ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton took away playcalling from himself this offseason, and the team made one of the more marquee trades for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. But by all accounts, the Broncos have a lot more work to do in order to get "the meat on the bone" that Payton has said was left over from last season.
In 2025, the Broncos had an offense that was 14th in scoring (23.6 points per game), a quarterback Bo Nix who was 15th in OBR (58.3) and a receiving corps with only one player among the league's top 62 in yards per game (Courtland Sutton, 19th). Their rushing attack wasn't much better, as J.K. Dobbins led the team by a 232-yard margin despite missing the last seven regular-season games with a foot injury. But Denver still tied the New England Patriots for the NFL's best regular-season record, a result of 11 wins by one score.
"It's painful, but you have to start from the beginning. You really do," Payton said at the NFL combine about approaching the offseason. "From my lens, we won a lot of games by one score or less. I'm not naive enough to think those games couldn't have swung.... The meat on the bone exists with our takeaways. That has to improve. Our run game [consistency]."