The Denver Broncos didn't do much during the offseason besides re-sign a lot of core players and trade for WR Jaylen Waddle.
The Denver Broncos took full control of the American Football Conference West division early in 2025 and enjoyed a 14-3 season with an AFC Championship berth for the first time since 2015.
The Broncos took advantage of the Kansas City Chiefs having a down year, the Los Angeles Chargers having offensive line problems and the Las Vegas Raiders’ dysfunctional staff, going 5-1 against the division.
Denver had a strong roster, which is why the team didn't do much except re-sign players and trade for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, but it was particularly great on the defensive side of the ball. The defense nearly set the record for most sacks in a single season and was the main reason why the team was always in games.
Oftentimes, the defense had to keep the Broncos’ offense in the game because the offense would stall and struggle to score during the first half and sometimes the first three quarters, a problem that arose more frequently in the second half of the season when the team was without starting running back J.K. Dobbins.
Dobbins suffered a season-ending foot injury in Week 10 against the Raiders on Thursday Night Football (on an illegal hip-drop tackle that was deemed clean) and he had been having an incredible season up to that point.
Dobbins rushed for 772 yards and four touchdowns on 153 carries, averaging five yards per rush. He was well on pace to shatter his career-high in yards and earn his first 1,000-yard rushing season, and the Broncos offense took a major step back without him.
Bringing him back this offseason was the best offseason move that Denver made, according to ESPN’s Bill Barnwell.
“Even if you project Dobbins to play only half the year, Denver is getting a player who produces like one of the league's best backs for that stretch of time, which would make this a very palatable contract,” Barnwell wrote Thursday.
Barnwell noted that among 51 running backs who have 500 or more rushing attempts since 2020, Dobbins ranks: third in yards per carry, ninth in success rate, second in explosive play rate, first in rush yards over expectation (RYOE) per carry and first in EPA per rush.
On the contrary, the worst offseason move in Barnwell’s opinion was not addressing the loss of defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers to the Tennessee Titans.
Barnwell wasn’t shocked that Franklin-Myers departed to play for his former coach Robert Saleh, but he is shocked that a team with championship aspirations didn’t add more than third-round pick Tyler Onyedim, who is still unsigned.
“There's nothing wrong with asking Onyedim, second-year lineman Sai'vion Jones and 28-year-old Eyioma Uwazurike to take on some of Franklin-Myers' workload, but this is a team with championship aspirations given the Jaylen Waddle trade.”
It was surprising to Barnwell that the team didn’t pursue veteran Calais Campbell, but who knows, these guys could make a huge impact with additional playing time this season.
Franklin-Myers does leave big shoes to fill, though, as he had 14.5 sacks and 33 knockdowns in two seasons with Denver.
