One of the most disgraceful attributes stuck to the Broncos in their history is now gone: the team finally made it into the playoffs. This was a necessary step to get this team back to its winning ways. But it of course is not sufficient by itself–the Broncos will be among the 31 teams that failed at the perpetual goal of winning the Super Bowl. More steps are of course needed to continue to improve the roster and get the team closer to the ultimate prize.
But what is remarkable about this season’s road map is just how short it is–probably the shortest I’ve ever written up. That’s because George Paton was highly proactive in 2024 with taking care of critical players on the roster for the long term, with Patrick Surtain II, Quinn Meinerz, Jonathon Cooper, and Garett Bolles all getting well deserved extensions. Add onto this trading Baron Browning for a 6th round pick in the last season of his contract, and there’s considerably less work that the Broncos need to do with the existing roster until they continue to fortify with the upcoming rookie class. That’s a good place to be in.
1. Acquire a quarterback
Bo Nix is the only quarterback under contract for 2025, so by default the team needs at least one more.
The first players to start with, of course, are 2024’s backups in Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson. If the Broncos want to bring one of them back as the backup quarterback, that is fine. For either of them, a slight pay raise over Stidham’s $5 million APY on his previous contract is appropriate. But if the Broncos want to go with a veteran quarterback from a different team, I would keep $5 million APY as the limit. Although I do not expect the Broncos to be in play for compensatory picks for 2026 due to already taking care of most of their business on players with expiring contract, I will still hew to my initial rule at looking at estimated round cutoffs as possible budgets for addressing the roster in free agency. $5 million for a player not anticipated to play should be comfortably below the 6th/7th round cutoff.
I would also not rule out acquiring a quarterback in the rookie class. This is always a good practice in general, but specific to Sean Payton, if he identifies a quarterback that could play a Taysom Hill role in his offense, that could be additionally beneficial.
2. Heavily address tight end
Greg Dulcich ended up being a bust, at least for his career in Denver. Adam Trautman, Nate Adkins, and Lucas Krull have valiantly worked hard to contribute to the best of their ability, but none have yet to show that they can provide consistently above replacement performance. This position is by far the one on the team most bereft of talent, and must be fortified extensively.
a) Sign a veteran tight end
The list of UFA tight ends upcoming does not look that abundant. But there is one exception. Although I generally avoid specifically listing players to possibly target, it should be observed that Juwan Johnson is among them, who played under Payton in New Orleans.
The Broncos should also look into possible tight ends that could be cut. I’ve built a possible cut list for Over The Cap, and among those 100 players, 11 of them are tight ends. Several are outlandish names that are highly unlikely to be cut, but not all of them (including Hill, if one wanted to call him a tight end), and value might be able to be found there.
b) Acquire a rookie tight end
This position is so barren that it will be disappointing if they do not come away with a tight end in this rookie class. The acquisition should not be forced at any point in the draft, especially since tight end does not get quite as much bang for the buck in the upper rounds. But if there’s a player available when the Broncos are on the clock who the scouts have identified as being worthy, even with the 20th overall pick (where Noah Fant was drafted in 2019), that is fine.
3. Acquire a running back
Javonte Williams will see his contract expire. I hold no strong opinion on whether to bring him back or not, but he alone should not determine that the position is address. Nor should the presence of Jaleel McLaughlin, Audric Estime, and Tyler Badie. All of these players have provided value, but none have been proven to collectively provide enough.
I also do not a hold a strong opinion on whether to add another running back among the veteran or rookie class. I would keep my mind wide open on the matter, and cast a wide net to see which running back is the best option to add to the fold in Denver. But I do think that whatever the addition made, one needs to happen, as the status quo of non-notability from 2024 cannot hold.
4. Budget about $9 million APY for an interior defensive lineman
$9 million APY is about where I would estimate the 5th/6th round compensatory pick cutoff to land. This would be for a player to help contribute alongside Zach Allen and John Franklin-Myers as starters, and Malcolm Roach and Jordan Jackson as top rotational backups.
If this would be for DJ Jones, whose contract is expiring, this would be a pay cut for him, as he earned all of his three year, $30 million contract. However, Jones will be 30 next season, and saw his snap counts go down from half to only 37.1%. I would have some caution about bringing Jones back at the same price or higher if those snaps are what his career trends look like in the future. Taking a look at the veteran market as a whole I think would be appropriate in the lead up to the new league year before committing to bringing Jones back. This could also be a good position to target in the draft, depending on how the chips fall there.
5. Budget about $2.75 million APY for a linebacker
Here, the comp pick cutoff is whether the player would even qualify as a compensatory free agent. This is right in line with what Cody Barton was signed to in 2024. If Barton or Justin Strnad were willing to come back on such terms, then that would be welcomed. Otherwise, as long as rehab is going well for Alex Singleton coming off his ACL tear, I would see how he looks in training camp, additionally fortify the position with rookie talent, and proceed from there.
6. Budget about $2 million APY for a punter
Riley Dixon will see his $1.75 million APY contract expire. He would be welcome to come back on such a modest pay raise, but otherwise I would take a look at the rookie class to see if an emerging punter can be found.
7. Bring back Tremon Smith on a similarly valued contract
Smith is seeing his two year, $5 million contract expire. He has performed well as a special teamer for the team, and it would be good to continue to see him play in that role for Denver in upcoming seasons.
8. Bring back Matt Peart on a swing tackle contract
Peart proved to be quite useful as a sixth lineman on several occasions during the season. Having both him and Alex Palczewski available to cover for any tackle injuries would be handy. Again, somewhere along the $2.5 million APY range, similar to what Kendall Lamm has hovered around as a comp, strikes me as appropriate.
9. Retain Courtland Sutton on his current contract
There’s been some question as to what Sutton’s future in Denver holds, given the young presence of Marvin Mims, Troy Franklin, and DeVaughn Vele on the team. Beyond 2025, I think that doubt is warranted, as Sutton will be a free agent by then, and also be 31 by then. But conversely, I think that $14 million in cash due for Sutton is entirely appropriate for next season, and I would be quite disappointed if the Broncos parted ways with him now while having those reasonable terms for him already on the books, as a reliable veteran presence for Nix should be kept on board as he aims to take the next step forward in his second season.