The Denver Broncos cemented themselves as one of the better teams in the NFL, but these power rankings show anything but. You just have to wonder what the Broncos will need to do to get more respect overall. Sure, they were one-and-done in the playoffs, but this team won 10 games in 2024 when most people thought they would win less than half of that.
Maybe it's people still not ready to admit how wrong they were about the Denver Broncos. ESPN rolled out very early 2025 NFL Power Rankings, and the Denver Broncos came in ranked 14th:
"Coach Sean Payton routinely fielded one of the oldest teams in the league with New Orleans, which led to a constant wrestle with dead money against the salary cap. In his two years with the Broncos, they have shown the same kick-the-can-down-the-road mentality with the cap. But on the field, their young, homegrown players have performed (four of the team's five All-Pros were their own draft picks). And with quarterback Bo Nix on a rookie deal, the Broncos have a window to keep building through drafts. Their dilemma is that short-term fixes are more likely to stress their cap flexibility and lead to long-term frustrations. "Jeff Legwold
Notable teams ranked ahead of Denver included the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, Houston Texans, and Cincinnati Bengals. You could argue that the Broncos should be ranked above all of these teams, honestly. The Niners are getting old and won just six games in 2024, primarily ue to a ton of injuries.
The LA Rams have an aging QB and do struggle a bit in the secondary. The Houston Texans didn't take a step forward in 2024 and won 10 games for the second year in a row. Their QB, CJ Stroud, also regressed ab it, and the Cincinnati Bengals are just a mess. Denver finished with one more win in 2024, and the Bengals do have some tough contract situations to navigate with Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson.
One of their notable players, Germaine Pratt, recently requested a trade. Overall, the Broncos are a bit disrespected in these power rankings. They need to be closer to 11 or 12, not 14th.
Now yes, the Broncos can regress in 2025 - it happens from time to time, and it might be the Broncos turn for that. However, when you look at how this team is built who and who is coaching it, it's hard to imagine that Denver does hit a regression. Heck, it's more likely that this team takes a huge leap and wins a few more games.
Denver was in a ton of one-score losses in 2024, and it was clear after a while that the Broncos simply needed more experience so they could learn how to win. If the Broncos can learn how to win more in the 2025 NFL Offseason, we could be looking at this team having 12 or 13 wins when 2025 is all said and done.