office. Sure, the production from that defensive end spot might dip a bit in 2026, but there's always a chance that one of Onyedim, Jones, or even Enyi Uwazurike fills in nicely.
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