SANTA CLARA, Calif. — What was left of the Denver Broncos — at least without quarterback Bo Nix — would have been hard-pressed to stand much of a chance against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX had they managed to eke past the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. Let’s get that much out of the way.
What the Broncos lost when they staggered and face-planted into the Mile High snow was a ninth Lamar Hunt trophy and the distinction of beating the New England Patriots in the race to make Super Bowls in five different decades. But they almost certainly didn’t lose a shot at a ring. Their defense could have kept them in a Super Bowl LX duel, no doubt — just as the Patriots hung around for a while in a game that — for three quarters, at least — had the feel of some pre-bye-week Broncos games.
But the Jarrett Stidham-led offense would have likely buckled and broken against a Seattle defense that wasn’t quite at Legion of Boom standards, but was still enough to dominate the day — with a pair of players selected in picks acquired from the Broncos in the disastrous Russell Wilson trade guiding the way.
Even with J.K. Dobbins expected back in the lineup for the Broncos, yards would have been at a premium; their wide-receiver corps stood to be as thin as a promise due to injuries.
Still, the Broncos that trudged into the locker room after that 10-7 defeat a fortnight ago weren’t the side that stormed to the No. 1 seed — or even beat Buffalo a week earlier. Not without Nix, whose close-and-late heroics came to define the team, so much that after the AFC Championship Game, tight end Adam Trautman noted that the team’s array of comeback victories left the entire sideline believing that another one was in the cards — even though Nix was left to watch from above in a suite.
Backups are backups for a reason, however. Stidham’s attempt at a game-turning pass down the right flank — one that, for a split-second, evoked memories of a Brock Osweiler toss down the same side of the field against the same foe in similar conditions a decade earlier — died in the wind and the snow.
But here’s the rub: The Broncos have can make some moves that would ensure that a similar crisis 12 months from now doesn’t yield the same result. With a few tweaks, they can ensure that even if disaster repeats itself, they have chance to emerge smiling on the other side and in Super Bowl LXI, instead of with forlorn looks, hands jammed in pockets and their Pro Bowlers landing in the Super Bowl city to see three-story banners of the AFC foe that vanquished them.
WHAT’S MISSING FOR THE BRONCOS THAT SEPARATES THEM FROM A SUPER BOWL?
It starts with a more fortified running-back room.
RJ Harvey is part of the solution, and if he can improve as a blocker, at minimum he could become a dynamic pass-catching back and a potent third-down option. But that leaves the need for a proper RB1. Free agency could yield that, but Dobbins remains an option; when healthy, he remains one of the NFL’s most-efficient backs.
Should Dobbins return, the Broncos need a better contingency plan. That might not involve a top-tier free-agent running back — it’s doubtful, for example, that the Broncos could land BOTH Dobbins and Breece Hall or Tyler Allgeier. And certainly Kenneth Walker III would be out of the equation there — if the Seahawks let him on the market to begin with.
But Dobbins with a Day 2 running back in the draft such as Arkansas’ Mike Washington Jr., a potent power back with pass-catching skill? That would cover the Broncos for the short- and long-term, with Washington’s skill set meshing nicely alongside Harvey’s to project as an ideal RB1/RB2 tandem.
That takes care of one playmaker, to which left tackle Garett Bolles pointed as a need on Jan. 26. But the Broncos likely need to find another — either at tight end or wide receiver.
Getting Marvin Mims Jr. more involved could help; the Broncos need more yardage after the catch, and Mims is one of the league’s best at providing it. Both Sean Payton and George Paton pointed to how much they liked their young receivers; they’ve used a draft pick between Round 2 and 4 on a wide receiver in three-consecutive drafts. That’s a pretty solid capital investment in Mims, Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant. An imported receiver would likely be at the expense of at least one of the Broncos’ top four wideouts.
But this offseason also offers the chance to re-make the tight-end position; the free-agent class could be bountiful, with Cleveland’s David Njoku, Philadelphia’s Dallas Goedert and Atlanta’s Kyle Pitts all set to hit the market.
Any one of those three could walk into the Broncos’ locker room and transform the position. Evan Engram could remain, but the Broncos also have the option of moving on from his contract with a post-June 1 designation if they so desire. Former Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq also remains an option in the back half of the first round; it’s not off the table that the Broncos could mash the reset button on the position and bring in both a prime free agent and Sadiq, especially given Payton’s stated desire to continue to use two-tight end packages.
Finally, there is inside linebacker. Dre Greenlaw missed over half the season with quadriceps and hamstring issues, and the Broncos could get out of his contract reasonably — with a savings of $6.023 million and a dead-money figure of $4.33 million, per OvertheCap.com. Alex Singleton is a tackling machine, as usual, but he allowed a 132.4 passer rating when targeted, per Next Gen Stats. Among 122 linebackers with at least 400 snaps last season, that is fourth-worst in the NFL.
Free agency offers options, such as Devin Lloyd, Devin Bush and Nakobe Dean. Even the ageless Bobby Wagner, recently named the NFL’s Man of the Year, hits the market.
And the draft offers ample options, including Ohio State’s Sonny Styles, Georgia’s CJ Allen and Texas Tech’s ballhawking Jacob Rodriguez, among many others. The Broncos could double up on inside linebackers on Day 1 and Day 2; that’s how deep the class is.
You take these moves, add in just a scosh of improvement from Nix — which one should expect from a young QB in Year Three — and you have the elements of a team that ought to be a favorite in the AFC to reach Super Bowl LXI.
The 2025 season can best be described as a disappointing success. After all, by any reasonable standard, winning 14 games and advancing to the AFC Championship Game is a success. The Broncos made their deepest postseason advancement in 10 years. They went two rounds beyond their foray last season. Their 14 regular-season wins matched a franchise record.
But once the postseason began without Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow — and with the Broncos in possession of the No. 1 seed — the dynamic of expectation changed; winning the AFC became the viable goal. They fell short, of course.
Nothing less than a trip to SoFi Stadium and Super Bowl LXI at the end of the next season should be regarded as a success. Fortunately for the Broncos, it should take just a few tweaks and moves to get them there.
The Seahawks’ win showed the Broncos that they’re not far off from a Super Bowl formula — with a healthy QB. Make these moves, and they have a team that would clear these world champions more often than not. That’s something Denver will get to find out in person when the Seahawks visit next season.
