The results of The Associated Press 2025 NFL All-Pro balloting were announced Saturday morning, and a total of six Denver Broncos were named first-team and second-team All-Pros. Your first-team All-Pros are starting left tackle Garett Bolles, right guard Quinn Meinerz, defensive tackle Zach Allen, and special teams ace Devon Key. Your second-team All-Pros are reigning AP Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain II and safety Talanoa Hufanga.
The Broncos had an NFL high 6 players named to the AP All-Pro team and an AFC-best total of 14 players receiving at least one vote in the process. The other players to receive All-Pro votes include wide receiver Courtland Sutton, fullback Adam Prentice, left guard Alex Palczewski, right tackle Mike McGlinchey, edge rusher Nik Bonitto, slot corner Ja’Quan McMillian, returner/wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr., and long snapper Mitchell Fraboni.
The Denver Broncos finished the year 14-3, won the AFC West, are the number one seed in the AFC, are Super Bowl contenders, and deserve this sort of recognition. All six of these players were big parts of the Broncos’ success this season, and you could make a very strong argument that more should have made it. The one big snub was edge rusher Nik Bonitto, who was just one vote shy from being named an All-Pro.
Garett Bolles, the Denver Broncos’ longtime left tackle, is having the best season of his career in 2025 and has earned his first-career first-team AP All-Pro honors. The 2017 first-round pick had an up-and-down start to his career with the Broncos, but has really turned things around and has become one of the best left tackles in the NFL, and is protecting quarterback Bo Nix’s blindside. He earned second-team honors back in 2020, but in 2025, Bolles earned his first Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors. The longtime Broncos blocker suffered through the struggles this team had from 2016 through 2023, but is currently playing at his best and is enjoying the success the team is having right now.
Left guard Quinn Meinerz was named to the first-team AP All-Pro team for a second straight year and has turned into one of the best offensive linemen in the entire NFL. He’s a bulldog in the trenches, a mauler in the run game, and stonewalls some of the best interior pass rushers in the NFL. A lot of the Broncos’ offensive success starts in the trenches, and Meinerz is a big reason for their success. We should see Meinerz continue to collect these honors moving forward, as he is trending down a potential Hall of Fame path.
On the defensive side, defensive tackle Zach Allen finally got the recognition he deserved and has been named a first-team AP All-Pro. You could make a very strong argument that he has been deserving of this for the past few seasons, but I am glad he is receiving this honor now. Allen, like Meinerz on the offensive side, is a monster in the trenches. He is dominant in the run game, one of the best interior pass rushers in the NFL, is near the top in the NFL in QB hits and pressures, and is a big reason for the Broncos’ success on the defensive side of the ball. A much-deserved and earned honor for Allen, who plans on continuing this dominant play throughout the playoffs and into the Super Bowl.
Probably the biggest surprise on this list is special teams ace Devon Key receiving first-team honors. Likely a rather overlooked player by most fans, but Key has been a major part of the Broncos’ special teams success this season. He was near the top in special teams tackles in the league this season, and according to head coach Sean Payton, Key had the most special teams tackles in Denver Broncos history.
“I just realized he’s had more special-teams tackles than anyone in the history of the Broncos. Every week, we give awards. Special team game balls, offensive and defensive game balls. His name comes up, and even in his play last week, when he came on defense, he just steadily, quietly…Is he at [26]? We can talk about the extended game. I get it, but that’s hard to do in the kicking game now. That’s hard to do.“
Key has been a monster on special teams, earning high-praise from Sean Payton, and apparently setting Broncos team records this season.
Two Broncos were named second-team All-Pros, and those two players are cornerback Pat Surtain II and safety Talanoa Hufanga. PS2 was his dominant self once again this season and had a game-changing highlight reel diving interception vs. the Packers last month. However, a pec injury did sideline him for about a month and likely hurt his chances of being a first-team All-Pro. Surtain II is still the best corner in the NFL and has many more honors coming his way in the future.
As for Hufanga, he joined the Broncos this offseason as a free agent and has been a huge addition to their defense. He’s a big hitter, he’s flying all over the field, and is just a big play waiting to happen. He plays like his hair is on fire and has added some grit, fire, and tenacity to this defense. He has had a few dropped interceptions this season, which likely held him back from being a first-team All-Pro, but he has been playing like one this season.