The Broncos veteran wide receiver compared quarterback Bo Nix to a mountain lion pacing in a zoo exhibit. Sutton said he’s excited to watch Nix’s first game action since he suffered a broken ankle in Denver’s wild-card playoff win over the Buffalo Bills.

“He’s like a mountain lion that����ap in the zoo that����ap just like pacing. I saw a mountain lion at the Colorado Zoo, he was just pacing back and forth,” Sutton said. “And I was like, ‘Y’all don’t want that boy to get out. It����ap not going to be good.’ But that����ap what Bo reminds me of, mentally you can tell he’s just like ‘I’m ready to go do this.”

Nix seemed to like the comparison.

“Out here there’s different animals you can encounter and I hear that it’s mountain lions and bears you don’t want to come across. I guess that’s a good comparison, one that I’ll take,” Nix said. “I feel like I’m pacing, I’ve been in this practice schedule for a long time and it’s exciting to get out there and go play another team.”

Courtland Sutton said Bo Nix was like a mountain lion. Nix’s thoughts on the comp

— Sam Jane (@sam_jane230)

Denver’s opener against the rival Kansas City Chiefs will be a big test. The Broncos will face Patrick Mahomes in his return from injury, a raucous Arrowhead Stadium crowd and a Chiefs roster that will certainly be trying to reestablish itself as the top team in the AFC West.

But perhaps Nix’s scouting report on mountain lions was an emblematic look at Denver’s mindset as it enters the team’s most anticipated season in recent history.

“The thing about mountain lions is that usually when you notice them, it’s because they noticed you a long time ago,” Nix said.

Patrick Surtain II brushes aside potential extension

After Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez received a , Patrick Surtain II fell to the ninth-highest-paid cornerback in the NFL. Surtain’s contract is very team-friendly, as the star corner is widely considered one of the best cornerbacks in football.

The Broncos did give Surtain II a $5 million raise this offseason and he’s under contract through the 2029 season. When asked Tuesday if he was hoping to receive an extension, Surtain II deferred to his on-field play.

“I think that’s what the market is now. Everybody’s going to jump the market, but Gonzalez’s extension is well deserved, heck of a player. He’s definitely one of those guys that I look at and watch film on,” Surtain said. “When that time (for an extension) come, that time comes. But right now, I can only control what I can control and that’s being the best version of myself on the field.”

A Broncos draft crush on the Chiefs roster?

When asked about Kansas City running back Kenneth Walker, coach Sean Payton said the Chiefs selected a running back in the 2026 NFL Draft that Denver thought was “a real good player.” That would be rookie Emmett Johnson, who the Chiefs took in the fifth round.

Johnson went 46 picks after the Broncos took Jonah Coleman in the fourth round. Payton said there was a group of running backs that the Broncos were considering ahead of the draft, ultimately taking Coleman after he slipped to the fourth round. Johnson was in that group.

“We felt like he was one of those guys who was in that cluster. Real good speed, balance. He checked a lot of boxes. He was a highly regarded player,” Payton said.

The Chiefs waived veteran Emari Demercado in the offseason, meaning Johnson will be the backup behind Walker.

Running it back in white

The Broncos for the season opener. Denver practiced in its white helmets on Wednesday.

The team has worn the all-white look on just one other occasion: a 20-13 win over the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium last season. That win snapped a nine-game losing streak at Arrowhead Stadium.

A new one as of Wednesday: Just look at the club’s list of captains.

The Broncos voted the same eight players captain as last year and added first-team All-Pro special teamer Devon Key to the ranks for a total of nine.

The full list: Quarterback Bo Nix, cornerback Pat Surtain II, wide receiver Courtland Sutton, left guard Quinn Meinerz, safety Talanoa Hufanga, inside linebacker Alex Singleton, defensive tackle D.J. Jones, kicker Wil Lutz and Key.

The group has been remarkably consistent over the past three years. Nix, Surtain, Meinerz, Sutton, Singleton and Lutz have been named captain at least the past three consecutive years. For Sutton, it’s six straight seasons.

“There’s an immense amount of gratitude that comes from being named captain,” Sutton said. “To be able to have your peers and the guys you share work with, the locker room, practice, film, games, bus rides, flights, the whole nine — (the people) you share those moments with.

“For them to, not just myself but the rest of the guys that were named captains, to look at us and say, ‘we trust that you guys are going to help guide us in the right direction and we believe in you guys to be the anchor for us for the ship to be going the direction we want to go toward,’ I just have a lot of gratitude and thankfulness.”

Captains, Payton said, are decided by player vote. The team held a captains’ dinner Monday night after the results were finalized.

Sutton, 30, has now been a captain for more than a half-decade as he enters his ninth NFL season. He has posted back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons in the past two years with Nix as his quarterback. Before that, he hadn’t topped 1,000 yards since 2019, his second season in the NFL. Sutton leads a revamped receivers room with Jaylen Waddle and an ascending Pat Bryant, along with Marvin Mims Jr., Troy Franklin, and Lil’Jordan Humphrey.

Nix has evolved from a rookie quarterback who quickly gained his teammates’ trust in 2024 to a more vocal presence last year, clearly the foremost leader in the locker room going into his third season. Nix, 26, spent most of the offseason rehabbing a pair of operations to his fractured right ankle, but he’s been a full participant in the preseason and appears poised to hit the ground running this fall.

“I’ve gone from a little bit more of an action-based leader when I first got here — because, honestly, I was just trying to swim and not drown and just do my role and do my part on the team while leading by action,” Nix said. “But I feel like now, I can sort of lead a little more vocally because I’m a little bit more aware and have a few more things under my belt that I can fall back on.”

Surtain, 26, is a captain for a third straight season and is universally regarded as one of the best defensive players in football. Entering his sixth season, the cornerback has already been a first-team All-Pro twice and a second-teamer twice, including last year when he missed 3.5 games due to a partially torn pectoral muscle.

Singleton, 32, is a captain for a third straight season in Denver. He led the team in tackles with 135 last year despite playing through a twice-fractured thumb early in the year and then a testicular cancer diagnosis midway through the season. The Montana State graduate is set to start alongside Justin Strnad in the middle of the Broncos’ defense.

