Cover photo taken from PFF.
Welcome to 32 Teams in 32 Days, a daily series leading up to kickoff of the 2025 NFL season where I preview every team in the league as decided by a wheel spin and project what their season will look like. You can keep up with everything right here.
We’re sticking in the AFC West, where the Broncos have quietly vanquished financial demons and assembled one of the best rosters in the NFL, putting them in a position to genuinely contend for a Super Bowl in 2025.
No, I’m not exaggerating. And I’ll tell you why.
The Broncos have done everything right since moving on from Russell Wilson. While it felt like that trade and contract were going to bury them from years, they’ve risen from the hypothetical ashes as a literal phoenix to do everything they need to do to win football games.
In this league, you can get the QB right, then let the rest fall into place. This, however, is the alternative: a three-step equation that precedes getting a quarterback right.
Step one: hire the right coach. Denver knocked it out of the park by bringing in Sean Payton last season, who clearly had plenty of juice left after “retiring” several years ago. He just knows how to win, and he knows how to work with the quarterbacks of his choosing.
Step two: build the trenches. My God, have the Broncos done that. They were one of two teams to finish in the top-10 of pass block (1st) and rush (2nd) win rate as well as run block (1st) and stop (8th) win rate. The other was the Super Bowl champion Eagles.
Step three: Build a championship defense. I’d like to think that this unit that ranked 1st in EPA/play, 2nd in success rate, 1st in dropback EPA and 2nd in rush success rate fits the bill. That’s what happens when you have the defensive player of the year in Patrick Surtain II — who has clearly emerged as the league’s best DB. But it’s more than that. Edge rusher Zach Allen had the third-best pass rush win rate in the league last year while DT DJ Jones was second in the NFL among tackles in run stop win rate. Nik Bonitto has blossomed into one of the league’s brightest young talents at linebacker. Now, he has Dre Greenlaw alongside him with Talanoa Hufanga patrolling the defensive backfield and first-round pick Jahdae Barron locking down the opposite boundary of Surtain. I mean, good lord.
So, all of that elite roster-building by GM George Paton allowed them to tie it all together with the franchise QB of their choosing. And at first, I wasn’t sure about the choice. But Bo Nix has proven his worth after being picked 12th overall a year ago. That being said… I don’t think he’s that good yet.
Nix definitely finished the year way stronger than he started it, which goes a long way. In September, he clearly still had the training wheels on — a little odd for a five-year college starter — and the speed of the pros seemed to rattle him. But, by December, he was vastly improved, finishing the year with 3,775 yards, 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
I usually hesitate to call guys “system quarterbacks,” but it just felt like Nix was a small cog in a larger system than the one that drove the bus. He was just 19th in EPA+CPOE and 22nd in success rate while the offense ranked 16th in EPA/play. That’s a whole lotta mid. I don’t know if he has what it takes to elevate the guys around him, and I worry that what we saw last year was his ceiling as a pro; after all, he was only taken where he was because the Broncos had no other choice.
Here’s the good news: in the case that I’m right, Denver is still going to be fine. Nix and Payton have a perfect marriage and I think he’s good enough within the confines of this system (especially with that offensive line) to put them in a position to contend in the AFC. Him not being an elite quarterback is fine. Teams like the Jimmy Garoppolo 49ers prove that you don’t need crazy good QB play when the rest of the roster is as ridiculously talented as it is.
X-Factor: The Pass-Catchers
It would certainly help Bo Nix if this wide receiver and tight end corps develops into a better one. Yes, Courtland Sutton has been a great player for a long time and got a well-deserved extension this offseason. But after that, there’s some potential left to be reached considering no other player had more than 503 receiving yards — less than half of Sutton’s total — last year. I think guys like Marvin Mims and Troy Franklin could turn into truly elite deep threats in the slot, and this year’s third-rounder Pat Bryant has the frame and skillset to turn into a really nice complement to Sutton. Plus, Evan Engram could turn into a reliable security blanket at tight end considering how many targets he saw in Jacksonville. All of that would go a long way in helping Nix and elevating this offense to be better than the frankly mediocre one they were a year ago.
Team MVP: The Offensive Line
I could’ve gone a number of ways here. I really wanted to give it to Patrick Surtain, but sometimes, you gotta show love to the hog mollies.
The incredibly high level of play that this OL had a year ago is astounding. By the numbers, this might’ve been the best offensive line I’ve ever seen and was one of the biggest reasons why Bo Nix was such a success in his rookie season. Garrett Bolles, Ben Powers, Luke Wattenberg, Quinn Meinerz and Mike McGlinchey are by far the best starting five in the league. I already mentioned how this OL was first in both pass block and run block win rate in 2024, so I’m just going to leave these here for you to look at:
Garrett Bolles: 7th in PBWR among OT, ranked 5th in pass blocking grade among OT by PFF
Ben Powers: 5th in PBWR among IOL, 1st in RBWR among IOL
Luke Wattenberg: 2nd in PBWR among IOL, ranked 2nd in pass blocking grade among centers by PFF
Quinn Meinerz: 3rd in PBWR among IOL, ranked 3rd-highest overall guard by PFF (6th in pass blocking, 3rd in run blocking), voted First Team All-Pro
Mike McGlinchey: 6th in PBWR among OT
I rest my case.
Breakout Candidate: RB R.J. Harvey
I held off talking about Harvey for this long, so let’s get into it. A solid and consistent run game is what was missing from this offense last year. Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime were a mediocre committee at best, hence why Williams and Estime are now gone. JK Dobbins was brought in to be a steady vet in the backfield, but the real guy to watch is the second-round pick from UCF.
Harvey was an absolute stud in college with nearly 3,000 yards and 40 touchdowns on the ground in his final two seasons. Those are ridiculous numbers. He might be smaller in size, but he’s got the burst and quickness to make up for it. More than anything, I have a feeling that he’s going to emerge as a security blanket for Nix in the passing game, turning into a Bucky Irving of sorts by catching a ton of checkdowns and making his money after the catch. In any case, I think he’ll be the starting tailback in no time sheerly by having the highest upside of anyone in that backfield.
Record Prediction: 11-6
I have pretty high hopes for this team. I think they should be a playoff team fairly easily despite the rest of this division being a gauntlet and tough games against Washington, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Houston and Green Bay. The offensive infrastructure and defensive dominance will be enough to get to double digit wins and a Wild Card spot. I just think the lack of elite QB play will prevent them from winning the division. Plus, as I’ve been saying with these AFC West teams, I won’t believe that the Chiefs can be dethroned until I see it. But I’m a massive fan of this roster, and I’m excited to see if they can build off last year’s success and be better this fall.
Next up: 
Las Vegas Raiders
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