After the giddiness from morning espressos wears off, after the bravado interviews end with national reporters and every slogan is plastered in the locker room, the Broncos’ hype is left with a solitary truth.
They are not a Super Bowl contender. Not yet.
This is not only my opinion, but one shared by Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner.
Warner, an NFL Network and Westwood One radio analyst, broadcast a few Broncos games last season. He saw what the rest of us did. Everything about coach Sean Payton and GM George Paton’s two-year U-turn deserves praise and is ahead of schedule. The Broncos are young and dangerous. They should make some noise in January.
But a Super Bowl contender, a stamp put on this team by Payton? Nah. They are not there. Something is missing. And that is why Warner is withholding judgment on viewing the Broncos as capable of playing on the second Sunday in February..
“The biggest question is the run game and being more consistent on the outside with a weapon in the passing game. They never had that guy in the run game. I know they have added there. And on the outside, I love Courtland Sutton. But you have to find at least one other player who can be a go-to guy,” Warner told the Post on Tuesday night.
“You have to have guys who you are really convinced are difference-makers and that show on the field they belong in that group. I need to see more.”
It is a much better position, to be sure, than the previous eight years after Peyton Manning. That’s when the Broncos’ questions started and ended at quarterback.
Bo Nix had 29 passing touchdowns last season, more than Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Jordan Love, Jayden Daniels and Justin Herbert — all players viewed as better than him. In Nix, the Broncos have their guy. But he is in danger of becoming Just a Guy without help.
“Everybody believes their defense is championship caliber with the way those guys played (last year). Bo has to take another step to be a championship quarterback. He showed a great deal as a rookie. He has to be a little better and more consistent in the biggest settings, the close games,” said Warner of the Broncos, who were 1-6 in one-score contests in 2024.
“For me, when you look at rookie quarterbacks, one of the things that pops out is whether they make good decisions. Bo didn’t take sacks or put the ball in harm’s way. And he ramped it up as the season went along. But he needs more around him, and I don’t think they had those pieces last year.”
Two things can be true. We can all be bullish on Nix and recognize he is not in the same category as the upper crust. The hardest thing for a young quarterback to overcome is organizational dysfunction — changing GMs, coaches and play-callers. The next biggest hurdle is a lack of weapons. Mahomes and Allen can turn a fire hydrant into a Pro Bowl receiver.
Nix is not there. He more closely resembles Jalen Hurts and Brock Purdy. Capable quarterbacks who need a bump from the supporting cast.
Denver must improve on the ground. And Payton said Monday that, “I think you’re going to see a more efficient run game.” It remains a mystery since R.J. Harvey is a rookie, J.K. Dobbins did not get a carry in the preseason and the offensive linemen, specifically center Luke Wattenberg and Ben Powers, are adjusting to the added outside zone concepts.
The easiest solution? Evan Engram produces the franchise’s best season by a tight end since Julius Thomas in 2013 and 2014.
Future Hall of Famer Drew Brees made Payton’s offenses purr in New Orleans. He admitted that the Saints were at their best when they were able to flex out Jeremy Shockey and Jimmy Graham. Engram is a similar type of player.
He is harder to cover than the Rockies beat.
Folks are talking about the Broncos being legitimate title contenders. Folks are positioning the Broncos as the AFC team nobody wants to face.
That will change quickly if we don’t see Engram flourish.
Yes, the Broncos need Marvin Mims Jr., Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant to pose a threat. But no matter what anyone says, Engram is the key. He is a player so good he is capable of preventing teams from doubling Sutton — the one player Nix trusted most last season.
And the thing is, Warner believes Nix can and will find him. Part of the reason he thought Nix would perform well as a rookie? His Oregon tape told Warner that “he had more pro concepts in his college offense than any of the quarterbacks in that (first-round) group. They asked him to read and see defenders, and you saw that in his intermediate and short passing game success last season.”
Bo knows where the ball should go. But he needs players who can win one-on-ones for his physical skills to match his mental wizardry. It comes back to Engram as the most obvious solution.
“I think a big, athletic tight end is the biggest mismatch in football. You have linebackers and safeties trying to cover them. They can run like the wind, and with play action, it creates hesitation by the defense. Engram can definitely be that guy,” Warner said. “He is a playmaker with his ability not only to catch the ball, but the run after the catch. Just being able to run when you need to is important. They have to find one of those components.”
The Broncos are interesting again. They are relentless, motivated, focused, a well-connected team.
But they are not — without Engram leveling up for Nix — a championship-caliber team.
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