They have very few starting spots up for grabs, at least on paper.

They have, relatively speaking, very few question marks.

And yet, Sean Payton’s fourth team will have plenty of competition throughout the early portions of the summer and into training camp.

There are, by The Post����ap count, somewhere in the neighborhood of seven to nine spots up for grabs on the 53-man roster at the moment and a pool of perhaps 18-20 players vying for them. Those counts come before any of the inevitable injuries that will crop up between now and the end of August.

This early projection comes before any potential substantial roster move, of which Denver has typically made at least one between OTAs and the start of the regular season. A year ago, for example, the Broncos signed running back J.K. Dobbins in June and then traded receiver Devaughn Vele in August.

It also comes before any big training camp surprise, a young player who makes a strong push or a veteran who suddenly appears out of gas.

Before Payton’s team starts OTAs on Tuesday, here’s an early attempt at a 53-man roster projection. The point of this exercise at this calendar waypoint is merely to mark a starting point and to attempt to determine where the most uncertainty — and opportunity — lies on the Broncos’ current 91-man roster.

Finding 53 among this group requires tough decisions even before any actual football activity has started. There are players that were difficult to leave off the roster and some groups — offensive and defensive lines, in particular — that are deep enough to impact other spots. Payton and general manager George Paton have shown time and time again they value quality players in the trenches.

There are a handful of veterans who could theoretically be considered cut candidates because of a combination of depth and salary, like tight end Evan Engram ($14.14 million cap hit) and left guard Ben Powers ($18.16 million). Denver could trade a veteran or quality player from a position of strength to help fortify elsewhere or accumulate future draft capital.

Among the players who look from this distance likely to exist somewhere around the bubble, however, none has a bigger cap number than offensive lineman Matt Peart����ap $2.39 million or more guaranteed money than quarterback Sam Ehlinger’s $1 million.

So, away we go. Players in the bubble conversation, both above and below the roster cut in this exercise, are in italics.

OFFENSE (25)

Quarterback (3)

Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham and Sam Ehlinger

The question, really, with Denver’s quarterbacks is this: two or three? Denver started last year with two when Ehlinger agreed to start the season on the practice squad. If a similar scenario plays out — he’s got $1 million guaranteed — then the Broncos could well take two. Denver values Ehlinger, though, and he’s going to get a bunch of work in OTAs and likely minicamp after Bo Nix had a second ankle procedure last month. This makes for tougher calls at other spots on a deep roster, but let����ap not mess around with the quarterback position when you’ve got players you like. If nothing else, using three as the starting point in this exercise ups the difficulty level the rest of the way.

Running back (4)

J.K. Dobbins, RJ Harvey, Jonah Coleman and Adam Prentice (FB) 

Also: Jaleel McLaughlin, Tyler Badie and Cody Schrader

Coleman’s selection in the fourth round changes the complexion here by quite a bit. He’s a potential third-down back right away and the Broncos are high on him if he’s needed beyond that early on. With a cleaner-fitting trio of backs, McLaughlin and Badie both have a tough road to the roster. If Denver wanted four plus Prentice, McLaughlin probably heads into the summer with the lead.

Tight end (4)

Adam Trautman, Evan Engram, Justin Joly and Caleb Lohner 

Also: Dallen Bentley, Nate Adkins and Lucas Krull

One of the toughest projections. Lohner gets the nod for the moment after Payton raved about him earlier in May, especially because Payton was particularly impressed with Lohner’s physicality and blocking. This, like many bubble decisions, could come down to who Denver thinks it can get to the practice squad between Lohner and Bentley, the No. 256 overall pick in April. With a bounce-back summer, Adkins could re-establish himself as a key role player. He could end up competing for a spot with Prentice, though, as much as it seems he could play some fullback; the Broncos just haven’t asked him to do it much so far in his career.

Wide receiver (5)

Courtland Sutton, Jaylen Waddle, Pat Bryant, Troy Franklin and Marvin Mims Jr.

Also: Michael Bandy, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Michael Woods, Cam Ross, Kolbie Katsis, Joseph Manjack and Dane Key

Assuming no trades, it����ap hard to see how anybody besides the top five makes the initial 53-man roster. Waddle was the Broncos’ big offseason splash and, though he will impact playing time for the rest of the room, Denver’s brass has been consistent in saying they’re not looking to move on from any of the regulars. Bandy and Humphrey are no strangers to starting the season on a practice squad and eventually seeing time on the 53-man roster. It’ll be interesting to see if an undrafted rookie like Ross can make the Broncos think twice about going status quo, but that����ap a tall task.

Offensive line (9)

Garett Bolles, Ben Powers, Luke Wattenberg, Quinn Meinerz, Mike McGlinchey, Alex Palczewski, Frank Crum, Kage Casey and Alex Forsyth 

Also: Matt Peart, Nick Gargiulo, Calvin Throckmorton, Tyler Miller, Gavin Ortega, Michael Dieter and Nash Jones

The Broncos have enviable depth on their offensive line, but, like with wide receiver, the roles are defined enough that it����ap difficult to imagine a ton of wiggle room. Palczewski and Crum are valued depth and development pieces and Casey, a fourth-round pick, joins them in a similar mold. Forsyth has been the clear No. 2 center for two seasons behind Wattenberg. That����ap nine. Peart and Throckmorton are veterans who have stepped in and played, while Gargiulo showed some promise before a bad preseason knee injury last summer. Miller and Ortega are interesting undrafted rookies but, outside a rash of injuries or major training camp push, it����ap reasonable to think they’re ticketed for the practice squad.

