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The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/ADanishMan2 on 2025-08-04 11:36:41+00:00.
Hello, sluts! Broncos Day here in the Offseason Review Series. Join me for a spell, won’t you?
Team: Denver Broncos
Division: AFC West
2024 Record: 10-7
Season Recap
I have very few things to say about this past season other than that it exceeded expectations and gave Broncos fans something to actually celebrate for the first time in about a decade. After drafting a rookie QB with questions about his arm and age (a debate that separated the CFB heads from everyone else), people understandably had questions about what this offense would look like. The Broncos got off to a rough start with a rookie QB facing two stellar defenses, coming into Tampa 0-2. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Tampa’s day, and Denver blew the doors off Raymond James Stadium in a 26-7 win that was never as close as the final score would make you think. A rainy trip to East Rutherford the next week ended in one of the ugliest 10-9 wins I’ve ever seen. After that 2-2 slog, however, things started to click for Bo Nix and the offense, with the team going 3-1 and putting up at least 28 points in all three wins (who were those games against? not important!) A curbstomping at Baltimore and a heartbreaking blocked FG in KC rounded out the first ten games, with the Broncos sitting at a middling 5-5. A lesser team would have crumbled, faltered, rolled over and bellied up to a mid-teens draft pick. Not this one. Denver ripped off a 5-2 record the rest of the way, including an absolute drubbing of the Chiefs backups in Week 18. Honestly, figuring out the QB position and playing competitive football would have been enough for fans to call the 2024 season a success; a playoff berth would have just been icing on the cake. Unfortunately, that’s all that postseason spot was, because after a 43 yard bomb to Troy Franklin to open the scoring, the Bills put up 31 unanswered points, and that was that.
Free Agency
Denver’s free agency this past spring was somewhat muted – a reminder of the dead money tied up in Russell Wilson. However, the signings they did make aim to be impact players. Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga are here from the Niners, shoring up the spine of the defense at ILB and SS, respectively. Evan Engram signed a 2 year deal, in a move that signaled that these are not the Broncos of old – they are, in fact, going to address the tight end position. JK Dobbins is in town to be the fourth head of the rushing attack for a couple of weeks, a signing that is a bit of a push with the loss of Javonte Williams to the Cowboys. Nothing of value of lost, little else was gained.
The 2025 Draft
1.20 Jadae Barron, DB, Texas The Broncos’ approach to the Draft was simple: BPA in the first, Guys Who Could Be Fun everywhere else. Jadae Barron was a bit of a head scratcher at the time (Omarion Hampton was RIGHT THERE, SEAN,) but he was, for all intents and purposes, the best defender on the board. The Broncos lost more than one game last season due to lackluster corner play. Barron is a chess piece for Vance Joseph who can move around the defensive backfield when he’s not locking down the nickel spot.
2.60 RJ Harvey, RB, UCF The Broncos’ RB room was a nightmare to parse last season. Javonte Williams was still working his was back from an exploded knee. Jaleel McLaughlin was something of a one-trick pony. Audric Estime and Blake Watson were rookies – the former a plodder with fumble issues and the latter had a whopping five touches. I haven’t even mentioned Tyler Badie, who tore up the Bucs in week 3 and then spent the rest of the season on IR. Anyway, RJ Harvey is a solid back with huge quads and good breakaway speed. He should have a shot to take over this RB room from jump.
3.74 Pat Bryant, WR, Illinois Big receiver with some want-to in the blocking game. Sean Payton’s sweet spot. Between he, Sutton, and Vele, Denver has three Big Boys at receiver to torment red zone defenses.
3.101 Sai’vion Jones, DE, LSU Jones profiles as a rotational end his first year, likely a replacement for John Franklin-Myers in due time. The big defender jumped onto my radar in the 2024 opener against USC where he had two sacks, but he really shines as a run defender, which Denver sorely needs.
4.134 Quandarrius “Que” Robinson, LB, Alabama More of an edge than a true LB, but if you’re the Denver Broncos, there’s no such thing as too much edge.
6.216 Jeremy Crawshaw, P, Florida Australian punter. Next question.
7.241 Caleb Lohner, TE, Utah A 6’7"(!!!) tight end who had exactly four catches last season. Were those catches all touchdowns? You bet they were. (Sean Payton apparently told Lohner they were going to make him into the next Jimmy Graham. I’m starting to get a lot of “guy who has only seen Boss Baby” vibes from ol’ Sean.)
Projected Starters QB: Bo Nix
RB: RJ Harvey WR1: Courtland Sutton
WR2: Marvin Mims
WR3: Troy Franklin TE: Evan Engram LT: Garret Bolles LG: Ben Powers
C: Luke Wattenberg
RG: Quinn Meinerz
RT: Mike McGlinchey
LE: Zach Allen
DT: DJ Jones
RE: John Franklin-Myers
LOLB: Jonathon Cooper
ILB1: Alex Singleton
ILB2: Dre Greenlaw
ROLB: Nik Bonitto
CB1: Pat Surtain II
CB2: Riley Moss
CB3: Jadae Barron
SS: Talanoa Hufanga
FS: Brandon Jones
Season Projection
v. TEN - W
@ IND - W
@ LAC - L
v. CIN - W
@ PHI - L
@ NYJ - W
v. NYG - W
v. DAL - W
@ HOU - L
v. LVR - W
v. KC - L
@ WAS - W
@ LVR - W
v. GB - W
v. JAX - W
@ KC - L
v. LAC - W
So, 12-5. Might be a hair optimistic but I have a hard time seeing another loss on here aside from maybe the Bengals or Packers, both of which are home games for Denver. Tennessee and Indy should be tune-up games before hitting the LAC/CIN/PHI slog. The back half of the schedule is a tough out but if things get clicking for this team, I think they can not only make the playoffs but push the Chiefs for the division title.
Final Thoughts
This team is going to be an interesting watch in 2025. While the offense didn’t make any huge additions, they also didn’t suffer any losses. Another offseason of consistency for Nix behind one of the best OL units in football should raise the floor of this offense substantially. The defense, on the other hand, is going to live and die with the health of the free agent adds. Greenlaw sat out the first 13 games of 2024, and Hufanga has totaled 17 games in the last two years. Both positions have, historically, been the weak link of the Broncos defense. If those two are healthy, this aims to be the best defense in football. If the defense falters at all, it’s going to be tough sledding with offenses like KC, GB, WAS, and HOU on the docket this year.
That’s all, folks! Go Broncos.