The Denver Broncos‘ season ended after a disappointing 31-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills in the Wildcard round. This doesn’t come as a surprise, as the Bills are one of the Super Bowl favorites, and Denver was the last team in. But the Broncos snapped their eight-year playoff drought, so now it’s time to see how the Broncos can become serious playoff threats in the future.
Denver was just 2-5 against playoff teams this season, and one of those wins came against the Chief’s backups. So, what moves do the Broncos need to make in the offseason to continue down the right path?
Establish the Run Game
The biggest weakness in the Broncos offense was running the football. Although the Broncos averaged 112.2 rushing yards per game, ranking 16th in the NFL, 25.3 of those yards came on Bo Nix scrambles. If you take away Nix’s non-designed yards this offense would rank 31st. To add insult to injury, Denver hasn’t had a 100-yard rusher since Latavius Murray in 2022.
Typically fans look to blame offensive lines for bad rushing attacks, but Denver’s offensive line ranks first in run block win rate. So the Broncos need to find a reliable running back for the 2025 season.
Javonte Williams is a free agent this offseason, and he likely won’t return after a disappointing season with just 513 yards on 3.7 yards per carry. Leaving the door open for a new lead back.
The free agent running back market has a few decent names like Aaron Jones, Najee Harris, Nick Chubb, and JK Dobbins. But all of those player come with red flags, so Denver will likely look toward the draft for their new leadback.
Outside of Ashton Jeanty, there aren’t any other running backs who are guaranteed first-round picks. While Denver will likely miss out on the chance to draft Jeanty, they should look to add a guy on day two. Players like Omarion Hampton, Kaleb Johnson, TreVeyon Henderson, and Jordan James are all players who can be three-down backs in the NFL and Denver should try to add them.
Denver could also take a swing at guys like Cam Skattebo or Kalel Mullings in later rounds for a guy who could be a good power back.
Don’t be surprised if Denver adds a player like Jaylen Warren or Khalil Herbert to add a veteran presence to a young running back room.
Finding Better Weapons
Outside of Courtland Sutton Denver seriously lacks weapons. If Bo Nix is to take the next step, he’ll need more reliable pass catchers. There are countless examples of teams adding an elite receiver and their quarterback improved.
The Bills added Stefon Diggs for Josh Allen, the Eagles added A.J. Brown for Jalen Hurts, and the Dolphins added Tyreek Hill for Tua Tagovailoa, just to name some recent examples.
As good as Sutton has been, Denver needs a true alpha receiver. The two players, the Broncos should be targeting are Tee Higgins and Garrett Wilson. Higgins is a free agent this offseason and it’s more than likely he’ll find a new home. Denver will have to throw a ton of money at Higgins to land him, and even if they do there will be plenty of teams doing the same. Wilson is a more realistic target. It has been rumored that he’ll request a trade this offseason. If he does Denver needs to do whatever it takes to land him, even if that means giving up a first-round pick.
GARRETT WILSON CATCH OF THE YEAR?!?! 🤯🔥
TOUCHDOWN JETS.
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/SM7m1gJAEz
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 1, 2024
If Denver can’t land Higgins or Wilson, it is still important to land a veteran receiver. With players like Chris Godwin, Amari Cooper, Stefon Diggs, and DeAndre Hopkins all being free agents there’s no reason Denver shouldn’t at least have a great number two receiver in 2025.
On top of grabbing a new receiver, Denver desperately needs a reliable pass-catching tight end. Adam Trautman is a great run-blocker but lacks on the receiving end. If Denver keeps their first-round pick there are three excellent options; Tyler Warren, Colston Loveland, and Harold Fannin.
These three were the finalists for the Mackey Award, given to the top tight end in college football. Tyler Warren won the award this season after his historic season with 104 catches for 1,233 yards and eight touchdowns. Warren isn’t just a great receiver but he was used in a Taysom Hill-like role for the Nittany Lions and would certainly fit into Sean Payton’s offense.
But Warren’s season doesn’t top what Harold Fannin did at Bowling Green. Fannin nearly won the triple crown as a tight end, with 117 catches for 1,555 yards and ten touchdowns. Michigan’s tight end Colston Loveland didn’t have quite the stats Warren and Fannin had, but his 56 catches for 582 yards and five touchdowns is quite impressive considering Michigan had the 131st-ranked passing offense in college football.
The Broncos can’t really go wrong with any of these prospects, they are all fantastic receivers, and more than willing blockers.
Fixing the Run Defense
After the blowout loss to the Bills one thing was very apparent, Denver needs to find a way to stop the run. James Cook ran up and down Denver’s defense on Sunday. This game wasn’t an outlier either. In Denver’s biggest blowout loss of the season against the Ravens, Derrick Henry had a great day.
Now on one hand it’s fair to say the Bills and Ravens are two of the best rushing attacks in the NFL because of Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, but the biggest red flag was against the Chargers in Week 16. In that game, the Chargers rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns. On the surface that’s not terrible, but the Chargers were without JK Dobbins that game. Without Dobbins, the Chargers rushing offense struggled mightily. In three games before week 16 without Dobbins the Chargers didn’t have over 100 yards in a game, averaged 3.7 yards per carry, and didn’t have a rusher have over 35 yards in a game. Gus Edwards alone ran for 68 yards against Denver.
When teams can run the ball against Denver they find great success. Denver has an elite secondary, so when teams are forced to pass, Denver does well. But in games against playoff-level teams that are typically close, Denver loses because they get run all over and lose the time of possession battle.
Alex Singleton’s return in 2025 should help that problem, but his return alone isn’t enough. Defensive tackle D.J. Jones will be a free agent this offseason, and it is paramount that Denver brings him back. On top of Jones, Denver needs defensive line depth. It’s unrealistic to have Zach Allen and John Franklin-Myers out on every play. Signing veteran defensive linemen who can rotate in for Allen, Franklin-Myers, and Jones needs to be near the top of Denver’s priority list.
The 2025 Denver Broncos
Making these changes won’t make Denver Super Bowl contenders right away. But it is important to keep this young roster moving forward. Just because Denver made the playoffs this season doesn’t mean they can run back the same roster in 2025 and make the playoffs again. If Cincinnati won one more game or Tua Tagovailoa stayed healthy the whole season, Denver would have missed the post-season.
The goal for 2025 should be to clinch a playoff spot earlier than Week 18, and to win at least one playoff game. Getting the NFL’s third-youngest roster post-season experience will be key if Denver wants to be in the same conversation as the Chiefs, Bills, and Ravens.
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