Jones, 32, is somewhat quietly one of the foremost leaders in Denver’s locker room. He is entering his 10th season in the league and his fifth with the Broncos. He’s been a steady presence not only as an elite run defender, but also as a calm leader who is straightforward in his approach on and off the field.

Hufanga, 27, was perhaps a mild surprise as a captain pick last year since he only arrived in the spring of 2025 via free agency from San Francisco. He set about earning trust quickly last year, though, playing in every game and racking up 106 tackles, a pair of sacks, and a career-high 11 passes defensed en route to earning second-team All-Pro honors. A second selection as captain, then, is not at all surprising.

Meinerz, 27, has established himself as perhaps the best guard in football, but getting comfortable as a leader has taken more time. He talked openly about the pressure he felt in 2024 when he was first named a captain shortly after signing a four-year, $72 million contract extension. Since then, though, he has developed his own leadership style and is, in many ways, the face of what is, overall, a highly experienced offensive line group.

Lutz, 32, and Key, 28, give the Broncos a pair of captains from their special teams ranks. Lutz has been the kicker on Payton’s teams for a decade now and he made a host of big kicks last year. Key, meanwhile, emerged as one of the game’s best core special teams players and was named first-team All-Pro in 2025.

Key’s election to captain was “overdue,” Lutz said, and Sutton commended the newcomer to the group.

“I probably don’t tell him this enough in person, but I tell all the other young guys,” about his story, Sutton said. “To watch him grow and mold into the player he’s become and then ultimately into this leadership role and captain role, man, it’s truly inspiring.”

Payton and several of the captains on Wednesday said the Broncos have a host of players who will lead despite not being elected captain.

“I was telling the guys after we got done with the dinner, whether you have the ‘C’ or don’t have the ‘C,’ everyone has the opportunity to lead,” Sutton said. “Everyone leads in their own way. You may not have the ‘C’ on your chest, but we all have moments where our leadership shows.”

“It’s very lucky. It’s so rare in our league to have what we have,” McGlinchey said.

The offensive line is a microcosm of a Broncos roster that’s predicated on continuity entering the 2026 season. With nearly the entire starting lineup returning, it’s difficult to parse through the roster to find any potential breakout players. For two straight seasons, general manager George Paton and coach Sean Payton have zigged while the rest of the NFL zags. On average, only 56% of NFL players return to the same team from one year to the next, and just 35% of players return every two years, according to a study done by .

But there are always surprises in the NFL. To gauge who could emerge this season as an impact player for Denver, The Denver Post asked several Broncos which of their teammates could shock people in 2026.

Eyioma Uwazurike

The amount of love Uwazurike has gotten throughout camp will be music to both Broncos fans and the team’s front office. After John Franklin-Myers departed to the Tennessee Titans in free agency, it left a big hole in the middle of Vance Joseph’s defense.

Uwazurike felt prepared to fill the void. Last season, he told The Post he was “100% able to take over that role completely.” He’s looked the part this offseason, consistently disrupting plays during team sessions and repping alongside All-Pro defensive tackle Zach Allen in positional drills. His teammates have noticed.

“I’ll say Eni, bro. Eni’s had an amazing camp. He’s a guy that just disrupts,” wide receiver Pat Bryant told The Post when asked who could break out for the Broncos this year. “Like coach was saying, man, it����ap going to be hard to keep him off the field. Big guy. Moves very well. I’m excited to see what he does this year.”

A raw fourth-round pick in 2022, Uwazurike served a year-long gambling suspension that held him out in 2023 and then played a marginal role in 2024. He finally found consistent playing time in 2025, finishing the year with 39 tackles, five tackles for loss and five quarterback hits.

Known primarily as a run-stopping defensive tackle, Uwazurike took a lot of early down snaps last year. That freed up Franklin-Myers to be more effective on third downs, but Uwazurike has insisted he is not just a run stuffer. In his final season at Iowa State, he racked up nine sacks. The 320-pounder has some quickness to his game and worked on his pass-rushing repertoire this offseason. Fellow defensive tackle D.J. Jones called him “unblockable.”

“The leap he’s taking right now is pretty scary,” Jones said.

Payton also pointed to Uwazurike as a potential breakout player, saying he’s played “really well.”

Pat Bryant

Offensive coordinator Davis Webb dubbed Bryant as “Patty Ice” this offseason, and if you earn a nickname like that from a new signal-caller, you’re probably doing something right.

Bryant has arguably been the Broncos’ star of training camp, as he’s garnered praise from Payton, Webb, his fellow wide receivers, defensive players and the media. The second-year wideout out of Illinois is set to be Denver’s third wide receiver, behind Courtland Sutton and Jaylen Waddle, by becoming much more comfortable in Payton’s system.

Safety Talanoa Hufanga, who’s had to help guard Bryant in training camp, said Bryant was “a role player” last year as a rookie, still learning Payton’s scheme.

“Watching his leap, you kind of could see it as the season went last year, but what he’s done through this camp, he’s really solidified himself and making a name for himself in this league,” Hufanga said.

Que Robinson

The second-year edge rusher might be the unproven player the Broncos are counting on this season. Robinson’s job got significantly more important after Jonathon Cooper was put on the commissioner’s exempt list. It seems as if he’s ready for the increased role.

Several players tabbed Robinson as their breakout player of the season. Bryant pointed him out and tight end Evan Engram said he’s had to “lock in” whenever he’s facing the linebacker in pass protection drills.

“The guy I’ve been super impressed with is Que Robinson, he’s been a force all camp,” Engram said. “He’s definitely growing as a player and he has a bright future ahead of him for sure.”

Sam Ehlinger and Bo Nix

While no players specifically pointed to Nix or Ehlinger, each quarterback got some love from their teammates. Cornerback Patrick Surtain II said Nix is “better than before, more sharp.”

“He’s ready to show the world what he’s about. Not that he already didn’t, but he’s ready to make a statement,” Surtain II said.

Payton said Ehlinger greatly improved this offseason. Ehlinger “earned” his spot on the 53-man roster despite being the third quarterback on the depth chart, Payton added. If Ehlinger has to play significant snaps this season, something disastrous likely happened in Denver, but Payton’s praise for the signal-caller is worth monitoring.

It wound up being slightly more serious.