DEFENSE (25)

Defensive line (7)

Zach Allen, DJ Jones, Malcolm Roach, Eyioma Uwauzurike, Tyler Onyedim, Sai’Vion Jones and Jordan Jackson

Also: Matt Henningsen, Jordan Miller and Kristian Williams

A key part of the rationale for going heavy here again: Each of the past two years the roster cutdown has passed and Payton and Paton have made it clear that Jackson made the 53-man roster easily. We’ll bet for now that the same ends up happening this summer. They might decide they just have to have a player at another position. Maybe somebody else is a surprise cut, though among this group 2025 third-rounder Sai’Vion Jones is the only real candidate and that would be a major surprise given they traded up for him and also liked his development last season. So, Payton and Paton instead stick to their principles and go heavy up front once again.

Outside linebacker (4)

Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper, Que Robinson and Dondrea Tillman

Also: Drew Sanders, Johnny Walker and Dasan McCullough

The first three are absolute locks and there’s not much doubt about Tillman, either. The going gets tough from there. Health has been a major obstacle for Sanders, but if he plays all summer, he’ll probably be productive enough to make the roster. The numbers just get tight elsewhere in a hurry. Keeping four here is really 4.5 in a way because Jonah Elliss can play on the edge if needed, plus a deep defensive line group can help take some work off the edge guys against heavier teams. Sanders is a training camp wild card, though.

Inside linebacker (4)

Alex Singleton, Justin Strnad, Jonah Elliss and Red Murdock 

Also: Jordan Turner, Karene Reid, Levelle Bailey, Taurean York

Once again, this is about roster management and who makes it to the practice squad after the top three. Murdock was Mr. Irrelevant in the draft at No. 257, but forced 17 fumbles in his college career at Buffalo. Turner’s got real promise, so it was not an easy call to leave him off. Reid was a special teams regular after making the initial roster as an undrafted rookie last year, but this is maybe a tougher roster to make despite the release of Dre Greenlaw earlier this spring.

Cornerback (5)

Pat Surtain II, Riley Moss, Ja’Quan McMillian, Jahdae Barron and Kris Abrams-Draine

Also: Reese Taylor, Jaden Robinson, Brent Austin, Ahmari Harvey and Paul Manning

Pretty straightforward here. The major storyline is more about beyond 2026, as McMillian and Moss are both entering contract years. For now, though, this is one of the deepest and most talented cornerback groups in football. Taylor has been a regular on the practice squad and was promoted to the active roster from mid-November on last year. The only question is if new secondary coaches Rob Livingston and Doug Belk see any of the personnel differently than Jim Leonhard and Addison Lynch previously.

Safety (5)

Talanoa Hufanga, Brandon Jones, Devon Key, Miles Scott and JL Skinner

Also: Tycen Anderson and Parker Robertson

There will be competition across multiple position groups based on special teams output. You can put Skinner, Anderson, Scott, Taylor, Turner, Reid, Sanders and more all into that group. The Broncos gave Anderson $650,000 guaranteed in part to be a key special teams player, so he might well make it. But over who? That signing was before Denver drafted Scott. Skinner is entering the final year of his rookie deal and is at a critical point in his career. The way coaches have talked about Key this offseason, he feels like the early favorite to replace P.J. Locke as the No. 3 safety. Denver signed Sam Franklin and gave him $1.34 million in guarantees last year, then cut him in August.

SPECIALIST (3)

PK Wil Lutz, P Jeremy Crawshaw and LS Mitch Fraboni

Also: LS Luke Basso

Not much mystery here. The Broncos signed the rookie Basso as summer competition, but Fraboni’s been solid and is under contract through 2027.

— 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.

It����ap 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. “That����ap unheard of. It����ap just such a critical place where it����ap deeply engaged in Sun Valley and the identity of West Denver. It����ap 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.

“It����ap 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 it����ap 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. That����ap 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. That����ap 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 it����ap 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, it����ap 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 it����ap 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.

Just maybe not as an outside linebacker.

“If I don’t go back to Denver and play as a football player,” Miller told The Denver Post on Monday, “I would like to go back to Denver and be in the front office, or whatever, in some capacity.”

In 2011, a 22-year-old Miller sat down in Indianapolis for a combine meeting with then-Broncos general manager John Elway, and felt something. After winning a Super Bowl ring and making eight Pro Bowl appearances in more than a decade in the NFL, he figured out what it was. In the room shadowing Elway, as Miller remembered, was former NFL Pro Bowler and Broncos safety John Lynch. Miller noticed, then. And he noticed, six years later, when Lynch was hired as the San Francisco 49ers’ general manager .

“As I played throughout my career, and I started to think about things I wanted to do and how to stay attached to football without playing — those core memories just kinda chose me,” Miller said.

Quietly, in 2023, Miller — going into his second year with the Buffalo Bills — returned to the NFL combine to begin rubbing elbows with some of the league’s decision-makers. He told Bills general manager Brandon Beane of his future ambitions, and Beane “stoked that flame,” Miller said. For three straight years, Miller has returned to the combine to continue relationship-building with NFL front offices.

Now, as the 37-year-old Miller can see the end nearing for his playing days, he’ll make it plain: he wants to become an NFL general manager.

And he’d like the path to lead him back to Denver, soon enough.

“I’m not a contract guy,” Miller said, when asked where he sees himself climbing the ladder in a front office. “I’m not going to sit in there and deal with contracts, and find numbers — I’m not a numbers guy. When it comes to scouting, I’m not going to sit there and watch film for 20 hours a day, either. I think my talent is just, people. Knowing people. The infrastructure of a team, knowing how to put together a schedule – just the daily grind of being a player in the National Football League. I know what it takes, and I know what it looks like to be a championship organization.”

