The Denver Broncos were a Bo Nix injury away from a Super Bowl LX appearance, giving them a stable foundation to build on ahead of the 2026 season. After a modest free agency period, the Broncos took a big step toward their ultimate goal by acquiring receiver Jaylen Waddle from the Miami Dolphins.
The Dolphins made Waddle appear unavailable early in the offseason, but that status slowly changed after they released Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb, signaling a full rebuild. Denver acquired the speedster and a 2026 fourth-rounder for its first, third and fourth-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Waddle immediately becomes the Broncos’ biggest haul in an offseason that was otherwise void of big-name acquisitions. Denver retained running back J.K. Dobbins and linebackers Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad, but otherwise let the free agency chaos pass it by without making any significant signings.
The moves were not headline-stealing signings, but they kept the Broncos’ elite defense intact. The offense was always the team’s biggest concern before adding Waddle, which addressed Sean Payton’s biggest need.
Adding a name like Waddle was destined to shake up the league, but it was precisely what Denver needed after a quiet first week of free agency. The Broncos’ 2026 expectations have now been raised following their best season in a decade.
Jaylen Waddle fits Broncos’ biggest offensive need
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The Broncos entered the 2026 offseason with two significant roster needs to address. The offense is clearly trending in the right direction under Nix, but its lack of a bruising, between-the-tackles runner and a secondary receiving threat limited it throughout the 2025 campaign.
Denver addressed its running back needs by re-signing Dobbins, who was the team’s leading rusher despite missing the final seven regular season games and the entire playoffs with a foot injury. Only time will tell if that was the right move, with the Broncos investing $20 million in a 27-year-old running back who has only appeared in 46 percent of his team’s games in his career.
But with Dobbins likely returning as a change-of-pace runner behind breakout star RJ Harvey, the Broncos’ biggest need was to give Nix another consistent pass-catcher to work with. While Nix has demonstrated elite chemistry with Courtland Sutton, neither Troy Franklin, Evan Engram nor Pat Bryant earned enough respect from defenses as a secondary receiving threat.
More than anything, Denver needed a wideout who could consistently beat zone defenses. Sutton is an elite receiver against man-to-man but only average against zone coverage, according to Pro Football Focus. The big-bodied 30-year-old led the team with a 70.0 receiving grade on PFF against zone, with Bryant and Franklin right behind him at 68.7 and 68.4, respectively.
Conversely, Waddle was among the best receivers in the league against zone in 2025. The speedster battled through subpar quarterback play to post an 88.1 receiving grade on PFF against zone, seventh-best in the league.
With Denver’s AFC West rivals priding themselves on zone-dominant defenses, adding a receiver like Waddle was of the utmost importance in the 2026 offseason.
Broncos in Super Bowl contention with Jaylen Waddle trade
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Given the way they ended the 2026 season, the Broncos were always going to enter the 2026 season as Super Bowl contenders. Comparisons to the 2024 Kansas City Chiefs are daunting, but Denver was one play away from beating the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game without Nix, which is nearly impossible to ignore.
The Broncos are far from perfect, and their competition will almost certainly increase in 2026. While nobody knows what to expect from the new-look Las Vegas Raiders, the Chiefs are destined to rebound from a 6-11 season, and the Los Angeles Chargers are not going anywhere. Denver will also face the Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers, Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Rams and the Patriots in non-divisional play, a much tougher schedule than last season.
The road back to the top is much steeper, but the Broncos were already a young, loaded team that just got substantially better. Waddle alone will not improve any team, yet he was exactly what this roster needed to become truly elite on both sides of the ball.
Waddle’s addition further strengthens the AFC West’s case as the most difficult division in the NFL. But barring another last-minute devastating injury, the Broncos are in the driver’s seat and should be favored to win the division for the first time in over a decade.
The Super Bowl has always been the goal, but it is now the Broncos’ expectation for 2026.
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