“I played with a torn labrum,” Harvey told The Post this August, standing outside Denver’s practice facility. He mutters. He does not like the public eye. “I don’t know. I’m good now. I feel great.”

His parents would fly out from Florida for home games last season in Harvey’s rookie year in Denver, and Harvey eventually told his dad, Robert, that he’d done something to his shoulder in camp. He wasn’t sure what. But nobody knew how serious it was until Harvey got his end-of-season physical, and an MRI revealed damage.

He returned home to Florida this offseason and told his parents he needed surgery.

“We was like, ‘On what?’” Robert Harvey recalled.

“That����ap just who he is,” the father said later. “He doesn’t complain about anything.”

Harvey did not complain — publicly or privately, by all accounts — about the shoulder in 2025. He did not complain when he was hardly seeing touches early in the season. He did not complain when he was seeing a lot of touches, after starting RB J.K. Dobbins‘ mid-season injury. He did not complain when he injured his rib in Week 15 and didn’t miss even a dash of practice. And he did not complain about a remarkably drastic shift in his role from college to the NFL, where head coach Sean Payton hinted he could be his long-awaited “Joker” weapon in the passing game.

That “Joker” moniker has now vanished from the ����apountry lexicon, a casualty of Internet overuse. Harvey doesn’t hear it anymore; he smiles. And yet he appears plenty more ready for it in 2026, between good health and good wisdom.

“I wasn’t overwhelmed,” Harvey said, speaking on his utilization as a rookie. “It was just something that I didn’t do a lot of in college. So just watching a lot of Darren Sproles cut-ups in college, and seeing how he ran his choice routes and his wheel routes, and seeing how decisive he was out of his cuts. That����ap something that I focused on during the offseason, and I feel a lot more comfortable with my route-running this year.

“I’m just going to continue to get better and develop,” he continued. “And, yeah, it����ap going to be a great year.”

After down-shifting from bell-cow status at UCF to a primary pass-catching back for much of 2025, Harvey kicked back into gear after Dobbins’ Lisfranc injury in Week 10, a rookie second-round running back emerging as one of Payton’s most important offensive pieces. He racked up 326 rushing yards in the Broncos’ final seven games; Harvey averaged just 3.4 yards per carry down the stretch, though, and Payton abandoned Harvey handoffs in Denver’s AFC wild-card win in favor of 12 carries for quarterback Bo Nix.

The Broncos’ running-back room has only cluttered further in 2026, as the club re-signed veteran favorite Dobbins to a two-year deal and drafted steady Washington back Jonah Coleman in the fourth round of April’s NFL Draft. But Harvey established himself early in training camp as the Payton’s go-to running back in third-down and two-minute passing situations — and will be “certainly in that position” in 2026, as Payton said in August.

“The more I do it, the more comfortable I’m going to get,” Harvey tells The Post. “And I feel like I’m getting great chemistry with Bo.”

This journey started in May 2025, when Payton introduced Harvey to his Library of Perfect Plays — a collection of touchdown film from his days in New Orleans. Admission required one second-round draft ticket, and the resources were practically endless. And Payton, the man who had carved Swiss Army Knives from blunt-force instruments, dusted off a few volumes of one of his old favorites: Sproles.

It was a new world for Harvey, then a quiet 24-year-old who is now a quiet 25-year-old. Sproles was a classic scat-back who had more catches than carries in three years in New Orleans. Harvey was a bell-cow back for two years at UCF who hadn’t spent much time learning the nuances of passing-down activity. And here was Payton, in May 2025, pulling up New Orleans touchdown clips of running-back choice routes with a clear directive: Study.

Harvey did, and turned himself into an open-field tornado in the passing game: 47 catches for 356 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie. In June, he trekked to Austin, Texas for a . He told reporters this summer, too, that he’s watched a “lot of film” in the offseason of 49ers star RB Christian McCaffrey, Kansas City’s Kenneth Walker III and Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs.

And Harvey has showcased obvious growth as a route-runner in his second NFL training camp.

“Just being more decisive,” Harvey told The Post, on what he’s learned from studying Sproles’ tape. “Just floating out of your cuts, out of the breaks, on the option routes. Choice routes. Just turning your shoulders and head around quick, and that����ap what I’ve been working on this offseason during camp.”

That’s a tantalizing thought for another go-to option for Nix, as Harvey led all NFL rookies in 2025 with 12 touchdowns in 17 regular-season games. Those stats, of course, masked some obvious flaws in the Florida native’s game. Denver and Nix visibly didn’t trust Harvey in pass-protection situations early in his season, and Harvey too often operated with happy feet when running between the tackles.

Dobbins will no doubt command Denver’s room on the ground in 2026, and Coleman could eat into situational touches. But Harvey has earned the trust, in camp, to fully sprout his Joker wings.

“Year Two in the system,” Harvey said in June, “I feel way more comfortable. And it’s only going to get better, from where I left off.”

Here’s a look at the Broncos’ probable offensive two-deep come the fall, with some by-committee approaches at running back and receiver.

Quarterback

Bo Nix | 10
6-foot-2, 217 pounds, 26 years old, 3rd season, Oregon

The ankle not-initially-heard ’round the world ended what was an inconsistent but promising second season for Nix, who has ended the year better than he’s started in two NFL campaigns. He hit a visible new level as a decision-maker from Week 11 on, with just three interceptions in 262 attempts in that span. Now, can he improve his efficiency under pressure and more consistently stretch the field between the hashes?

Jarrett Stidham | 8
6-foot-3, 215 pounds, 29 years old, 7th season, Auburn

Stiddy’s back for a fourth — and potentially final — season in Denver. His AFC Championship fill-in performance for Nix left little to be desired, but Stidham remains a solid if flawed backup.

Running back

J.K. Dobbins | 27
5-10, 212, 27, 7th season, Ohio State

Dobbins was one of the NFL’s most productive running backs before suffering a season-ending broken foot in Week 10 in 2025. After re-signing in Denver on a two-year deal this offseason, Dobbins will again bring his feisty personality to lead the Broncos’ rushing attack — if he can only stay healthy.