, of course, that he wants to re-sign with the Broncos as an edge rusher this offseason, first and foremost. He is quick to point out that he finished with nine sacks for the Commanders in 2025, the most he’s tallied since the season Denver traded him in 2021. After a one-year deal with Washington expired, Miller said he’s had no communication with the Broncos during this free agency; he’s hopeful, he said, that general talks with organizations heat up post-NFL Draft.

“I know I can still play,” Miller said. “I know I at least got one more year in me. So I’m just waiting to see whatever the universe gives me.”

The stars aren’t exactly pointing toward Denver. Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper are entrenched as Denver’s starting outside linebackers, and the Broncos are so loaded at edge rusher that they’re moving 2023 third-round pick Jonah Elliss to inside linebacker to open up more snaps for both him and 2025 fourth-round pick Que Robinson.

If the Broncos are interested in Miller or other veteran help, though, now is the time to strike. According to the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement, the compensatory free-agent window officially closed Monday at 2 p.m. This has major implications for Denver, as the Broncos stand to be gifted a 2027 mid-round pick after losing key defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers to a massive contract with the Titans in March.

Denver was silent in the initial wave of free agency, with just one external signing: Bengals safety and special-teams player Tycen Anderson. This was strategic, not merely about valuing roster retention. Signing another big-money free agent during the compensatory period would’ve wiped out any pick awarded from Franklin-Myers’ signing.

“It does — I mean, it doesn’t dictate what we’re doing, but we obviously know it����ap there,” general manager George Paton said at league meetings in March, asked if preserving compensatory picks factored into Denver’s offseason decision-making.

“Next year, we should get the 4, and maybe a 7th,” Paton continued later, referencing the additional departure of safety P.J. Locke to Dallas. “That����ap what you want to get to. It took us a while to get here, where we can get compensatory picks. And you see other teams do it, and I like that we’re doing it.”

Now, though, the Broncos are free to throw a few million at remaining free agents, with no fear of losing the pick gained from Franklin-Myers. There’s still a wealth of talent left on the market, too: the most obvious fit is former Saints All-Pro Cam Jordan, who racked up 10.5 sacks in 2025 and has remained close with head coach Sean Payton from their New Orleans days. Denver native Calais Campbell could also be a target if he decides to play a 19th NFL season, still highly productive as an interior disruptor at the remarkable age of 39.

And Miller remains as a potential reunion candidate, too, before his eventual foray into the personnel world.

That journey may not be far off, though.

“I’m confident in that — I’ll be back in Denver, in some capacity,” Miller said. “If not a player, as a GM, or front-office.

“It’s just, I think it was the same way with Elway,” he continued, noting Elway’s player-to-executive path in Denver. “When you have that much love, and the energy is just so loving that — we just gotta figure it out. If it����ap not a player, it����ap a spot for me in Denver. We just gotta figure it out.

“And it����ap just a matter of time.”

Denver made the biggest splash of its offseason — and one of the biggest single moves of the spring in the NFL — on Tuesday when it landed Miami receiver Jaylen Waddle in a blockbuster trade.

A quiet opening week in free agency moved into a different light for many fans and observers when news of the trade broke.

The Broncos’ run of retentions early on in free agency inspired plenty of run-it-back vibes, but now Waddle’s addition gives Denver an element it didn’t have in 2025 and, really, hasn’t had for the better part of a decade.

He is a true take-the-top-off threat, dangerous after the catch and in the middle of the field and capable of playing multiple positions. He will help add diversity and explosion to the Broncos’ passing game, but he can also have an impact in the running game, not so much by blocking but by keeping defenses honest in how many players they can commit to the box on early downs.

“I’m here to help in every fashion,” Waddle told reporters Wednesday.

Denver also cracked the lid on external free agent signings, agreeing to a one-year deal with former Cincinnati safety and core special teamer Tycen Anderson. Anderson hasn’t played as much defense as P.J. Locke did, so it����ap unclear exactly how good the Broncos feel about their No. 3 spot behind Talanoa Hufanga and Brandon Jones. Denver’s staff liked what Devon Key showed defensively in practice over the 2025 season.

More broadly, the Broncos are not a finished product. Nobody ever really is in football, especially this time of year. The draft is a month away, and there are still players available via free agency and trade. The search for help rarely, if ever, actually ceases.

“We got J.K. Dobbins in, what, June?” general manager George Paton said last month. “You’re always looking and it never stops. There is always something out there that hopefully can help you.”

With the opening waves of free agency and one tsunami of a trade in the books, here is an updated look at the positions where the Broncos still need help.

Tight end

Tight end, like the next two positions, isn’t a true “must” for Sean Payton and company in a strict sense because the Broncos brought back all of their guys from 2025 between the NFL Combine and the start of free agency.

All the same, that group was underwhelming a year ago. Upgrading should remain a focus for Denver. The question: How? Most of the quality options went quickly in free agency, and that was without much of a list of surefire, major-impact players.

The draft is interesting because there aren’t the top-of-the-board type options like last year (Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren) but the closer late April creeps, the deeper many people believe the tight end crop is on the whole.

Dane Brugler, a draft analyst for The Athletic, recently said on social media that as he grades the group, “I have more draftable TEs in this class than any other I’ve done.”

Still haven't found the bottom of this TE draft class. There are going to be some useful guys still around late rounds/PFA.

I have more draftable TEs in this class than any other I've done.

— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler)

Vanderbilt����ap Eli Stowers isn’t likely to be around at No. 62, so trying to land him might require some creativity. Otherwise, the task will be sorting through a raft of mid-to-late-round options and trying to find somebody who can help right away, sure, but who can be a force in the future.

Running back

By the time Jaleel McLaughlin signed a one-year deal, the Broncos had gone 4-of-4 in bringing their 2025 running backs back into the fold. Still, the same role questions that cropped up with that quartet last year remain. Tyler Badie is a good pass protector, but didn’t provide much else. Jaleel McLaughlin is a nice change of pace, but he isn’t a true third-down back because his pass pro is lacking. RJ Harvey is explosive, talented and not a finished product. J.K. Dobbins is one of the best in the business when he’s on the field, but he’s never finished a full season.

The free agent crop is pretty good and well-picked over. Denver was in the mix for Trevor Etienne, but ultimately wasn’t going to go as high as the $13 million a year he got from New Orleans.

Inside linebacker

Denver is down one linebacker on net after bringing Justin Strnad and Alex Singleton back, but also releasing Dre Greenlaw.

Never say never on one more veteran — the Broncos were well past the opening wave of free agency in 2024 when they signed Cody Barton to a one-year deal and he ended up playing 91% of snaps after Singleton tore his ACL in Week 3.

More likely, though, this is a draft and also a development spot for Denver.

The 2026 draft class is considered deep at inside linebacker. Georgia’s CJ Allen and Texas Tech’s Jacob Rodriguez likely won’t last until No. 62. Perhaps somebody like Texas’ Anthony Hill Jr. or Cincinnati’s Jake Golday will be an option there. But there are a ton to choose from.

Not only that, but the Broncos may decide they have a worthy third already in the building. The leading candidate is Jordan Turner, while Levelle Bailey has also flashed. Drew Sanders is a wild card, but at this point can’t be counted on to be a major contributor because of the amount of development time he’s missed.

Defensive line

Denver’s post-John Franklin-Myers plan is pretty clear: A combination of Malcom Roach, Eyioma Uwazruike and second-year man Sai’Vion Jones will be asked to fill in the production void.

Drafting a defensive lineman can’t be ruled out, naturally. Bottom line: There’s not an overwhelming need.

This is a spot, though, where, if the Broncos and a veteran saw eye to eye on a role and an opportunity to play for a contender, there are still good players out there on the market.

Calais Campbell is still playing well and, of course, is a Denver native. He’ll turn 40 in September, but what a story it would be if season No. 19 were a title pursuit in his hometown.

Cam Jordan has a deep history with Sean Payton in New Orleans and can still really rush the passer at 36. Broncos fans, of course, know Shelby Harris well. Denico Autry played less — and missed five games — for Houston this year, but has been part of their terrific defense over the past two years and, even at 34, had a 10.9% pressure rate in 2025, according to Next Gen Stats. He’s been at that mark or better in six of his past eight seasons.

Denver has agreed to terms with free-agent safety Tycen Anderson on a one-year deal, a source confirmed to The Denver Post on Thursday.

It’s a clear move to address both depth at safety and bring in a potentially impactful special-teams player. Anderson has played just a handful of snaps on defense through a three-year NFL career, but played 83% of the Bengals’ special-teams snaps last season.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Anderson was a fifth-round draft pick by Cincinnati in 2022 and appeared in every game for the Bengals in 2024 and 2025. He’s recorded a total of 42 tackles across his three-year career, primarily on special teams.

Multiple NFL sources told The Denver Post that the Broncos would look for a depth safety in free agency, a need made more urgent by the departure of key reserve P.J. Locke for the Dallas Cowboys. Anderson could reasonably compete for Denver’s third-safety job or primarily fill a role on special teams, as the Broncos also have reserves Devon Key and J.L. Skinner under contract for 2026.

Denver sought out external special-teams contributors last offseason, signing receiver Trent Sherfield and safety Sam Franklin to short-term deals. Neither panned out, ultimately, as Denver waived Franklin during final roster cuts and cut Sherfield midseason.

The 26-year-old Anderson played 23 snaps on special teams in the Broncos’ Week 4 win over the Bengals in 2025, and 20 snaps in Denver’s 30-24 overtime-thriller win over Cincinnati the previous season.

Last Tuesday, soon-to-be free-agent running back J.K. Dobbins was working out in the Broncos’ facility when he got a buzz from Payton to come up to his office. Dobbins finished, wandered up, and sat with Denver’s head coach for a simple conversation that’ll form the genesis of how Denver’s not-so-new-look run game will produce in 2026.

Payton told Dobbins that he was his guy, a source familiar with the situation told the Denver Post. That said enough. Being a Payton Guy has extended NFL lives and poured millions upon millions of dollars into loyal bank accounts. Being a Payton Guy, as former Saints linebacker Scott Shanle told The Post last year, is a “badge of honor.” And Payton has praised Dobbins to reporters throughout the year, enamored with the spirited presence of a running back who chose specifically to rehab a midseason Lisfranc injury in Denver to stick around the team rather than have surgery elsewhere.

“Losing J.K., obviously, was a tough loss,” Payton said after Denver’s season ended. “He brought a lot more to the locker room than you would know.”

And Payton made clear he didn’t want to lose Dobbins come 2026, the source said, in that March 3 conversation. The reality of Denver’s situation was slightly more complex. Jets star running back Breece Hall loomed as a potential free-agent option; asked if the Broncos would’ve gone after Hall had he hit the open market, a source with knowledge of the team’s thinking told The Post the decision would’ve been a “no-brainer.” But New York .

