The Denver Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers in Week 9 of the 2026 NFL Season, moving to 7-2 on the season and entering their bye with a win. The Broncos now enter the Week 10 bye in first place in the AFC West and a mere two days away from the trade deadline.
Denver has the perfect chance to make a deadline addition, as they would have the bye to get that new addition up to speed. Anyway, the Broncos got a key player back in Pat Bryant, the second-year wide receiver.
Bryant stepped up immediately and proved why he is such a key part of the offense.
The Denver Broncos got WR Pat Bryant back at the right time in Week 9
When you assess the skillset of each wide receiver in the room, you can very easily argue that Bryant's is the most complete. Bryant is very clearly a sound route-runner. He has reliable hands, especially in traffic.
He's also a really sound blocker in the run game, using his 6-2, 205lb frame to thrive in that role. Bryant finished with four receptions, which was tied for second on the team, but he led the group with 56 receiving yards and hauled in a wide open touchdown as well.
With Jaylen Waddle having left the game in the first half with a concussion, it's absolutely huge that Bryant was back for Week 9, as it felt like Bo Nix wanted to target Bryant a ton in this one, as he's a do-it-all player, and the Panthers had a plethora of backups in at cornerback.
We really have not seen the Broncos wide receiver room at a full, consistent strength, either. With the top trio of Courtland Sutton, Bryant, and Waddle, the Broncos do have a complete, exhaustive room, as guys like Marvin Mims Jr and Troy Franklin are really competent rotational players as well.
As the Broncos offense continues to heat up, having scored 30, 28, and 26 points over the past few weeks, getting Bryant back for the second-half push comes at a perfect time for the offense, especially if the team wants to add a running back at the NFL Trade Deadline on Tuesday.
Bryant clearly has the trust of Nix, and his return to the offense is going to come in handy as the weather gets colder, too, as defenses generally have advantages over offenses when the playoff push really heats up.
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