The Denver Broncos have certainly undergone a good bit of change this offseason, as the starters on offense could feature a plethora of new players come Week 1. Free agents like Lloyd Cushenberry signed with another team, and the Broncos did not hesitate to trade Jerry Jeudy. Denver cut Russell Wilson and also swung a trade for Zach Wilson.
The Broncos did not stop there, signing WR Josh Reynolds and further enhancing the offense in the 2024 NFL Draft. In year two, the vision that Sean Payton has for the unit is beginning to take shape, and if you told me this offense was quite competent in 2024, I'd not at all be surprised.
Let's try to predict the starting unit after the 2024 NFL Draft.
Projecting the Denver Broncos starting offense after the 2024 NFL Draft
Quarterback: Bo Nix
It's hard to envision anyone but Bo Nix starting for the Broncos in Week 1 of the 2024 NFL Season unless something major happens. I don't believe Sean Payton wants to wait around for anything, and given his work with lesser players at QB and the recent success of rookie passers, Payton is surely confident Nix can be truly ready for the NFL. He's got about 4.5 months to get Nix and the rest of the offense up to speed. The more interesting part of this QB room might be who the backup is.
Will Zach Wilson earn that role? Will Jarrett Stidham have something to say about that?
Running Back: Jaleel McLaughlin
Man, the RB room for the Broncos might be the hardest thing to project here. Right now, the team has Javonte Williams, Samaje Perine, Jaleel McLaughlin, and rookie draft pick Audric Estime in the room. You could truly argue for all four to be a starter come Week 1. With McLaughlin being young and the most exciting player in this stable, I believe his job is the most safe.
Samaje Perine was a free agent addition, so I actually think his job is the most unstable. And with Javonte Williams, Sean Payton might decide that Audric Estime can immediately fill his role, so it would not surprise me to see the veteran players get the boot. And oh, we cannot forget about UDFA signing Blake Watson, a RB from Old Dominion who was plenty good enough to get drafted.
My guess for the starter is Jaleel McLaughlin, but I'm prepared to be very wrong.
Wide Receivers: Josh Reynolds, Marvin Mims Jr, Tim Patrick
This is another room that can be hard to project. Will the team trade Courtland Sutton, especially after drafting Troy Franklin? It's possible. Will Sutton and the Broncos come to some sort of contract agreement? That's also possible too. Man, I just don't know. I'm going to bet on the safe side here and assume that Sutton is not going to be with the team, because frankly, I don't think he wants to be.
And with Denver bringing in both Josh Reynolds and Troy Franklin, Sutton can be expendable. The team could also believe in guys like Brandon Johnson or rookie draft pick DeVaughn Vele. The WR room doesn't appear to be all that special now, but to me, it's good strong depth and a bunch of rock-solid football players, which is a plus for a rookie QB.
Tight End: Adam Trautman
I don't know, man. I was kind of shocked that the Broncos didn't bring in a free agent at TE. Someone like Gerald Everett would have made a lot of sense, but they did re-sign Adam Trautman, who might be the most average player in NFL history. Trautman is a competent blocker and can catch passes, so he's a do-it-all player, but just an average one at that.
The team should approach the Greg Dulcich situation as anything they get from him is a bonus. Outside of Dulcich, the team could have a hidden gem with Lucas Krull. Until proven otherwise, I believe Trautman is the starter, as he knows the offense and the expectations up and down.
He's not the most talented TE Denver has, though.
Offensive Line: Garett Bolles / Ben Powers / Alex Forsyth / Quinn Meinerz / Mike McGlinchey
The only change from the 2023 starters will be the center position, and Denver realistically has four players that could win it. The incumbents for 2024 are Luke Wattenberg and Alex Forsyth. The team brought in two potential options as well with a free agency signing of Sam Mustipher and a draft pick of Nick Gargiulo.
Right now, I'd actually be surprised if Alex Forsyth did not win this job. He snapped balls to Broncos QB Bo Nix in 2022 at Oregon, so there is definitely some chemistry present. And I tend to think that Forsyth, even though he was a seventh-round draft pick, has a ton of great tools to be a starter in the NFL.
He's extremely intelligent, has adequate size, and was quite the brick wall during his time in college. The other cool thing here too is that the iOL is typically a position that has a higher "hit rate" from college to the pros, so I would not put a ton of stock into Forsyth being a seventh-round pick.
Now ideally, I believe the best scenario is signing free agent OC Connor Williams, who last played for the Miami Dolphins, but it seems as if Denver is fully comfortable with their center room at this point.
Overall, Broncos Country, while this offense might not have the most elite players, it appears to be a strong unit and one that could make some progress in 2024.