Other top options, from Kenneth Walker III to Travis Etienne Jr., quickly fell off the board during the early week’s legal-tampering period of free agency. Dobbins remained, as his own market started to climb. And the Broncos moved quickly to secure their 2025 leading rusher, and certified Payton Guy, on a two-year deal.

That single sequence has encapsulated Denver’s dealings — or lack of them — through the first week of free agency. The reigning No. 1-seeded Broncos are approaching unprecedented levels of run-it-back roster retention. As of Friday, Denver is the only team in the NFL to not have signed a single external free agent. Not only that, but the Broncos have signed back 16 of their own 22 players set to hit free agency since late February.

The sheer wave of Payton favorites re-upping on minimum deals — tight end Nate Adkins, fullback Adam Prentice, receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey, running back Jaleel McLaughlin — has washed in heaps of online vitriol from Denver’s own fanbase. Internally, the Broncos’ brass went into free agency aligned without expecting to make a massive splash in the market. Externally, the Broncos’ lack of activity gives the impression of an organization that is relying fully on its Payton-era foundation for a Super Bowl leap, for better or for worse.

The reasons for this week’s developments are multifaceted. But the overall reality is simple, lying in the hands of the head man still pulling the strings despite passing off the play-calling reins.

Asked their impression of the Broncos’ approach, one NFL assistant coach told The Post: “Sean obviously likes his football team.”

Growth inside the building

There’s plenty left to play out, from the trade market to April’s draft. Denver, after all, first signed Dobbins in June 2025. But data indicates the Broncos have taken a particularly unique strategy on the first go-around of the free-agent carousel.

According to player data collected and analyzed by The Post, Denver currently has 94% of its total snaps from the 2025 season under contract. In the last 10 years, no team that’s made the AFC Championship Game has gone into the following season retaining more than 83.2% of its snaps from the previous year (the 2019 Kansas City Chiefs set this mark).

“Good call,” one NFL agent, speaking on condition of anonymity, remarked. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Denver, of course, was the furthest thing from broken in a 14-3 season in 2025. The issue: its offense, by all accounts, was continually bent out of shape. Payton fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and receivers coach Keary Colbert after a 14th-place finish in points per game in 2025 and appointed a separate play-caller — 31-year-old Davis Webb — for the first time in his 18-year head-coaching career.

At the NFL Combine, Payton was asked whether coming so close to a Super Bowl appearance influenced him to consider a big offseason swing or simply to stay the course. He directly acknowledged that the Broncos played the margins too thin in a season of white-knuckle moments at Empower Field.

“From my lens, we won a lot of games by one score or less, right?” Payton said then. “And I’m not naive enough to think those games couldn’t have swung, and you could grab any two or three. But where’s the meat on the bone?

“The meat on the bone,” he continued, “exists with our takeaways. That has to improve. Our run-game consistency, our meat on the bone relative to a number of things that we won despite maybe — not being as good as others.”

That has quickly become the defining quote of Denver’s offseason, for better or worse. Despite Payton’s acknowledgement that the Broncos couldn’t simply stand pat, they have simply … stood pat. In fact, they’ve only lost production. Defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers, who was everything from a key pass-rusher to a behind-the-scenes mentor, left for a monster three-year, $63 million deal with Tennessee. Backup safety P.J. Locke went to Dallas. Denver cut linebacker Dre Greenlaw to save cap room.

There are a few explanations for this confusing puzzle. Piece together hints from across the past year, and Payton and general manager George Paton are clearly focused on development from young, cheap talent under a new-look staff. That starts, of course, with a continued third-year leap from quarterback Bo Nix.

Payton made it clear at the combine that Nix wasn’t a factor in the decision to pass play-calling duties to Webb; people close to Nix, though, have told The Post that Nix was generally supportive of the move.

“There’s certainly things we want to be better at,” Payton said at the combine, speaking on Denver’s offensive operation. “But it����ap also being quicker. And look, it����ap only if there’s someone that you feel like is good enough to do that, and (Webb) will have that opportunity.”

The Broncos are also plenty high on their young receiving corps of Troy Franklin, Marvin Mims Jr. and Pat Bryant, with the potential to hand-pick another weapon come April: Indiana star Omar Cooper Jr. visited Denver for a pre-draft visit on Friday. Rising second-year back RJ Harvey will have every opportunity to show he can improve as a runner from an equally dynamic and shaky rookie season. 2025 third-round pick Sai’vion Jones, who received just 39 snaps in the middle of a logjam in his rookie year, could also make a push in training camp for Franklin-Myers’ role on the defensive line.

Denver has room for growth in its tight-end crop, too, despite preserving a middle-of-the-road group for 2025. Veteran Evan Engram is tight with Webb dating back to their shared playing days in New York, and Engram had a 58-yard catch-and-run in Webb’s preseason play-calling showcase against the Cardinals in August. 2025 seventh-round pick Caleb Lohner, meanwhile — a raw big body who spent his rookie year on the practice squad — is training in Texas this offseason with former Packers Pro Bowl receiver Donald Driver, Lohner’s uncle Mike told The Post.

Another possible hidden wrinkle to Denver’s offseason: the 2027 draft is already generating substantial buzz in the NFL. The Broncos will likely receive a fourth-round compensation pick in ’27 with Franklin-Myers’ departure, which becomes particularly valuable given the strength of next year’s class. This would not be a foreign strategy.

The Jaguars, who’ve also been notably quiet in free agency, have let star running back Travis Etienne and linebacker Devin Lloyd walk specifically to acquire 2027 draft capital.

