The Denver Broncos snag Jaylen Waddle, jump to No. 3 in power rankings. Can this offense lead Denver back to contention?
The Denver Broncos made a run to the AFC title game after earning the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
Unfortunately, the injury to quarterback Bo Nix proved to be too much for them to overcome as the New England Patriots won the game 10-7 to punch their ticket to the Super Bowl.
The free agency frenzy was surprisingly quiet from the Broncos, but things changed as they acquired wide receiver Jaylen Waddle in a trade with the Miami Dolphins on Tuesday.
The Waddle blockbuster was a massive move and a big addition to the Broncos' offense, but seeing John-Franklin Myers leave in free agency leaves a bit of a hole on the defense.
With free agency slowing down, Eric Edholm of NFL.com has his newest power rankings, and the Broncos are at No. 3.
The only teams ahead of Denver right now are the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams, who have the top two spots, respectively.
"Instead, they stuck to keeping some -- but not all -- of their own free agents from last year's team. The biggest loss so far is probably John Franklin-Myers, who played a significant role on defense, but Denver could reinvigorate the D-line in the draft. There is some young talent to build around."
This was published before the Waddle trade, but the Broncos being at No. 3, even without signing many free agents, is a promising sign.
The Broncos did send their No. 30 overall pick to the Dolphins in the Waddle trade, so the draft strategy will look different from what the other mock drafts had suggested early on.
AFC West Missing In Top 10
As far as the AFC West goes, the Broncos should be viewed as favorites to win the division once again, at least as of right now.
In Edholm's power rankings, the Broncos are the highest-ranked AFC team, and they are the only team from the AFC West to make the top-10.
The Los Angeles Chargers are at No. 11, and they haven't addressed the offensive line much this offseason, which was a big concern for them once again in 2025.
So, even though free agency was a big disappointment for Denver fans (what are they doing with all of that money?), the Waddle addition is a big needle-mover and gives Nix a top target alongside Courtland Sutton and Troy Franklin.
At this rate, the Broncos should enter training camp as the favorites to win the division once again.