Three key storylines

1) Nix’s health, receiving corps

Bo Nix should be full go for training camp after suffering a broken ankle in last season’s Divisional Round win, but every step in the process bears watching when someone this important to a franchise is returning from injury. Once Nix is out there, eyes will also be glued to his pass-catching group. Denver gifted its QB with a second No. 1 wideout by trading for Jaylen Waddle to pair with Courtland Sutton, and camp should provide the first hints as to whether the Broncos will employ them as a 1A-1B combo or settle into a more defined pecking order. Plus, can anyone from a proven supporting cast of Troy Franklin, Marvin Mims Jr. and Pat Bryant emerge as the clear third option?

2) Denver has a new play-caller

Reaching the doorstep of the Super Bowl didn’t prevent Sean Payton from enacting sizable changes to the offensive staff. He fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi two days after Denver’s AFC title game loss and bumped Davis Webb up to replace him, A month later, Payton publicly transferred play-calling duties to the 31-year-old former quarterback. It’s been a meteoric rise for Webb, who entered the coaching ranks as Payton’s QBs coach in 2023. Webb has been learning under Payton since then, so nothing will be unrecognizable, but Nix still will need to get used to a new voice in his helmet. Any improvement for a 14th-ranked scoring offense on a team that already won 14 games last season would be massive in the AFC race.

3) Broncos are largely running it back

Roster-wise, the 2026 Broncos are the personification of If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. They took the big swing for Waddle but barely signed any outside free agents. Denver instead focused on retaining talent, losing defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers and releasing linebacker Dre Greenlaw but basically keeping the band together. Even in the draft, the club didn’t make a pick until the third round. Apart from working Waddle into the mix with Webb now calling the shots, the Broncos can hit the ground running while many other contenders must start off with finding chemistry. That’s huge, considering how unfriendly the first month and a half of Denver’s schedule appears: at Chiefs, vs. Jaguars, vs. Rams, at 49ers, at Chargers and vs. Seahawks.