“I think on its surface, you would think, ‘Oh, OK, you’re going to make picks in 2027,'” Jacksonville . “Whereas, in reality, those draft picks and having more of ’em actually allows you the luxury of remaining in the hunt at different intervals throughout the entire calendar year, for acquiring players.”

Cap considerations

The Post sourced 10 different NFL agents for their thoughts on Denver’s lack of activity early in free agency. The clear consensus from those sitting across the table: the Broncos haven’t taken a bad approach, given they were a Bo Nix fractured ankle and an AFC title game winter wonderland away from a Super Bowl appearance.

“They had a great season,” one agent texted. “It makes sense to me to build off of what you already have.”

“Why would you not bring that entire team back (?)” another agent texted. “Good chance they win it all if no Injury (sic) and maybe even just if no blizzard.”

“It is odd,” another agent mused. “They probably see it, like — it’s not worth overspending on anybody.”

That point is key. Two NFL sources who spoke with Denver earlier in the week told The Post that the Broncos weren’t willing to spend more than $10 million per year at running back and $6 million per year at tight end. That ruled out the dynamic Etienne, who signed for four years and $52 million with New Orleans. That also ruled out Chig Okonkwo — a skilled tight end the Broncos called about, according to a source — who ended up signing for three years and $30 million with the Commanders.

That’s not stinginess for the sake of stinginess. At his end-of-season presser, Payton likened the Broncos’ financial freedom from Russell Wilson’s contract to renovating one’s house.

“If I said I’m going to give you $50,000 to decorate your home, or $200,000, your home’s going to look nicer, I think, if you’re a decent shopper,” Payton said.

Denver, though, really has closer to $50,000.

Much of the Broncos’ cap room has already been gobbled up by a rollicking run of long-term extensions across the past year, locking in core pieces from Zach Allen and Nik Bonitto to Luke Wattenberg and Malcolm Roach. The Broncos really haven’t had much to spend after extensions for Alex Singleton, Justin Strnad, Dobbins and Trautman — and need to keep an eye towards possible in-season extensions for key players like Mims, Riley Moss, and Ja’Quan McMillian.

The Broncos, too, may have to consider future renegotiations with All-Pros Pat Surtain II and Quinn Meinerz, who Denver extended at such bargains in 2024 that both are now making well below their market value. Surtain’s now the fifth-highest-paid cornerback in the NFL via average salary, and Meinerz .

The draft and the trade market still beckon, and Paton and Denver’s front office head into April with enviable capital: nine total picks, after being awarded two seventh-round compensatory picks for losing free agents in the 2025 offseason. There’s still time, as owner Greg Penner said in late January, for the Broncos to be “opportunistically aggressive.”

Thus far, though, Denver’s been all opportunistic and hardly aggressive.

The Broncos’ messaging was off. When owner Greg Penner, general manager George Paton and Sean Payton talked this offseason, they inferred Denver would do something. Make at least one move, preferably a big one. They have every offseason with Paton.

Instead, the Broncos woke up Friday as the only team not to sign a free agent from another team. Will fans understand if they admit they swung and missed? Not likely.

The Broncos pursued Travis Etienne Jr., and drew a line in the sand somewhere shy of $13 million per season. Turns out they were a stalking horse. Etienne confirmed that the Broncos and Chiefs wanted him, but he was determined to return home to Louisiana.

The Broncos chased receiver Jalen Nailor, but exercised restraint when he secured an offer of $23 million guaranteed from the Raiders.

Once these two were off the board, the Broncos stood pat. They have signed 17 of their 22 in-house free agents. The only players not returning are John Franklin-Myers (forced to leave to get a huge payday), P.J. Locke (returned home to Texas), Marcedes Lewis (41 years old), Mike Burton and Sam Mustipher. There is irony that Burton is the only Broncos player who has a Super Bowl ring.

When Denver brought back Jaleel McLaughlin on Friday — he is an all-time great dude with a Disney story — it was objectively hilarious.

It was as if Payton were trolling us.

The coach declared improving the run game was a top priority and then ran it back at running back. The entire room is the same, pending the draft.

Offensively, players who took 94 percent of the snaps last season are under contract.

Mafia families are not this loyal.

Why the static nature? The Broncos signed 11 contract extensions over the past 19 months, so they had fewer needs. Payton keeps culture guys, valuing their off-field impact as much as their on-field contributions. And once the third wave of free agent players arrived, there was a calculus involved.

Clearly, teams love the 2027 draft. The Broncos can argue that it is not worth losing a fourth-round compensatory pick for Franklin-Myers to overpay a pedestrian player.

But don’t blame fans for their reaction.

They see a team in a Super Bowl window with an offense that scares no one. They watched the Chiefs and Chargers get better, and Denver stood pat. The inactivity places priority on hitting on the draft with a running back like Arkansas’ Mike Washington Jr.

The problem is that Payton, in Denver, has not developed an offensive skill player into a star. Vance Joseph turned Nik Bonitto into an All-Pro; Jonathon Cooper into an impact starter. Troy Franklin improved last season, but he is still not a feared No. 2 receiver. Same goes for Pat Bryant. Maybe both take a huge step forward, easing concerns.

It is not guaranteed. Even at running back. I am old enough to remember when Audric Estime was going to develop into a frontline starter. He was cut after one season.

In a vacuum, there are sound explanations for the Broncos keeping so many of their own. But don’t expect ����apountry to understand. The fans thought they were getting a new ride, and instead, their old whip sits in the driveway sparkling from a car wash.

