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Broncos' Best & Worst Offseason Moves May Surprise Fans

Nov 6, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos running back J.K. Dobbins (27) runs the ball in the fourth quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders at Empower Field at Mile High. Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

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Broncos' Best & Worst Offseason Moves May Surprise Fans

Originally posted on Denver Broncos on SI
By Erick Trickel | Last updated May 22, 2026 10:00 AM ET

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The circus of the NFL offseason is over, with the draft marking the end of it, but there are still moves to be made. For a team like the Denver Broncos, a team that wasn't overly active during the offseason circus outside of re-signing its own guys, there aren’t a lot of moves to dub as the best or worst move of the offseason.

That didn't stop ESPN's Bill Barnwell, who went over every AFC team's best and worst moves from the offseason. His choice for the Broncos' best offseason move was a bit of a surprise, tapping the J.K. Dobbins re-signing, not the Jaylen Waddle trade.

Barnwell's argument started with some stats, and how, since 2020, there have been 51 running backs with over 500 carries, and Dobbins ranks third in yards per carry, ninth in success rate, second in explosive play rate, first in rush yards over expected (RYOE), and first in EPA per rush attempt. Those are great numbers, no doubt, but Dobbins came in at just 589 carries due to injuries.

That is and always has been the concern with Dobbins over the last few years. He has struggled to stay healthy and has missed a game with an injury in every season except 2020 (his rookie season), when he still missed time due to COVID-19.

Last year with the Broncos, there is no denying how much of an impact Dobbins had on the offense, as evidenced by the difference in the unit's efficiency before and after his Lisfranc injury, which ended his season in Week 10. The Broncos went from a solid running game to one of the worst, and that played a large part in their downfall in the AFC championship game, aside from the main culprit of losing Bo Nix, of course.

Worst Offseason Move

As for the worst move, Barnwell cited the Broncos' failure to properly address the loss of John Franklin-Myers. Now, Barnwell did mention that the Broncos drafted Tyler Onyedim and have Eyioma Uwazurike and Sai’vion Jones, suggesting they could take some of the Franklin-Myers workload, so what is the real issue here?

Barnwell talked about how this is a team with championship aspirations, and yet, Broncos GM George Paton wanted to protect his projected compensatory picks in 2027. With those comp picks now assured, Barnwell questions why the Broncos haven't been more aggressive about signing a veteran since the draft, specifically naming Calais Campbell.

The issue with adding another veteran to the defensive line is the rotation. Last year, the Broncos kept only five interior defensive linemen active: Zach Allen, D.J. Jones, Malcolm Roach, Franklin-Myers, and Uwazurike. This year, they still have four of the five, but they've now added Onyedim and may not be expecting Jones to step up.

The Broncos are already on the path to having to figure out the roster math to keep all six active. If the Broncos were to add a veteran, they would then need to either figure out a seven-man rotation, which was how many total interior defensive linemen they kept on their 53-man roster last year, or have Onyedim or Sai’vion Jones inactive barring injuries. Either that, or trade away one of the players in the rotation, in either D.J. Jones or Uwazurike.

Now, criticizing the Broncos' lack of a splash to replace Franklin-Myers is fair. With championship aspirations, there is no denying the risk the Broncos are taking by betting on Uwazurike, Sai’vion Jones, and Onyedim to replace all that Franklin-Myers brought to the defense, which included 14.5 sacks over the past two seasons. His impact went beyond the box score, and it may not be easily replaced.

Our Best & Worst Offseason Moves

Would my best and worst moves be the same? No, not even close.

Best Move

The Broncos' best move was the Waddle trade and the acquisition of another receiver to help a passing game that was inconsistent at best last season.

Worst Move

The Broncos' worst move would be what they did with their tight end room, from the contract given to Adam Trautman, to re-signing Nate Adkins and Lucas Krull, to the two draft picks in the final 100 picks of the NFL draft.

But the two that Barnwell named are fair, though I disagree that either should take precedence. His reasoning is clear and easy to understand, but from my point of view, there are concerns about Dobbins that keep him from being the best move, and the tight end room is still in shambles.

After the 2026 season, we could come back and see whether Waddle or Dobbins had the bigger impact on the offense, whether the running back could stay healthy, and whether the Broncos' tight end room or defensive line was less of a detriment to their respective side of the ball.