RJ Harvey | 37
5-8, 205, 25, 2nd season, UCF

Harvey had a mixed rookie season, averaging just 3.7 yards per carry but scoring an NFL-rookie-leading 12 touchdowns. Another year in Sean Payton’s system should benefit him as a runner, and Harvey is only continuing to grow as a route-running weapon out of the backfield.

Jonah Coleman | 20
5-8, 220, 22, Rookie, Washington

Coleman checks almost every box Denver could want in an instant-impact mid-round running back: not prone to fumbling, not prone to drops, smart, tough between the tackles, and terrific in pass protection. He could take rotational snaps right away.

Wide Receiver

Courtland Sutton | 14
6-4, 216, 30, 9th season, Southern Methodist

The Broncos’ ol’ reliable racked up a second straight 1,000-yard season as Bo Nix’s favorite target in 2025, and made his second Pro Bowl. Sutton could see slightly less volume with the addition of Waddle, but will still be the go-to guy on late downs.

Pat Bryant | 13
6-2, 204, 23, 2nd season, Illinois

Bryant became an instant fan favorite for his blocking and timely playmaking in the second half of Denver’s season, but his growing role was marred by a string of injuries. He’s a breakout candidate if he can stay healthy.

Wide Receiver

Jaylen Waddle | 17
5-10, 185, 27, 6th season, Alabama

The Broncos’ blue-chip addition of the offseason, Waddle racked up 5,039 receiving yards over the course of five seasons in Miami. His explosiveness in and out of breaks and after-the-catch burst have been on full display in training camp, and he could provide several doses of rocket fuel to Denver’s offense.

Troy Franklin | 11
6-3, 180, 23, 3rd season, Oregon

This spot could well fall to Marvin Mims Jr., too, as Denver really has five receivers. Franklin could find himself as the odd man out in a crowded room, but still enters the 2026 season as the Broncos’ second-leading receiver from last season.

Tight End

Evan Engram | 1
6-3, 240, 31, 10th season, Ole Miss

The “Joker” that was promised never materialized in 2025, as Engram often went invisible for long stretches of games during his first season in Denver. The Broncos chose to keep the veteran tight end rather than cut ties, though, and Engram still was easily the most productive receiving TE on the roster last season.

Adam Trautman | 82
6-5, 253, 29, 7th season, Dayton

Have blocking, will not travel. Trautman is now set to play his sixth out of seven NFL seasons for Payton dating back to New Orleans, and signed a new three-year deal this offseason as a blocking-forward TE.

Left Tackle

Garett Bolles | 72
6-5, 300, 34, 10th season, Utah

The Broncos’ eldest statesman continues to only get better with age, putting together the first Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro season of his career in 2025. Bolles has now played 51 straight regular-season games in Denver.

Frank Crum | 73
6-7, 315, 26, 3rd season, Wyoming

Frank the Tank made a splash with a trick-play touchdown in the Broncos’ AFC wild-card win over Buffalo last season, and continues to earn considerable trust and buzz in the Broncos’ offensive-line developmental pipeline.

Left Guard

Ben Powers | 74
6-4, 310, 29, 8th season, Oklahoma

Get this: Powers missed much of the 2025 season with a torn bicep, returned later in the year, broke his foot, played the entire rest of the season on that broken foot, and then took a pay cut after the year. He’s still an integral part of Denver’s run-blocking efforts.

Kage Casey | 78
6-5, 310, 22, Rookie, Boise State

The Broncos loved Casey’s versatility enough to snag him in the fourth round of April’s NFL Draft, and Casey has worked throughout the summer and training camp at left guard in an obvious succession plan for Powers.

Center

Luke Wattenberg | 60
6-5, 300, 28, 5th season, Washington

Payton has praised Wattenberg’s intelligence on multiple occasions, and the Broncos handed the starting center a four-year, $48 million extension last year.

Alex Forsyth | 54
6-4, 312, 27, 4th season, Oregon

Forsyth has stepped in seamlessly over the past two seasons when Wattenberg has missed time with injury, and continues to play a valuable depth role in the Broncos’ offensive line plans.

Right Guard

Quinn Meinerz | 77
6-3, 320, 27, 6th season, Wisconsin-Whitewater

Meinerz said that during this training camp, he was dealing with personal issues throughout 2025, but the star guard still earned his second straight first-team All-Pro nod. He wasn’t quite as consistent in pass protection as he was in 2024, and he struggled in the Broncos’ AFC Championship Game loss, but Meinerz remains a top-tier offensive-line talent in the NFL.

Right Tackle

Mike McGlinchey | 69
6-8, 315, 31, 9th season, Notre Dame

Like his tackle partner, McGlinchey continues to improve with age. The veteran turned in arguably the most consistent end-to-end season of his career in 2025, and has rounded into a leader on Denver’s front.

Alex Palczewski | 63
6-6, 314, 27, 4th season, Illinois

Palczewski slid all the way across the line last season to fill the injured Powers’ spot admirably for 10 games, and earned himself a nice two-year offseason extension in the process. He could be the first man up both at tackle and at guard in any case of injury.

Kicker

Wil Lutz | 3
5-11, 32, 11th season, Georgia State

Lutz continues to knock on the door of the NFL’s highest kicking tier, putting home 28 of 32 field goals (87.5%) in 2025. He fell back to earth from 40-plus yards last year, though, with a 7-of-11 success rate from that distance.

Perhaps it����ap in the business offices on the third floor, with copious natural light, soaring, exposed wood beams and ceiling, a large outdoor patio overlooking the practice fields and even a golf simulator.

Or perhaps it����ap down on the players’ first floor, in the cavernous locker room, a weight room that will make leg day seem like a good idea or a state-of-the-art training and rehabilitation area that is filled with cutting-edge technology and design detail down to the exact size of the drawers.

All-Pro right guard Quinn Meinerz parked underground in the players’ lot for the first time and realized his truck wouldn’t be “150 degrees” after a long training camp day baking in the Front Range sun.

Then he walked into the building and, right through the doors, found paths to the locker room, weight room and cafeteria.

“In the previous building, the weight room, you have to walk,” he said. “It sounds so spoiled, but you have to walk a little bit to go to the weight room. Right now, the weight room is connected to the locker room pretty much, so everything is so close.

“Those little minutes of time do add up throughout the day, so it’ll be nice to just have a really good flow of traffic and everything.”

