The offseason has arrived after the most predictable Super Bowl outcome, but we’ve got one more power rankings update to share before we dive right into the run up to free agency in five weeks.

For the Denver Broncos, this will go down as the franchise’s biggest ‘what if’ season. That said, there should be an immense amount of hype around this franchise with a fully healed Bo Nix and a roster that is mostly returning in tact for the 2026 season. Frankly, they can only get better this offseason.

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Let’s take a look at what the national prognosticators think about where the Broncos stand with the rest of the league.

Offseason in three words: Find some pop

When the Broncos debrief the 2025 season, it will be difficult for them to escape the conclusion that a Super Bowl trip was hindered by their lack of impact on offense. The Broncos were 14th in scoring even with quarterback Bo Nix in the lineup, so it’s well beyond the question of whether Nix playing in the AFC Championship Game would have changed anything. They were 29th in percentage of drives that ended in a three-and-out. They were 15th in plays of 20 yards or more (the other three conference championship teams were Nos. 1, 2 and 4), and running back J.K. Dobbins led the team in explosive runs despite not playing after Nov. 6. — Jeff Legwold

Fox Sports: 1st

Let’s be honest: The Patriots don’t get to the Super Bowl if QB Bo Nix doesn’t fracture his ankle one week earlier. He’ll be back with the NFL’s best coach (Sean Payton), a punishing defense, hopefully another receiver, and a battle-tested team that should be hard to beat.

With a 90.1 PFSN Defense Impact Score, the Denver Broncos had the best defense in the NFL in 2025. They were the only team with an “A” grade this season, with players like Patrick Surtain, Zach Allen, Nik Bonitto, Talanoa Hufanga, and Jonathon Cooper all putting together strong campaigns.

Denver has such a good defense that they’ll be competitive in most games they play in 2026. The biggest question is the further development of Bo Nix. He’s a good quarterback who can execute Sean Payton’s system well, but can he ever be great? If he takes that next step, it’ll be tough to prevent them from making the Super Bowl.

Sporting News: 10th

The Broncos will be hoping for further passing evoluation of Bo Nix in the offense with more help from the running game. The defense should be good enough for a third consecutive playoff trip.

CBS Sports: 4th

The Broncos still aren’t getting much respect after winning the No. 1 overall seed, coming in third in odds in their own division. There’s no reason to think their success this season isn’t repeatable, even if their division rivals enjoy better health and luck this year. Bo Nix should have a relatively normal offseason after his ankle injury in the divisional round, and the Broncos look to be among the more complete teams in the league.

Aside from the Sporting News’ ranking and their use of the word ‘evoluation’, the Broncos are getting plenty of hype otherwise. I actually expected much lower rankings across the board, but instead, most people seem to see a Broncos franchise on the rise over a fraud. Perhaps it was the New England Patriots scoring 10 unassisted points in the two most important games of the season that made people realize that with Bo Nix that team would have never had a chance of making the Super Bowl.

Beating the Seattle Seahawks, on the other hand, would have been a difficult task on the Broncos best day. I don’t think they would have been blown out, though. The 2025 Broncos played well in all but one game last year and that one bad game was after an insanely long win streak that was likely wearing them down. I like where the Broncos are at and I look forward to seeing how they improve heading into the 2026 regular season.

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What are your thoughts on the state of the Broncos heading into the 2026 offseason?