The Denver Broncos are not guaranteed to success in 2025. Let's cover their worst-case scenarios for the upcoming campaign.
All of the hype coming toward the Denver Broncos is a bit scary, to be honest. What if the Broncos crash and burn and aren't able to play as some think? Many predictions out there have the team winning the AFC West title, and head coach Sean Payton keeps running his mouth and hyping up this squad.
Well, there are some worst-case scenarios for the team in the 2025 NFL Season. Let's cover them here.
Denver Broncos' worst-case scenarios are painfully obvious
Bo Nix endures the dreaded 'sophomore slump'
This is the most obvious one, as many rookie QBs end up during a slump in their second year in the NFL. We just saw CJ Stroud of the Houston Texans regress a bit in 2024, and this is a possibility for Bo Nix until it isn't.
Perhaps NFL defenses end up catching up to Bo Nix and the Broncos' offense? While it seems to be more likely that Denver's offense takes the next step, one of the main concerns with Nix coming into the NFL was what some thought was a lower ceiling. Perhaps those folks end up being correct...
New free agent additions struggle with injuries
The Denver Broncos signed all of JK Dobbins, Dre Greenlaw, Evan Engram, and Talanoa Hufanga, and all four players do have varying degrees of injury concerns, and it's likely that at least one of them struggles with this in 2025. Well, what if they all do? What if Denver's staff isn't able to keep these key players on the field?
It's not like Denver signed injury-prone depth players - they signed key starters who have this concern. While I am personally confident that these four will stay on the field for most, if not all of the 2025 NFL Season, there is a notable concern that Denver's free agency haul in 2025 ends up getting and staying hurt, which will prevent the roster from taking that next step.
Defense doesn't take the next step
The team went out with a clear mission to make the defense even better with two high-end free agency additions in Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga, and a first-round draft pick in Jahdea Barron. Well, what if the defense doesn't improve? What if these key additions don't elevate the unit? We did kind of see the unit struggle a bit near the end of the 2024 NFL Season, and some noted that defensive coordinator Vance Joseph wasn't able to adapt as the season went on.
The talent on Denver's defense is indisputable, but the coaching needs to put that talent in the right spots to succeed.