Somewhere along the way, it����ap natural to wonder: Is there such a thing as too nice?

Broncos owner and CEO Greg Penner has thought about that question and has at least one antidote.

“Well, I think you’ve met our head coach,” he said with a smile during a recent news conference in the atrium of the Broncos’ new building, which opened for business in July.

Sean Payton didn’t laugh when relayed the comment, but he made it clear that the new digs had been part of his opening message to the 2026 Broncos when they reported for training camp this summer.

His message: It����ap very possible to have a team that stinks residing in a building that shines.

“There have been a ton of new facilities with teams that have had success and a ton of new facilities with teams that haven’t,” Payton said. “I don’t think there’s any story or correlation. It����ap about the guys in the room, what we do on the field. If we’re not successful, it����ap going to be because we didn’t do a good enough job coaching, we didn’t execute well enough. It����ap not going to be because of the new digs. If we are successful, it����ap going to be because we did the stuff needed. It����ap not going to be because of the new digs.”

Building the best to be the best

That����ap mostly true. A new building can’t give Payton and offensive coordinator Davis Webb better ideas for third-and-short. It won’t make a game-saving tackle or force a fumble at a critical moment.

What the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group is betting on, though, is that over time the building will make a difference in football and business.

The bells and whistles are part of that equation, to be sure. Having the best in training and rehab tools won’t prevent all injuries, but if it prevents one or two per year, that����ap real, on-the-field value. If having nearly all business employees relocated from the stadium to the new HQ leads to better ideas, that����ap good for the bottom line, too.

“It����ap a testament to ownership, to Greg and Carrie, the investment they’ve made into football, football first, but also our business to bring nearly 100 business staff into the building to create culture, to design a building with football in mind,” president Damani Leech said. “The spaces are really well thought of. Very intentional layout. The player path of travel was really, really important.

“I love coming to work every day, and I think everybody else does too.”

But there’s another element, slightly less tangible, that might not be apparent on a quick tour of the building but undoubtedly can be felt by players and employees who show up to work there every day.

You’ve got the best of the best. No stone is left unturned.

Leech put it flat-out in early August: “There’s really nothing that we didn’t get. Nothing.”

The result: There is really no excuse for not performing.

“Any time we’re going to — whether it����ap this facility, a new stadium — we’re trying to raise the expectations,” Penner said. “And our expectation is that we want to win championships.

“We’re going to do everything it takes and provide the resources that are necessary to do it.”

What two mixed-use districts in Atlanta reveal about Broncos’ Burnham Yard plans

Now four years into owning the team, Penner and Carrie Walton-Penner increasingly see their vision coming to fruition. They’ve solidified the top of their football operation with coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton, extending each of their contracts this spring with deals of equal length. They’ve got a quarterback in place in Bo Nix. They’ve been to an AFC Championship Game. They’ve designed and built a new home base for the franchise and are in the process of attempting to do the same with a stadium and mixed-use district at Burnham Yard. They’ve overhauled the club’s foundation and community efforts.

The Penners had high expectations from the start in August 2022, to be sure. They showed they weren’t afraid of change when they fired Nathaniel Hackett after 15 games and took on a record $85 million in dead salary cap a year later by releasing Russell Wilson.

With each passing year and each additional project, though, the room for excuses dwindles further.

That doesn’t mean the Broncos must win Super Bowls every year or else. Penner said recently he’s wary of “binary answers” when it comes to what defines success in a particular season.

Still, at this point, the expectations set from the corner offices in the club’s new building are high. And they’re not coming down any time soon.

“I’m excited,” Penner said. “I feel like each season we come in and we’re more prepared and a better roster and a more complete coaching staff and all the pieces are there since the first season. That����ap how I feel about it now. We can’t wait to get out there. We have all the pieces, and we have the right culture.

“Again, we’re providing the right resources. You always need a little bit of luck. And you just have to go out and perform.”

Pat Bryant began to emerge late last season as a player to watch in Denver’s receiver room after he posted at least three catches in the regular season’s final five games. But after the Broncos traded for star wideout Jaylen Waddle this offseason, Bryant’s path to significant playing time was narrowed.

The second-year receiver responded with an excellent offseason, emerging as Denver’s No. 3 wide receiver. Bryant’s caught a majority of the balls thrown his way, earning the nickname “Patty Ice” from offensive coordinator Davis Webb during training camp. He can line up on the outside or in the slot, and his strong technique and route running have made him a favorite target of quarterback Bo Nix. Expect Bryant to play a big role in the Broncos’ passing attack this season.

Breakout Bronco from training camp?

Denver returns an established roster, but a few unproven players emerged this summer.

Denver enters the year as an established Super Bowl contender. It returns almost the entirety of a roster that was one win away from the NFL’s final Sunday. But as fans saw with Nix’s ankle injury in the Broncos’ playoff win over the Buffalo Bills, the margin for sustained success in the NFL is slim.

The reporters covering the 2026 iteration of the team had differing opinions on what could determine the Broncos’ fate this season. Some pointed to health, including the defense’s front seven and running back J.K. Dobbins, as key factors. After Denver’s defense finished tied for the fourth-lowest takeaways in the league last year, others thought turning opposing offenses over more was critical. And while the Broncos set the NFL record for second-half comebacks in 2025, two reporters pointed to Denver earning earlier leads as something to watch for.

What’s the swing factor for the season?

Here’s what reporters think could change the trajectory of Denver’s year.

As you can see, the reporters covering the Broncos are buying a leap from Nix. The third-year quarterback will be surrounded by the most talented core of his career and potentially the strongest running game of the Sean Payton era to aid him.

Several reporters said they envisioned Nix being in the MVP conversation, with one comparing Nix’s potential season to Patriots quarterback Drake Maye’s 2025 year. If Nix does take those strides, it’s not difficult to envision Denver playing far into the winter.

Team MVP for the year?

Several reports said they expect Bo Nix to be in the MVP conversation this season.

Only four players from Denver’s seven-person 2026 class remain on the 53-man roster after the preseason. Fourth-round rookie running back Jonah Coleman earned ubiquitous praise from the media.

