Ranking the Denver Broncos' Biggest Needs on Offense

Sean Payton made waves during Super Bowl week, as he outlined what he believes the Denver Broncos' biggest team needs are on Up & Adams with Kay Adams.

In the conversation, Payton explained how the team buckets its needs into categories of 'gotta have', 'need', and 'want', which provides an interesting framework for us to work with as the Broncos begin to hatch their offseason schemes.

Which positions are most important for Denver to upgrade as they look to capitalize on Bo Nix's promising rookie campaign?

Tier I: Gotta Have

Running Back

In the viral clip, Coach Payton explicitly told Adams that running back and tight end were two of the Broncos 'gotta-have' positions. These positions operate in Payton's oft-used 'joker' role, which he hasn't been able to tap into in Denver yet -- something he would like to change this season.

Even setting the 'joker' role aside, running back and tight end stand out as glaring weaknesses on the present roster, with the backfield being especially troubling.

Denver has the league's third-most expensive offensive line by their contracts' combined average annual value and 11th in average yards before contact per attempt. Yet, the rushing attack was consistently subpar, ranking 21st in yards per carry, 24th in yards after contact per attempt and 30th in rushing yards over expectation per attempt. Plus, lead back Javonte Williams seems likely to depart.

The Philadelphia Eagles had a very similar statistical profile in 2023, ranking 13th in yards per carry, 30th in rushing yards after contact per attempt, and 25th in rushing yards over expectation, despite their line creating the seventh-most yards before contact. They added a dynamic running back and transformed into the league's most dangerous run game.

Imagine the heights the offense could reach with another year of experience under Bo Nix's belt and a run game opponents had to respect.

Despite their run-game failings, the Broncos offense turned in an impressive campaign in Nix's first season. They scored more points than any Bronco team since 2014 and became just the fourth offense since 2018 to rank among the league's top half in both offensive EPA and offensive DVOA with a rookie quarterback at the helm.

If the rushing attack starts living up to its upside, this will quickly become one of the league's more potent offenses. Adding a high-talent back is the quickest avenue toward realizing that potential.

Tight End

Ever so slightly behind running back in terms of how pressing the need is, tight end is a position group the Broncos should rebuild from scratch.

As currently constructed, the room is made up of Adam Trautman, Nate Adkins, and Lucas Krull, and it's debatable whether or not any of those options are even average for their position, either as a receiver or as a blocker, let alone both.

In 18 more games as a Bronco, Trautman has 72 fewer receiving yards than Greg Dulcich and 125 fewer receiving yards than late-career Owen Daniels. He's a serviceable blocker, but he's also far from being an impact player in that department. Adkins is a slightly more imposing blocker, but he's an even less dynamic receiving threat. Finally, Krull barely saw the field in 2024 after he didn't take the leap the team hoped he would. He's a worse blocker than most of Denver's wide receivers and isn't a reliable enough pass-catcher to be a playable asset at this point.

Upgrading the position would provide Nix with another pass-catching option he can rely on, and would remove the weak link in Denver's rushing attack. So, the Broncos should aim to enter 2025 with an entirely new trio, but such a dramatic change also seems unlikely, considering that none of the three are unrestricted free agents.

If any return it should be Trautman, as he's the best of the bunch and inexpensive, but the 2025 class of available tight ends, both in the draft and free agency, is strong enough that the Broncos should leave April with at least two new exciting bodies added to the room.

Tier II: Need

Wide Receiver

Broncos Country now finds itself in a similar position to Kay Adams -- begging Coach Payton to add a big-name veteran receiver, only for the stubborn offensive wizard to push back with faith in the current group.

Although unexciting, Payton is right about the Broncos' outlook at wide receiver.

With Courtland Sutton coming off a career year and under contract on a team-friendly deal, Nix has a trusty high-end veteran 'X' receiver to lean on. Marvin Mims Jr.'s rapid rise down the stretch provides hope that the Broncos have found one of their long-term starters at the position, and Devaughn Vele just turned in the best rookie year of any receiver drafted outside the top-40 picks in this year's draft.

That is a solid starting trio with complementary skillsets and an intuitive fit with one another, even if it isn't elite. It does not require a major upgrade, and there aren't many options that provide a clear upgrade, with it being a weaker wide receiver draft and free agency class.

Denver is probably best off making a few minor additions to upgrade the depth of the room, while banking on youth development, improved chemistry with Nix, and a better running back and tight end ecosystem to get increased production out of their receivers.

Interior Offensive Line

The Broncos' offensive line is generally in great shape, but there are some real problems, particularly on the interior, worth addressing.

Center remains a very visible weak point on the starting line, and the offensive line is notoriously a position group defined by its weakest links rather than its strongest components, much like the secondary on defense. While Luke Wattenberg could certainly improve in his second season as the team's starter, it isn't appealing to risk wasting an otherwise imposing front on Wattenberg taking that necessary step.

Plus, with Wattenberg stepping into the starting lineup last season, Denver was without its go-to depth option on the interior. Alex Forsyth and Alex Palczewski stepped into that role, and although Palczewski was fine in 2024, the Broncos would be wise to find another quality option, to help improve the team's line depth either directly or indirectly, by moving Wattenberg back into a reserve role.

Tier III: Want

Offensive Tackle

Denver hasn't drafted an offensive tackle at any point in the NFL draft since selecting Garett Bolles 20th overall in 2017.

As it stands now, the room is fine, but both Broncos starting tackles are now on the wrong side of 30, with Bolles turning 33 before next season. With tackle being one of the hardest-to-find positions in the sport, Payton and Co. should start compiling contingency plans so that they're ready for the future.

Drafting a tackle in the middle rounds would fill that need, and also potentially give the Broncos some better depth options along the interior, so long as the prospect was able to kick inside to guard. With that in mind, positional flexibility should be one of the top traits to focus on.

Quarterback

Look how far the Denver Broncos have come to have the quarterback position fall all the way to the bottom of this list.

With Bo Nix turning in a highly impressive rookie campaign, the Broncos finally don't have to spend the majority of their offseason energy finding a quarterback option. Instead, they can just focus on finding Nix a quality backup option, as both Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson are pending free agents.

Plus, considering that Nix, Stidham and Wilson have a great relationship with one another -- as recently demonstrated by the crew's group vacation to Mexico -- there's a great chance Denver looks to just bring back one of either Stidham or Wilson.

It's hard to project Wilson's value, as the recent success of Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield could motivate another team to give Wilson a higher-end backup contract with the potential to battle for the starting spot. If another team does decide to woo Wilson, Denver shouldn't have much trouble re-signing Stidham.