Broncos Skyrocket in NFL.com's 'Most Complete Teams' Rankings

Denver Broncos GM George Paton and head coach Sean Payton have built up a good roster. The Broncos have a young offense replete with potential, the pieces to be a top-5 defense, and a great special teams unit.

Considering how far Paton and Payton have come in their roster-building partnership, it's good to see the perception of the Broncos rising around the league. Just this week, NFL.com’s Eric Edholm rated the Broncos as a top 10 roster. 

Edholm ranked the Broncos' roster No. 10 in the NFL.

“Coming into the draft, I saw the Broncos as potential shoo-ins for this list, as long as they added the right skill-position pieces. As it turned out, this call was closer than I thought it would be," Edholm wrote. "Though I liked some of their selections, they could have gotten better value out of some of their picks, and the rookie crop didn't provide quite the boost I was anticipating. In the end, Denver had just enough to crack the top tier, squeezing past the Commanders and Rams thanks to an elite defense, an emerging quarterback and strength on the offensive line.“

The Broncos boast one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, which is made clear by their No. 1 ranking in ESPN's pass block win rate and run block win rate. Returning all five starters will be crucial to Bo Nix remaining comfortable under center and taking the next step. 

On the flip side, Edholm is among the large contingent of NFL media who have a sour view on the Broncos' draft class. While it's easy to argue that the Broncos could have obtained better value with some of their picks, Payton and Paton were calculated in their selections, seeking specific fits for certain roles within the offense.

Also, from the outside, that's an easy argument, but it has been reported that the Broncos had RJ Harvey rated as the best back not named Ashton Jeanty in the 2025 draft. Edholm continues.

Skill Positions

“Bo Nix probably exceeded most expectations for his rookie season, even appearing to briefly duel with eventual winner Jayden Daniels for OROY honors at a point relatively late in the season. Nix has a good No. 1 receiver in place (Courtland Sutton), a new TE who might prove to have been the missing piece (Evan Engram) and a top-five offensive line," Edholm wrote. "That's a good starting template. The rest of the offense has potential but is largely unproven. A backfield comprised of RJ Harvey, Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estimé might not boggle minds, but it could be effective. Denver really needs its young receivers to seize bigger roles, though.”

Now we can focus on the Harvey pick and how Payton and the Broncos view him. Harvey was among the top FBS performers in explosive runs over the past two seasons alongside Jeanty.

It's hard not to be optimistic about Harvey's potential with the Broncos, given the infrastructure surrounding him that will, ostensibly, enable him to excel early in his career. Audric Estime is still young and won’t turn 22 until around the start of the season, but it's fair to be guarded on him with how his career started with two fumbles on his first nine carries. However, he closed out the 2024 season well and showed that he is a fine short-yardage back. 

Sutton has proven to have great chemistry with Nix, but the bigger question is whether another passing weapon will emerge. Enter Evan Engram. Even with his age and injury history, Engram is such a great addition.

Engram has proven he can be a mismatch weapon, which is another element the Broncos were missing last season. The Broncos still need another weapon to step up beyond Sutton and Engram, but Marvin Mims Jr., Devaughn Vele, Troy Franklin, and Pat Bryant have the potential to become that third-passing weapon for Nix. 

A Scary Defense

Edholm then turned his attention to the Broncos defense.

“The Broncos feature a top-five defense, and if you were to argue it is the league's very best, I wouldn't push back all that hard. Reigning DPOY Pat Surtain II headlines a very strong secondary that added Talanoa Hufanga and rookie Jahdae Barron this offseason," Edholm wrote. "There's space for another pass rusher to emerge alongside Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto, and there are injury concerns with Hufanga and at linebacker, which will be manned by Dre Greenlaw, Alex Singleton and Drew Sanders. But all in all, this defense stacks up about as well as any unit in the league. And it will be tested through a tough early stretch on the schedule.”

Surtain is the straw that stirs the drink for the Broncos defense, but the Barron addition, along with incumbents like Riley Moss, Ja’Quan McMillian, and Kris Abrams-Draine, provides great depth at a position where injuries took a toll and contributed to some late-season losses. The Broncos improving their depth with a versatile player like Barron, who is a ‘star’ defensive back capable of playing boundary, slot, and safety positions, was critical to enhancing the secondary. 

Upgrading over P.J. Locke, who has shown to be a good special teams player and depth piece, with Talanoa Hufanga, could pay off in a big way for the Broncos if he can stay healthy. Adding Hufanga allows Denver to use Brandon Jones in the way he excelled at last season.

However, there is a concern over Hufanga’s medical history, as well as Greenlaw's, the two significant additions to the defense in free agency. Like Hufanga, Greenlaw was a necessary risk to make because the Broncos desperately needed to upgrade the linebacker position. If Greenlaw can stay healthy, he's an elite linebacker. 

There is still concern around Greenlaw, with Singleton recovering from a serious injury and the yet-to-be-seen development of Sanders. Justin Strnad was decent last year, but not good enough to be a multiple-game starter. 

Yes, there is room for the Broncos' pass rush to step up, even with Cooper and Bonitto each posting double-digit sacks. Bonitto is an excellent pass rusher, but his run defense is a liability, and Cooper's consistency suffered a significant decline after he signed his contract extension.

Fourth-rounder Que Robinson likely won’t have a major impact on defense, and third-rounder Sai’vion Jones helps the defensive line depth. Zach Allen is great, and John Franklin-Myers is coming off an excellent year, but the Broncos needed more help behind them. 

Can Nix Do it Again?

Edholm concludes by sharing his misgivings about Nix duplicating his Year-1 success.

“There's also no guarantee Nix will take a proverbial step forward in Year 2 -- don't be fooled into thinking that young quarterbacks will automatically do so -- or that the skill talent will stack up with the league's better clubs. Still, this ranking is warranted, thanks to what the Broncos have working for them on both sides of the ball,” Edholm wrote. 

The Takeaway

The Broncos have a great roster, but they still have a tough schedule and will need Nix to take the next step in his development into a franchise quarterback. We have seen teams with a great roster fail in the regular season when it matters.

With Payton leading the way, though, there should be some confidence that the Broncos won’t fall in with those other underperforming teams throughout the years. On paper, the Broncos have a great roster, and finally they're being recognized.

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Let's hope the Broncos can convert that on-paper potential to in-season production.