Ironically, Coleman’s been advertised as an ahead-of-schedule player this offseason. Payton said Coleman “doesn’t feel like a rookie,” and draft analysts said the former Washington running back’s pass-protecting skills could get him on the field earlier than anticipated.

Coleman’s joining a talented room. J.K. Dobbins was one of the AFC’s top backs when healthy last year and R.J. Harvey is a skilled receiver out of the backfield who will play a large role on third downs. Coleman might not get many carries in the early portion of the season, but multiple reporters said the running back might be Denver’s “RB1 of the future.”

Kage Casey, a fourth-round guard out of Boise State, won’t start along the offensive line to begin the year, but could be in the Broncos’ future plans at guard.

Best rookie from Denver’s 2026 class?

Jonah Coleman, a fourth-round pick out of Washington, could play a larger role than anticipated in Denver’s backfield.

Every reporter predicted the Broncos would finish with a better record than the oddsmakers’ over/under win total prediction of 9.5 wins. Although both 11-6 and 12-5 would be a regression from last season’s 14-3 finish, the Broncos would almost assuredly make the playoffs with either record. Only two teams in the Super Bowl Era have missed the playoffs after finishing with 11 regular-season wins — the 2008 Patriots and the 1985 Broncos. Since the NFL expanded to a 14-team playoff in 2021, a team with 11 wins has never missed the postseason.

Record prediction for Broncos season?

Oddsmakers set the Broncos’ regular-season over/under win total at 9.5 wins.

AT KANSAS CITY

6:15 p.m., Sept. 14, ESPN

A “Monday Night Football” opener at Arrowhead, (likely) Patrick Mahomes’ return and the propensity of Sean Payton’s teams here to start slow? That����ap a recipe for disaster, right? Well, Denver’s also been good against the Chiefs recently. Bo Nix gets off to a rollicking start, Vance Joseph continues to do good work against Mahomes and the Broncos hype reaches a fever pitch.

Prediction: Broncos 24, Chiefs 16

WEEK 2

JACKSONVILLE

2:05 p.m., Sept. 20, KCNC-4

Small market alert! The Jaguars are defending AFC South champions, and they’ve got a terrific young play-calling head coach in Liam Coen. They were the only team to win in Denver during the regular season last year. They will not, however, make it two in a row. This time around, J.K. Dobbins is a difference-maker and the Broncos more effectively limit — though not without some struggle — Jags quarterback Trevor Lawrence. A barnburner would be fun.

Prediction: Broncos 30, Jaguars 27

WEEK 3

L.A. RAMS

6:20 p.m., Sept. 27, KUSA-9 

The dream start is dreamy until Sean McVay brings his team to Denver for a blockbuster (as far as Week 3 games go) Sunday night matchup. The Rams have depth, talent and one of the most daunting defensive lines out there with the addition of Myles Garrett. Matthew Stafford’s flanked by too much offensive talent. But what about a potential mid-February rematch on the Rams’ home turf?

Prediction: Rams 24, Broncos 17

WEEK 4

AT SAN FRANCISCO

2:25 p.m., Oct. 4, KCNC-4

What a year to draw the NFC West. And the Broncos get the entire division in a five-game span. That����ap a pretty wild schedule quirk. The Niners figure to be really good again this year unless their local substation causes a bunch of injuries again — Joking! Mostly joking! — and this will be a tall task. Christian McCaffrey puts the dagger in Denver with a wheel route called by Kyle Shanahan. Ouch.

Prediction: 49ers 20, Broncos 14

WEEK 5

AT L.A. CHARGERS

2:05 p.m., Oct. 11, KCNC-4

The Chargers lost defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, which is a big one. They gained offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, which is a big one. L.A. should be able to run the heck out of the ball, and they get two All-Pro tackles back from injury to protect Justin Herbert. This game is tougher because of the brutal stretch it falls in, though the SoFi crowd will be largely blue and orange. Wil Lutz’s first walk-off attempt feels right.

Prediction: Broncos 19, Chargers 17

WEEK 6

SEATTLE

6:15 p.m., Oct. 15, Prime 

Hey, the Broncos have made it through a rugged opening five weeks at 3-2. That’ll play. Now, the Super Bowl champs roll into town on a short week. What if Bo Nix hadn’t broken his ankle in January? These teams probably would have played in February. Maybe they’ll make good in 2027. In the meantime, Mike MacDonald’s team is going to be a handful.

Prediction: Seahawks 24, Broncos 17

WEEK 7

AT ARIZONA

2:05 p.m., Oct. 25, KCNC-4

Davis Webb and Co. use the bye week to spend a little extra time tinkering with their plans and decide more outside zone, under center and play-action game is the ticket. Will it hold up the whole season? Hard to say from here, but the hapless Cardinals take the brunt of a creative burst from the Denver offense. Nix has had some stat-stuffer games in his career. This one goes near the top of the list.

Prediction: Broncos 44, Cardinals 17

WEEK 8

KANSAS CITY

2:25 p.m., Nov. 1, KCNC-4

The Chiefs, perhaps not surprisingly, find their footing quickly after losing the opener to the Broncos. They roll into Empower Field on a roll. This rivalry, though, has turned on its head. Payton made the Chiefs one of his primary goals and now, suddenly, he’s got their number. If Denver beats Mahomes twice this year, there will be no discounting the season sweep. Come to think of it, that might be too much to ask. One last dose of Travis Kelce magic proves bedeviling.

Prediction: Chiefs 26, Broncos 24

WEEK 9

AT CAROLINA

11 a.m., Nov. 8, KCNC-4

It����ap kind of amazing that a road trip to a 2025 champion represents the start of the soft part of the Broncos schedule, but hey, here we are. Bryce Young has come a long way and the Dave Canelas/Dan Morgan regime has been a success overall so far. The Broncos, though, have too much pass rush and by this time will have a fully functional Nix/Jaylen Waddle connection rolling. Denver needs this game and gets it.

Prediction: Broncos 28, Panthers 17

WEEK 10

BYE

Normally a midseason bye is great, though the Broncos have benefitted greatly from having a later bye each of the past two years since they’ve been in postseason contention. A Week 6 TNF game and Week 10 bye is stacking the extra rest a bit early, though there’s more oddball game times to come. November, though, is too late for golfing in Idaho, so Payton gets a little R&R in Cabo instead.

