The Denver Broncos took a measured, perhaps short-sighted approach to the offseason following the 2025 season that nearly ended with a trip to Super Bowl LX. Now, with the benefit of hindsight, we can start to look back and see how those decisions are working out thus far.
The Broncos sit at 4-2 through their first six games, a record the team and its fanbase would likely have gladly taken after the release of this year's schedule. While the team is winning games, it's not doing so in impressive fashion.
Now, one has to wonder if the team should have made some different decisions when it had the chance.
Broncos were highly confident heading into 2026
When the free-agent signing period opened, many Broncos fans were expecting the team to pursue one of the major names at the running back position. After all, the lack of an effective running game likely prevented them from getting to the Super Bowl last year.
Kenneth Walker III was available. So were Travis Etienne, Tyler Allgeier and Rico Dowdle. At the time, all of those names looked like viable options. Instead, the Broncos chose to give a new contract to their own free-agent running back, J.K. Dobbins.
Denver's run game after contact:
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) October 21, 2026
#30 in yards after contact per rush at 2.26
#31 in % of runs that gain 5+ yards at 26.5
#31 in longest run at 17 yards
#31 in elusiveness rating
Finding a weapon at wide receiver or tight end, as well as shoring up the depth at inside linebacker, were also on the wish list. Instead, general manager George Paton and head coach Sean Payton focused on bringing back as many players as they could from the previous season's roster, including players who hardly ever saw the field.
That led into the draft, where the Broncos seemed in desperate need of an inside linebacker. After trading their first-round pick to the Miami Dolphins in order to get Jaylen Waddle, the Broncos had to wait until the late second round to make their first selection and then traded back into the early part of the third round before selecting defensive lineman Tyler Onyedim.
The team missed on solid inside linebacker prospects Jacob Rodriguez, Josiah Trotter, CJ Allen and Anthony Hill, Jr. as a result. All of those players would be welcome additions to the current roster.
As for the players the Broncos did select in the draft, that class was recently ranked as the third-worst in the league due to its minimal impact. As a whole, that group has done next to nothing.
You get the feeling that the Broncos felt that since they were a couple of plays away from playing in the Super Bowl last season, they would be able to get right back to that same spot by changing almost nothing. That could still happen, but the team's early-season struggles are indicative of a team that needs more pieces.
The most glaring need is a more consistently productive running back. The team has a chance to develop that with the return of Jonah Coleman, who has missed the last four games with an ankle injury. But he is part of that rookie class, something the team didn't have last year.
It seems somewhat obvious that having to rely on the duo of Dobbins and RJ Harvey will leave the Broncos short of their ultimate goal.
The team still needs to evaluate the middle linebacker position for extra depth and consider adding a big name such as Quenton Nelson before the trade deadline. That could boost the running game as well.
The Broncos may still be confident in the overall roster, but it does feel like it's a piece or two away from being able to win it all this season.
This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Were Broncos too overconfident going into 2026 season?