Bam Bam Mad: Don’t be mad at Bam Adebayo for scoring 83 points on Tuesday night. Direct rage at the tanking Washington Wizards. They chose not to guard him for three quarters, then turned the game into a mockery by fouling him in the fourth. Is Miami innocent? No. But once Adebayo reached 70, he was going for it. The ending was cringeworthy. My anger, however, is focused on the hapless Wizards for making the achievement feel tainted.

Final Thought: Denver Post Headline in 2040: Broncos re-sign receiver Ol’ Jordan Humphrey. I kid because I care.

On Tuesday, former Broncos safety P.J. Locke agreed to a one-year deal with the , a source confirmed to The Denver Post. It’ll bring an end to a six-year tenure in Denver for one of the Broncos’ truest grinders, an undrafted free agent in 2020 who worked his way from a special-teamer to an important piece in Denver’s secondary.

Broncos NFL free agency 2026 tracker: J.K. Dobbins, Alex Singleton are back, but Broncos cut Dre Greenlaw

Locke issued a statement to "����apountry" on Twitter later Tuesday afternoon.

"For the past 7 years you guys have made Denver feel like home for my family and I," Locke wrote. "Things didn’t work out business wise, but just know you guys hold a very very special place in my heart that I can’t put into words. From the coaches, front office, friends, teammates and all the other relationships that were built. It����ap hard moving on from that for sure, Trust me (sic).

We love you guys and wish the best of luck to everyone."

Locke became a full-time starter at safety for the Broncos two years ago, a hard hitter who racked up 74 tackles and three tackles for loss in 15 starts in 2024. After Denver signed Talanoa Hufanga this past offseason, Locke was relegated to reserve duties, but started five games and stabilized Denver down the stretch at safety when the Broncos lost starter Brandon Jones for the season with a pec injury.

Locke, too, worked his way back from an offseason spinal-fusion procedure in 2025, fixing a degenerated disc in his vertebrae that caused "terrible" nerve pain, as Locke told The Post this past training camp. Few players in NFL history have ever returned to play from such an operation; Locke, though, returned little worse for wear for training camp and actually showed up an inch taller due to a spacer installed in his spine.

"I think the young man’s just a warrior," former Texas safeties coach Craig Naivar, who coached Locke in college, told The Post before the season. "He (has) overachieved, he’s a hell of a player."

Locke recorded 16 regular-season tackles for the Broncos in 2025. He had a huge game in Denver's AFC divisional-round win over the Bills, recording nine tackles, a forced fumble and an interception.

He'll now get the chance to compete for an expanded role in Dallas under new Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker, who coached Locke in Denver as the Broncos' defensive backs coach from 2021 to 2023. It's also a homecoming for Locke, who grew up in Beaumont, Texas and played college football for the Longhorns.

Several NFL sources told The Post last week that the Broncos would be in the market for a safety in free agency, and it's now likely Denver picks up a piece to provide depth behind Hufanga and Jones. The Broncos, too, have been increasingly mocked toward Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren at pick No. 30 in the first round of April's NFL Draft.

Greenlaw update. The Broncos will formally release Dre Greenlaw once the new league year begins Wednesday afternoon and designate him a post-June 1 release, a source told The Post on Tuesday.

Greenlaw's 2026 cap number, according to OvertheCap data, is $10.357 million. By designating him a post-June 1 release, Denver will carry Greenlaw's entire cap number until June 1, then will pick up $8.19 million in cap room. They will take $2.17 million in dead salary cap in 2026 and another $2.16 million in 2027.

Teams can use the post-June 1 designation with up to two players per year.

Payton's other coaching gig. Sean Payton's offseason, oddly enough, is being impacted by the war in Iran.

Payton is set to coach in the inaugural Fanatics Flag Football Classic later this month in Saudi Arabia. Recently, though, the event moved out of the Middle East and to Los Angeles.

The event is full of current and former star players and the teams are being coached by Payton and San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan.

Payton's team, Founders FFC, is captained by Tom Brady and Jalen Hurts.

The event is March 21 at BMO Stadium.

The Broncos, ultimately, checked the temperature on several big names who flew off the market early in Monday’s legal-tampering period of free agency. But the organization prioritized retention — a notable departure from head coach Sean Payton’s comments at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, when he acknowledged that Denver “won a lot of games by one score or less” and rattled off a list of areas that needed improvement.

“I think that����ap the only way to look at it, relative to this team writing its own chapter,” Payton said then.

Thus far, Denver appears to be trying to re-write its 2025 chapter in a different font. The Broncos re-upped with inside linebacker Alex Singleton and running back J.K. Dobbins Monday to continue a run of re-signings, and didn’t agree to terms with a single external free agent. The club did create $6 million in cap room by cutting oft-injured ILB Dre Greenlaw, however — and the Broncos head into Day 2 of free agency poised to still add some impact pieces.

Running backs Kenneth Walker III, Travis Etienne Jr. and Tyler Allgeier are off the market, as are pass-catchers Alec Pierce, Wan’dale Robinson and Cade Otton. There are still plenty of gems left to be mined. Here’s a rundown of 5 potential Broncos-specific fits left on the market.

Romeo Doubs, WR

Denver didn’t poke around much on Doubs early on Monday, but the organization has interest in the former Packers receiver, as an NFL source previously told The Denver Post. The 25-year-old Doubs isn’t a high-upside play in the WR market, but he has many of the traits of a Payton-favored wideout: 6-foot-2, a good blocker, good red-zone production (18 receiving touchdowns in the last three years).