WEEK 11

LAS VEGAS

2:25 p.m., Nov. 22, KCNC-4

Ah, at long last, the Raiders arrive on the Broncos’ schedule. This game would have so much more juice had Las Vegas hired Webb as its head coach. The only real question for the Silver and Black will be if No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza has taken over at QB for Kirk Cousins by this point. Either way, by the time this one is over, Mark Davis will wish he’d hired Webb. Or Vance Joseph. Or both.

Prediction: Broncos 27, Raiders 13

WEEK 12

AT PITTSBURGH

1 p.m., Nov. 27, Prime

Black Friday in the Steel City. This game will draw an absolutely massive number of eyeballs to Amazon on the biggest retail day of the year. Yay, corporate synergies! Last time the Broncos saw Aaron Rodgers, he was the New York Jets quarterback and they hit him a lot of times in the rain at MetLife Stadium in 2024. How about snow instead, three rivers instead of the Jersey swamp and probably a lot more hits on the by then nearly 43-year-old. One of them, like ‘24, will be a game-sealer.

Prediction: Broncos 21, Steelers 20

WEEK 13

MIAMI

2:05 p.m., Dec. 6, KDVR-31

When the Broncos made the playoffs in 2024, they did so with a whopping $89 million in dead cap. It was the biggest raw number of all time and just barely No. 2 by percentage of the cap ($34.8%). The Dolphins, as of this writing, have $179 million in dead cap. That����ap a shade under 60%. They have $112 million in actual player contracts on their roster. Preposterous. Waddle will score a pair of touchdowns against his own team and three if Miami at some point just runs out of players.

Prediction: Broncos 35, Dolphins 20

WEEK 14

AT N.Y. JETS

11 a.m., Dec. 13, KCNC-4

Don’t look now but the Broncos have won five in a row to get to 8-4 and right into the postseason mix. The Jets might as well be a division team at this point because they’ve ended up on Denver’s schedule nearly every year. This will be the seventh straight season they’ve played and the ninth matchup in 10 years. Payton’s team has won the past two, but they’ve been 11-10 (in London last year) and 10-9 in 2024. Is that a bad sign? This one could be ugly and still a relative breeze.

Prediction: Broncos 17, Jets 9

WEEK 15

AT LAS VEGAS

2:25 p.m., Dec. 20, KCNC-4

This one has all the trappings of a trap game. The Broncos are likely to be big favorites, it����ap in Vegas after playing on the East Coast before and it����ap heading into a short week before a titanic matchup against Josh Allen and Co. on Christmas Day at Empower Field. One of the hallmarks of Payton’s tenure in Denver, though? The Broncos have rarely lost games like this, where they’re clearly expected to win.

Prediction: Broncos 26, Raiders 14

WEEK 16

BUFFALO

2:30 p.m., Dec. 25, Netflix

If the season goes anything close to the way it seems primed to, this can be just a tremendous matchup. Standalone on Christmas Day. A rematch of a January postseason classic. Maybe No. 1 seed and almost certainly some form of postseason implications. Josh Allen. Bo Nix. Their mutual bestie Davis Webb. Sean Payton vs. protege Joe Brady. On and on and on. It has the chance to be so, so good. The bet here: This time, the kid from Wyoming does not turn the ball over four times.

Prediction: Bills 28, Broncos 27

WEEK 17

AT NEW ENGLAND

TBD

If there’s a game that will have some crazy travel plans scrambled by weather, this is the obvious favorite. Early January at Foxborough is just asking for a blizzard. Not just in the second half, either. Sorry. Buffalo and New England back-to-back down the stretch of this season might be vertigo-inducing, but so might the AFC playoff race itself. These teams fitted their third-year quarterbacks with A.J. Brown and Waddle this offseason. They know it����ap go time. They might even play again a couple weeks later.

Prediction: Patriots 23, Broncos 20

WEEK 18

L.A. CHARGERS

TBD

Man, back-to-back one-score losses to fall to 10-6 going into the final week of the season. After all the one-score magic in 2025, that would be enough to cause a little acid reflux. We’ve been calling for a Broncos Week 18 game where both teams need it for two years now. The third time is going to be the charm. Or, at least, that would be fun. With the way the AFC shakes out this year, 10-7 might be pretty bubble-ish. A team could get left off. In this case, it����ap at least for a playoff spot and maybe for the West division title. No pinky promises that J.K. Dobbins has played all 16 games, but he hammers home a winner late in this one. An 11-6 regular season. On to the postseason.

Prediction: Broncos 24, Chargers 22

Week 1 on a Monday won’t be unfamiliar to Broncos fans. But this year’s opener in Kansas City arrives under unusual circumstances. The 17-day gap between Denver’s third preseason game and the Sept. 14 contest in Kansas City is the longest duration between a preseason finale and a season opener in team history.

In response, coach Sean Payton has adjusted his team’s schedule. Under Payton, a Monday game week typically means the Broncos are off Tuesday and Wednesday, then practice on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. But Payton shifted the schedule slightly this week: Denver will practice Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday this week, with an added rest and recovery day for players on Friday. The team will fly to Kansas City on Sunday.

“Our work week is planned out accordingly because it����ap not the first game of the season mechanics that all of us have somewhat grown accustomed to, it����ap the first game being a Monday night game,” Payton said.

Payton, a detail aficionado, said he’s thought about how to craft the team’s schedule to prepare for Week 1. The Broncos are 3-0 on Monday Night Football and 10-2 when they have an extended week (more than six days between games) under Payton.

Most of the team’s starters will have gone more than three weeks without game action. Linebacker Alex Singleton said he’s tried to use the extra days between the end of the offseason and Week 1 to prepare for Kansas City.

Because the Chiefs are a divisional opponent, the game will be more chess than checkers, Singleton said. Coordinators could use the extra time to make slight tweaks to the game plan, while players could identify an opponent’s tendencies on tape, or a formation giveaway could emerge.

“What����ap exciting about this matchup is five years in a row we’re getting the same matchup,” Singleton said. “They know what we’re going to do. We know what they’re going to do. And so it����ap who is going to make those slight adjustments that they spent all offseason preparing for each other.”

