It’s no secret: the Broncos and their fans have endured nearly a decade of dread, disappointment, and bad football following their Super bowl-winning season in 2015. After the departures of Peyton Manning and Gary Kubiak, Denver burned through 13 different starting quarterbacks and three failed first-time head coach experiments.
It’s obvious – a lack of consistency and culture became the foundation of the franchise’s downfall.
Now, for the first time in years, Denver seems to have found stability under Super bowl-winning head coach, Sean Payton (shocker ) and a promising young quarterback in Bo Nix. In their first season together, the Broncos played meaningful football in December and clinched their first playoff appearance since 2015.
Naturally, the question becomes: What’s next? Playoffs last year, Super Bowl this year?
Patience is the key for the Denver Broncos and for Broncos Country
After all, they have added some elite pieces to an already formidable defense and brought in playmaking tight end Evan Engram to help open up the offense for Bo Nix.
But while urgency may be a dominant theme this offseason, it’s crucial that the Broncos continue building with consistency and patience.
Last season, Denver was the second-youngest playoff team in the NFL, with an average roster age of 26 years, 2 months, and 2 days. They followed that up by returning a league-high 86% of their roster heading into the 2025 season.
Many fans were frustrated with the outcome of this year’s draft, citing questionable picks, questionable fits, and apparent failure to patch certain needs on the team.
But when you hear complaints about selections like seventh-round tight end Caleb Lohner – a player with just one season of college football under his belt - remember the upside and potential. Who better to develop a raw but physically gifted tight end behind a veteran like Evan Engram then Sean Payton?
This team has already seen success in finding value late in drafts. Last season, another seventh-round pick out of Utah, DeVaughn Vele, converted over 63% of his catches into first downs as a rookie. Early reports from OTA's are saying he's looking even better, adding more strength and size, overall looking more polished as he heads into his second season in the league.
In just two years, Payton’s picks have begun to pay dividends making impact plays and becoming cultural cornerstones for the locker room he’s trying to reshape in Denver.
This Broncos team has the bones - it just needs time for the muscle to grow.
Many fans are still calling for the addition of another veteran wide receiver. But Denver still has Courtland Sutton, and based on Sean Payton’s recent presser, it's clear he’s encouraged by the progress of young receivers like Marvin Mims Jr. and Troy Franklin. The lack of a splashy move at receiver signals something important: Payton sees real development, and he’s betting on it.
All the focus is on building - not buying – the roster.
Overall, the Broncos have lacked patience over the last decade. The constantly hit the reset button, chasing quick fixes instead of building a true identity. The “Super bowl or bust” mentality has to go, it’s what got Denver in this mess to begin with.
The way forward? Build a consistent, young, and hungry roster – meticulously, not desperately. That’s the blueprint for many successful and contending teams in the league, and it’s about time Denver followed it.