The Denver Broncos lost to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, and they continued to struggle in one particular area that has been a major problem -- win or lose -- all season long.
Dropped passes.
About a year ago, Sean Payton was asked by Kay Adams if he agreed with her that the team's number one need was a wide receiver, and Payton did not agree. He stated, at the time, that he felt the team's biggest need was a "Joker" for the offense. And he got two guys to potentially fill that role in Evan Engram and RJ Harvey. Unfortunately, in hindsight, it looks like Kay Adams was right, and Payton is going to have to admit it quickly in 2026.
Sean Payton finally admits the Denver Broncos have a problem with dropped passes
After the loss to the Patriots, while assessing how Jarrett Stidham played, Payton finally called out the Broncos' issue with dropped passes in a way we haven't heard him do it before.
I know this. I’m going to look at it and be critical of myself, and I think there were a number of things that we just had to do better. We didn’t finish some runs, and we dropped some passes. Again, felt like that was a problem all year.
- Sean Payton (via Broncos PR)
To give some context to this quote, Payton had started off his press conference by falling on the proverbial sword as the head coach of the team, taking ownership of the loss and acknowledging his shortcomings first and foremost. But that doesn't mean that the players are exempt from being called out, even in the heat of the moment after a game.
And while Payton isn't going to publicly call out his receivers during the season and create division in the locker room, he's now got the opportunity to reshape the wide receiver room without any more games this season, so he can afford to be blunt and honest like this.
And drops were a massive issue all year. Bo Nix not only lost more yards than all but four quarterbacks due to dropped passes this year, but the Broncos had the second-most drops behind only the Jacksonville Jaguars all season. Part of that is a byproduct of throwing the ball more than most teams, but it's also the result of receivers not capitalizing on opportunities.
And it was just about everyone at receiver at fault for this. Courtland Sutton was at the top of the list in the "frustrating drops" category all year, but we obviously saw plenty from Troy Franklin (albeit far less than last season), Evan Engram, and Lil'Jordan Humphrey down the stretch (multiple drops in the playoffs).
The Broncos have a personnel problem at the wide receiver position, and that's been the case since the 2023 season. They tried to roll with the crew they had, despite plenty of rumors about the team being interested in guys like Stefon Diggs, Jaylen Waddle, and to varying degrees others like Deebo Samuel and Cooper Kupp. The need for a sure-handed receiver -- even just one -- has never been clearer.
The Broncos, and obviously head coach Sean Payton, know what has to be done.