Denver has also used the two weeks to prepare for the noise at Arrowhead Stadium. On Monday, Payton mentioned the crowd as one of the challenges of opening the season in Kansas City. Denver does have an experienced roster and ,perhaps most importantly for communication purposes in Week 1, returns all five starters on the offensive line

Meinerz said the Broncos’ non-verbal communication at the line of scrimmage will be key. He also said starting fast could help mitigate Arrowhead’s impact.

The Broncos have spent the past two weeks preparing for an abnormal season opener. Come Monday night, we’ll find out if the extra time was a hindrance or a help.

“You guys are really lucky to play for the Penners,” the former Broncos safety, enforcer for the Super Bowl 50 champions, told me recently. “You know your owners are personable when they come up (and say), ‘Here’s my email. If you need anything, hit us up.'”

So he did.

“I met them a few times, actually,” Ward said of Carrie Walton Penner and her husband, Greg Penner, the first family of ����apountry. “They were great. Great couple. Great family.”

And you wonder why we want them to buy the Rockies?

Happy Week 1, kids. The Broncos’ defense of the 2025 AFC West title begins next Monday night in Kansas City. Bo Nix looks fine. Davis Webb is calling plays without Sean Payton calling him names (so far).

Thanks to Jonah Coleman, the orange and blue suddenly has more good tailbacks than carries to feed them. The Sack Pack is back, Jack, even if John Franklin-Myers isn’t. It’s Super Bo or bust.

Lombardi Trophies are usually won from the top down. Smart owners set the bar, then leave the football people alone to try and clear the blasted thing.

Look closely at the last 10 Super Bowl winners. Judy Allen in Seattle. The Hunts in Kansas City. Jeffrey Lurie in Philadelphia. The Kroenkes in Los Angeles. The Glazers in Tampa. Robert Kraft in New England.

With the Penners, the Broncos aspire to have the best of everything — team offices, training facilities, stadium–  in order to be the best, every year. That stuff trickles down. It permeates.

“Oh, 1,000%,” ex-Broncos safety Justin Simmons noted by phone. “I came in, unfortunately, when Mr. B. (former Broncos owner Pat Bowlen) was declining in his health. But I could feel the family vibe. I felt included. I felt a sense of importance in 2016, and it wasn’t just because I was a draft pick.

“As the years went on and we were trying to figure out ownership, and all the things in between, it got messy at times. Some of those things got lost in the (ensuring years).”

Simmons, 32, retired this past spring after a nine-year NFL career, eight of which were spent with the Broncos (2016-2023). No. 31 was a darn good player, and an even better dude, stuck with trying to help carry some forgettable teams. During his Dove Valley tenure, Simmons was named an All-Pro four times and selected to the Pro Bowl twice. But until the Penners arrived in August 2022, what rested above him on the corporate chain of command, at times, really stunk.

The former Boston College star played for six different coaches, including interims, over his eight seasons here. What Simmons didn’t know when he was drafted in 2016 was that the Broncos were careening into The Wilderness Years. He didn’t know that winning a Super Bowl with an injured Peyton Manning and peak Von Miller in 2015-16 convinced management that anybody could quarterback the orange and blue as long as Miller and the No Fly Zone remained intact.

They were, to be kind, badly mistaken. A merry-go-round of “meh” signal-callers and blah coaches followed, and the Broncos averaged 9.9 losses per year during Simmons’ tenure with the franchise.

But No. 31 could also tell you exactly when that spinning slowed down and eventually came to a dead stop. Not long after the Walton-Penner Group purchased the Broncos four Augusts ago, the safety and Broncos punter Brandon McManus, two of the most tenured members of the locker room, were called into new CEO Penner’s office for a meeting.

“Hey, give me a rundown … you guys are longest-tenured players here,” Penner told Simmons and McManus in 2022. “Give me a list of things that people have complained about.'”

For starters? Small locker room. No family room. No individualized nutrition plans. No sauna.

“(Penner) said, ‘This is so helpful,’ didn’t give us any backlash,” Simmons recalled. “I’m super-appreciative of that conversation to this day.”

The proof is in the buildings. Broncos Park Powered by Common Spirit, the team’s brand-new HQ, features a state-of-the-art training room with pools, sleep pods, a hyperbaric chamber — and a sauna.

“In their first year, (the Walton-Penner Group) put in a whole new grass field at the end of the season, and we weren’t even in the playoffs,” Simmons marveled.

“You could just tell the type of people they were. You always see success as an organization, in my opinion, when you have people who lead like that.”

The best NFL franchises almost always are the ones that get it right at quarterback and at head coach first. But the perennial contenders are also the ones that don’t skimp on the margins. Or to accountability.

From 2018 through 2022, the Broncos were an NFL club locked in a contentious custody battle, rotting at the summit. The Battlin’ Bowlens, heirs to Mr. B., schemed and leveraged against one another as if tussling for

Meanwhile, The Bowlen Trust — a trio of former CEO Joe Ellis, team counsel Rich Silva and Denver attorney Mary Kelly — ran the Broncos like a committee of substitute teachers. Underwhelming signal-callers came, failed, and went. Uninspired coaching hires did the same.

Most ownership groups come in and take big swings. Great ownership groups are the ones that can course-correct swiftly, and efficiently, when those swings are obvious misses.

Bad NFL clubs — the Browns of now, the Bengals before Marvin Lewis showed up — are reluctant to move off of whiffs at coach and QB. Not here. Nathaniel Hackett and Russell Wilson quickly gave way to Sean Payton and Bo Nix, despite the costs.

“You see how some of these owners deal with their players,” Ward continued. “As commodities. Or capital. (With the Broncos), you have owners that treat you like people, are empathetic to what you’re going through — not only as a person, but maybe your family, all those type of things.

“Yeah, they want to win. Everybody wants to be successful. But there’s a certain way you treat your people, treat your employees. And I think that creates better business, at the end of the day, to get better players to want to come in and play for you.

“I grew up a Niners fan. And at the time (they were owned by) the DeBartolos, (and) they treated players completely different — and that’s why, at that time, they were winning. You start operating like that, providing the best resources for your players, the best training, the best facilities, travel — that stuff results in wins. If you try to shortcut everything and treat your players like items on the shelf, you’re not going to be very successful.”