Parker, I was reading the long article on the plans for the new stadium and surrounding areas. This question just came to mind: Has there been any speculation or predictions on the use of the current stadium property after the new one is built? Or is it too early?
— Fred Waiss, Prairie du Chien, Wis.
Hey Fred, thanks for reading, as always, and thanks getting us going from the confluence of the Mississippi and the Wisconsin.
Itap a fascinating question and the true answer is that there’s no clear answer yet, but city officials — particularly Mayor Mike Johnston — are really excited about the possibilities. In fact, when I talked to Johnston back in September as the Broncos finalized Burnham Yard as their preferred site for a new stadium, the mayor was equally excited to talk about the future of the current Empower Field site. He called it, “a once-in-a-century opportunity.”
“When will you ever get 80 acres of central Denver back, that the city owns, to be able to completely redevelop with community voice?” Johnston said then. “Thatap unheard of. Itap just such a critical place where itap deeply engaged in Sun Valley and the identity of West Denver. Itap also the connection to downtown. You can imagine how you could live right there on the old Mile High site and you could walk right under the bridge and you’re at the Auroria campus or you’re at Ball Arena or downtown.
“Itap going to be an incredible opportunity for the West side of Denver.”
It, of course, will not be an incredible opportunity any time in the very near future. In fact, the city website says the planning process to develop a vision for what happens at the old Mile High site is set to kick off in “late 2027.” Then, if everything proceeds on time at Burnham Yard and the project moves forward, the Broncos wouldn’t start playing there until the 2031 season. Once the lease runs out after the 2030 season, then the city would take over control of Empower Field.
In general, though, there is a wide range of possibilities for what happens to the land, and part of what makes it unique is that the city owns it. There will almost undoubtedly be some community uses, such as parks, open space, and public facilities. But, in Johnston’s telling, the city’s stewardship of the land also means the potential for more affordable housing or creative development projects.
“If itap all owned by a private developer, we’re begging them to do a little more affordability here and a little more affordability there,” Johnston said back in September. “When we own the land, the people get to set all the terms for what happens there. Thatap unheard of. There’s not a place where we could afford to acquire that much land to be competing with private developers who would jack up the prices.
“This is a real game-changer for West Denver to have these two neighborhoods that will be places that are both incredibly exciting and attractive and can stay affordable. Thatap the big win for the city.”
There could also be some Denver Water presence in the area, given that the utility submitted a concept plan that includes using the current Lot M at Empower Field as part of its partial relocation from the Burnham Yard area.
So, the short answer to your question, Fred, is that there aren’t concrete answers or fleshed-out ideas yet. But itap something the mayor and city officials are already excited about the possibility of.
How does this current Broncos roster compare to last year’s team at this same point of the offseason? Better? Worse? Same?
— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.
Hey Ed, thanks for writing in.
With the caveat that we haven’t seen this group on the field and won’t in any meaningful way for a while, it looks like a better roster to me. There are certainly positions where you’re not quite sure exactly who fills a spot — John Franklin-Myers’ on the defensive line and P.J. Locke as a third safety, for example — but there are also upgrades and development to take into consideration.
At this stage of the offseason last year, J.K. Dobbins hadn’t yet signed. We didn’t know if Troy Franklin would take a Year 2 leap or what contributions Denver’s offense would get from rookies like Pat Bryant and RJ Harvey.
This spring, you retain the vast majority of contributors from last year’s team and add a fresh draft class to the mix. Oh, right, and also the mega spring trade for receiver Jaylen Waddle.
There are always twists and turns through training camp, and injuries always crop up, but this is going to be a really tough 53-man roster to make. Start with the quarterback and a crop of All-Pros and work your way through the depth chart. As a first-blush starting point, itap difficult to find more than maybe 8-10 spots up for grabs.
Hey Parker, my big question for you is: Have the Broncos done enough this offseason to win the AFC West again? While we were the best team last year, we had a lot of close calls. I love that we traded for Jaylen Waddle because he’s going to open up our offense, but we still need a strong No. 1 tight end. We need an answer at ILB to counter opposing tight ends. We need a better running game (J.K. Dobbins is good, but he’s fragile).
Tell me why this team will do well next year.
— Mike, Denver
Hey Mike, thanks for writing in and good question. The Broncos won the AFC West by three games a year ago and head into training camp feeling like they’ve got a roster that’s deeper and more talented than last year’s. Not a complete list, obviously, but you can look at the starting group and say they essentially lost John Franklin-Myers and gained Jaylen Waddle. They added a draft class that may not be asked to produce a ton right away, but running back Jonah Coleman and tight end Justin Joly have a chance to help solidify the depth chart right away and maybe push for time depending on how veterans who have dealt with injuries in their careers — J.K. Dobbins and Evan Engram, respectively — hold up through the fall.
The Broncos are widely considered to have few major areas of concern, assuming quarterback Bo Nix is fully healthy when training camp begins. They’re peppered near the top of outlets’ post-draft NFL power rankings (No. 3 on ESPN and The Athletic, as a couple of examples). However, the betting odds tell a little bit of a different story at this point. DraftKings, for example, has a tight AFC West race brewing but puts Kansas City (+160) and the Los Angeles Chargers (+190) ahead of Denver (+220) to win the division. BetMGM pegs the Chiefs’ and Chargers’ win totals at 10.5 and the Broncos’ at 9.5.
Part of that is Denver’s schedule being far more challenging than it has been in recent years. They’ve got 10 games against 2025 playoff teams and that, of course, does not include a pair against division-rival Kansas City. The Chiefs’ prospects in 2026 look a lot different, of course, if QB Patrick Mahomes (ACL), is on the field from Week 1 rather than missing the first few weeks. The Chargers won 11 games last year despite a slew of injuries, including to their terrific pair of starting tackles. Losing defensive coordinator Jesse Minter is a big blow, but gaining Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator is big, too.
The regular season always takes its toll, but sign me up for a stretch run where all three teams are right in it. That sounds like fun.
I feel like if Bo Nix didn’t break his ankle after the Bills game, we would’ve beaten the Pats and gone to the Super Bowl. Do you think the Broncos would’ve been able to beat Seattle? I think we’d put up a better fight than the Pats did.
— Tim, Golden
Hey Tim, thanks for writing. One of the most popular questions of the offseason and my answer is, I think, similar to what a lot of others would say. I do think the Broncos would have beaten New England and played in the Super Bowl. I don’t think anybody was beating Seattle. Would it have been more competitive than the game we all saw? Yeah, probably.
Alas, we’ll never know for sure.
Hey Parker, do you think Bo Nix will use his legs earlier in the season as he did in his rookie year, or will they try to make him more of a pocket passer in Year 3?
— David M., Denver
Hey David, thanks for writing in and good question.
The Broncos coaches and Bo Nix all believe that he can play and win from the pocket, but itap also clear when you watch him play that his legs are a big part of what makes him special. I’d be really surprised if Nix used the fractured ankle and two subsequent operations as a reason for being less aggressive running. If he were limited in some way, that’d be another story, but at this point, there’s no indication that would be the case by the time September rolls around.
More than the ankle, some of how Nix plays and the kind of running situations he’s put in will depend on whether we see any substantial change in offensive approach with offensive coordinator Davis Webb taking over as Denver’s primary play-caller. Will he be interested in dialing up the usage of the designed quarterback run game? Will he want Nix in the pocket more frequently? Obviously, head coach Sean Payton is still going to have a heavy influence on game plan design, but if Webb is calling all or most of the plays, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Nix’s usage — and the roles of other offensive skill players — change at least a little bit.
