Despite a tough season, key rookies like RJ Harvey shone. Discover which first-year players impressed and where the Broncos' class stands.
The Denver Broncos surprising 2025 season came to an unfortunate end in the AFC title game.
Bo Nix's season-ending injury after the divisional round win was a crushing blow, and the Broncos lost, 10-7, to the New England Patriots in the AFC title game.
The Broncos finished as the top seed in the AFC, and one can only wonder what the AFC title game would've looked like if Nix was healthy and able to play against New England.
We will never know, but the future continues to look bright for Sean Payton's team.
This year, Denver's rookie class had an up-and-down season, but adding some talented rookies to the fold will help, especially with other questions on the roster.
Gennaro Filice of NFL.com ranked each team's rookie class. The Broncos were at No. 23 with a C+ grade, which isn't the best. Here is what the Broncos class looked like last year.
- Round 1 (No. 20): CB Jahdae Barron | 17 games/5 starts
- Round 2 (No. 60): RB RJ Harvey | 17 games/7 starts
- Round 3 (No. 74): WR Pat Bryant | 15 games/7 starts
- Round 3 (No. 101): Edge Sai'vion Jones | 3 games/0 starts
- Round 4 (No. 134): Edge Que Robinson | 6 games/ 0 starts
- Round 6 (No. 216): P Jeremy Crawshaw | 17 games/0 starts
- Round 7 (No. 241): TE Caleb Lohner | 0 games/starts
The encouraging sign is the fact that three of them played in every game, and three of them made at least five starts.
Now, the biggest emergence was running back RJ Harvey, and the injury to JK Dobbins allowed more usage for Harvey.
Harvey was one of the best rookies in the league this season. He finished with 540 yards and seven rushing touchdowns in the regular season, along with five receiving scores. He led the team with 12 total touchdowns.
Jahdae Barron playing in every game was also promising, and he had 35 total tackles with an interception in the regular season. However, at times, there was more to be desired after Barron was selected in the first round.
Pat Bryant, the WR from Illinois, had 31 catches for 378 yards and a score, and his usage could increase next season as Nix and Bryant develop a better relationship with each other.
And, sometimes we forget how important punters are, but Jeremy Crawshaw was incredible for Denver. He had 30 punts inside the opponents’ 20-yard line, which places him third in the entire NFL, and Payton loves to try to pin the opponents deep in their own territory.
Denver has the 30th overall choice in the first round, and that shows how good the Broncos did in the 2025 season.
There are some Broncos rookies, such as Bryant and Harvey, who should see an increased workload in 2026, so there are some promising signs despite them having an underwhelming grade this past year.