Broncos' player ranking disrespect has hit a boiling point with latest list

The Denver Broncos secondary is among the best in the NFL. In 2025, the unit allowed an opposing passer rating of 78.7, which was good for the 6th-best in the NFL. They also allowed the 2nd-best completion percentage at 57.8 percent, and only allowed 18 touchdown passes, which ranked 4th-best in the league.

Denver's secondary was again elite under defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, and while he should get a lot of credit, the unit is flat-out better than most, sporting one of the deepest cornerback rooms in the NFL headlined by Patrick Surtain, Riley Moss, and Ja'Quan McMillian, and one of the more underrated but steady safety tandems in the league led by Talanoa Hufanga and Brandon Jones.

Hufanga played so well last year that he earned second-team All-Pro honors, but in the latest player ranking list conducted by ESPN, Hufanga's omission ends up being brutally wrong.

Denver Broncos All-Pro safety hardly seen in latest player rankings

This omission might be the worst of them all, as ESPN rolled out their top 10 safety rankings for 2026, which were assembled by league executives, coaches, and scouts. Hufanga is nowhere to be found on the top 10, and only landed in the 'Also receiving votes' category:

The top 10 looks like this:

1. Kyle Hamilton, Baltimore Ravens
2. Derwin James Jr, Los Angeles Chargers
3. Xavier McKinney, Green Bay Packers
4. Brian Branch, Detroit Lions
5. Jesse Bates III, Atlanta Falcons
6. Nick Emmanwori, Seattle Seahawks
7. Antoine Winfield Jr, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
8. Budda Baker, Arizona Cardinals
9. Kerby Joseph, Detroit Lions
10. Calen Bullock, Houston Texans

Honorable Mentions:

Jalen Pitre, Houston Texans
Tre'von Moehrig, Carolina Panthers
Xavier Watts, Atlanta Falcons
Coby Bryant, Seattle Seahawks
Grant Delpit, Cleveland Browns

Also receiving votes:

Minkah Fitzpatrick, Jalen Ramsey, Kevin Byard
Bryan Cook, Talanoa Hufanga, Brandon Jones, Julian Love, Jevon Holland, Quentin Lake, Amani Hooker, Jalen Thompson, Antonio Johnson

There really aren't any words for how egregious this is. Hufanga is absolutely one of the best safeties in the NFL, and I'm not sure it's up for discussion, either. Among all safeties in 2025, Hufanga ranked 9th in total tackles with 106 and 3rd in passes defended with 11.

What might be the most obvious reason for Hufanga needing to be ranked higher is the All-Pro voting from 2025. Here were the first and second-team All-Pro safeties from last year:

First Team

Kyle Hamilton
Kevin Byard

Second Team

Jesse Bates
Talanoa Hufanga
Xavier McKinney

So, even if we only base this argument on the All-Pro voting, which is largely accurate year over year, Hufanga should have been no lower than 5th. Two players that Hufanga should have replaced in the top 10 would easily be Branch and Joseph on the Lions. Branch played in just 12 games in 2025, and Joseph played in six. Isn't the best ability availability?

At the end of the day, Hufanga barely being mentioned here isn't the end of the world, but the data very clearly paints a picture that he should have been, and it's simply the wrong decision by the voters that he was not in the top 10.

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