The Denver Broncos made up a ton of ground in the AFC West in 2025. Could they actually capture the division title in the coming season?
There's nothing to say that the Denver Broncos can't win the AFC West, and most Chiefs fans may actually agree that Denver is the biggest threat in the division. Their defensive additions absolutely give them the top unit in the division.
And with the possibility that Bo Nix takes a leap in year two, his ceiling could also propel this team to a title. They've got to go out there and prove it on the field, but some top NFL names seem to be buying into the idea that Denver can win the division.
NFL Insider Albert Breer is fueling the flames...
In his Monday column, Albert Breer talked a little bit about the Denver Broncos and the possibility of them being the biggest threat to the Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC West title in the 2025 NFL Season:
"With that in mind, I think the Broncos might be emerging as the Chiefs’ top threat in the AFC West. That’s with all due respect to Jim Harbaugh’s growing Chargers and to Pete Carroll’s ability to turn the Raiders around.Albert Breer
Bo Nix had an offseason that only steeled belief in Denver that he will take another leap in his second year with a young ascending group of wideouts and ancillary pieces Evan Engram and R.J. Harvey Jr. added around him. The defense, in my mind at least, might be the NFL’s best, with a young core of edge rushers (Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper) and corners (Patrick Surtain II, Riley Moss and rookie Jahdae Barron) in place and middle-of-the-field-thumpers Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw coming aboard from the San Francisco 49ers.
So there’s a lot to like, and there’s Sean Payton calling the offense and Vance Joseph calling the defense for a third year.
Beyond just that, I’ve seen the way Payton’s Broncos work and the culture built in Denver. I saw the gassers they ran and the two-and-a-half-hour practice they scheduled, and it’s hard for me to see a group that’s bought in the way this one is to backslide after a breakthrough 10-win season last year.
I’d buy on Denver."
This isn't nothing - Breer is one of the more recognizable names in the NFL today and absolutely has his connections across the league. Some people aren't yet ready to lump Denver into this conversation, but some of the more connected people around the NFL are.
It's going to take quite a bit to dethrone the Kansas City Chiefs, as they have won the division every year since 2016, but that doesn't mean they have to win it again in 2025. The Chiefs won all of their one-score games in the 2024 NFL Season, and it's just ultra-unlikely for a team to do that. It shouldn't happen again, and if the Broncos are able to begin closing out games in 2025, which is something they didn't do in 2024, it could turn the momentum enough for the team to win the AFC West.