The Denver Broncos were one of the NFL‘s most pleasant surprises last season, going 10-7 and making the playoffs in spite of starting a rookie quarterback in Bo Nix. There was also the whole thing where the Broncos hadn’t made the playoffs since last winning the Super Bowl in February 2016.
Well, now, the Broncos have a target on their backs, especially after an impressive offseason which saw Denver land some critical pieces in both free agency and the NFL Draft. So, how will Sean Payton’s club respond?
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Unfortunately for the Broncos, they play in an AFC West division that includes the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers, not to mention a Las Vegas Raiders squad that should be improved. As such, it will prove Denver to punch its ticket to the postseason for the second straight year.
Further compounding the issue is that the Broncos had a rather unenviable rushing attack in 2024, one that required a whole lot of repairing over the last several months.
Jared Dubin of CBS Sports feels that Denver’s ground game will remain its most significant obstacle heading into 2025.
“Denver’s offensive line was great in pass protection last season, checking in first in Pro Football Focus’ pass-blocking grades and yielding pressure on only 28.3% of Bo Nix’s dropbacks,” Dubin wrote. “But the group up front was just okay in the run game, and the Broncos’ stable of backs did just about nothing with the holes that they did create. The team brought in two new backs in JK Dobbins and rookie RJ Harvey, and they’ll have to do a lot better than last year’s group in order to give Denver the more balanced offensive attack that Sean Payton typically likes to feature.”
To be fair, the Broncos did make some moves to upgrade their backfield this offseason. The Dobbins-Harvey tandem is certainly intriguing, especially given that Harvey racked up 1,577 yards and 22 touchdowns at UCF last year. But the two running backs — as well as Audric Estime — will still require adequate blocking in the trenches.
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A strong running game will be paramount to the success of Nix in his second season, as it will be key to the youngster avoiding a sophomore slump. It will keep defenses honest, too.
It’s also important to note that Dobbins has a very checkered injury history, so expecting him to stay healthy for a full campaign — something he has never done once in his NFL career — may be asking a bit too much.
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