A potential issue here, however, is that Doubs overlaps similarly in profile to ascending second-year wideout Pat Bryant. If Denver is comfortable with their Courtland Sutton-Troy Franklin-Bryant-Marvin Mims quadrant as their top four receivers entering 2026, there’s little reason for them to pay up for Doubs.

Kaden Elliss, ILB

Would the Broncos spend top dollar — likely between $15 and $17 million annually — on Jaguars All-Pro linebacker Devin Lloyd after re-signing Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad? Probably not. Now, could they still get in on a starting-level linebacker to compete with Strnad and fill out a room thinned by the Greenlaw cut? Absolutely.

One tie is obvious here, as former Falcons linebacker Elliss is brothers with Broncos outside linebacker Jonah Elliss. Elliss also was drafted by Sean Payton in New Orleans in 2019, and spent three years as a special-teamer before blossoming as an off-ball linebacker in 2022. He’s a dynamic run-stopper who’s also a menace on inside-linebacker blitzes, with 3.5 sacks and 10 quarterback hits in 2025. That could be music to the ears of defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.

Dallas Goedert, TE

Denver, still, has the resources to upgrade at tight end, even after re-signing blocking specialists Adam Trautman and Nate Adkins. The Broncos clearly need a piece in the room who can either stay on the field in rotating personnel groupings and complement Evan Engram as a receiver, or supplant Engram if Denver chooses to move on from the veteran and save roughly $3.8 million in cap room.

This would likely be a high-upside swing on a short-term deal, as the 31-year-old Goedert isn’t getting any younger. But the Super Bowl champion was still an integral piece of Philadelphia’s passing game in 2025, catching 60 balls for 591 yards and a career-best 11 touchdowns. He’s declined as a run-blocker since his younger years with the Eagles, as Pro Football Focus grades indicate, but no tight end left on the market boasts Goedert’s all-around resume and red-zone ability. He’d fit a clear need for Denver.

Andrew Wingard, S

Here’s a native of Arvada, a Wyoming graduate, and a former undrafted free-agent grinder who could easily step in as Denver’s third safety in 2026. It’s likely that reserve P.J. Locke hits the open market after six seasons in Denver, and several NFL sources have told The Post across the last week that the Broncos would be in the market for a safety.

Denver could easily nab Wingard at third-safety value and receive a piece who could start in a pinch or even push Brandon Jones at free safety during training camp. His numbers in coverage were solid in 2025 — a 61% catch rate and 89.2 passer rating allowed when targeted, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats — and Wingard would also bring special-teams value after seven seasons as a depth safety in Jacksonville.

Logan Hall, DE

The John Franklin-Myers era is over in Denver, leaving the Broncos with a gaping hole at defensive end next to Zach Allen. Denver could easily look to fill the departed Franklin-Myers’ shoes with a combination of reserve Eyioma Uwazurike, rookie Sai’vion Jones and key defensive tackle Malcolm Roach — or look back to the market for a bargain body to add to the room.

The 6-foot-6, 275-pound Hall would be one of the Broncos’ best options if they turned to free agency here, a 2022 second-round pick with a similar frame to Franklin-Myers and similar versatility to line up inside or on the edge. He finished with just 1.5 sacks in 17 games in 2025, but recorded six quarterback hurries. Hall would offer another skilled, young body in the room at a reasonable price.

The thing about windows, though, is that they close. Denver has two more seasons before it has to start thinking about a massive extension for quarterback Bo Nix, which will put considerable strain on their long-term cap. It’s no secret. The world knows it. Those inside the Broncos’ facility know it. Their time to strike is now, heading into 2026 free agency with roughly $28 million in current cap room — — and plenty of levers to pull to create more space and throw money around in the market.

It’s also no secret that the Broncos need more skill talent. They need to add a running back, tight end, and potentially wide receiver. They need a linebacker either in free agency or the draft, and quietly have some options at safety. In January, owner Greg Penner described Denver’s approach with a phrase that’ll come to define this offseason, whatever size of swing the front office takes: “We’ll be opportunistically aggressive.”

The legal tampering period of free agency, when teams can officially make contact with players and agents, begins at 10:00 a.m. MT Monday. New contracts can officially be signed come 2:00 p.m. MT on Wednesday. Here’s The Denver Post’s position-by-position Broncos guide to 2026 free agency, informed via numerous conversations with NFL agents and sources across the past two weeks.

Quarterback

Who Denver has: QB1 Bo Nix, QB2 Jarrett Stidham

Who Denver could lose: QB3 Sam Ehlinger

What Denver needs: Another QB in the room, and to re-sign Ehlinger

Key market options (former team in parenthesis): Zach Wilson (Dolphins), Sam Howell (Eagles), Teddy Bridgewater (Buccaneers)

This will depend entirely on whether the Broncos actually shop Stidham, and potentially save themselves $6.5 million in corresponding cap room. If they trade Stidham to a quarterback-needy team for some draft capital, Denver could easily look to re-sign Ehlinger and promote him to Nix’s official backup, after Ehlinger stuck to Davis Webb’s hip in 2025. The Broncos would clearly need another name to push Ehlinger in such a circumstance, though.

If that wouldn’t be a young draft pick, the Broncos could look to bring back Zach Wilson, who was part of a tight-knit group with Nix and Stidham in Denver in 2024. Paton also did plenty of work on longtime backup Howell in the 2022 draft, and former Bronco Bridgewater was Sean Payton’s trusted backup in New Orleans in 2018 and 2019.

Running back

Who Denver has: RB1/RB2 RJ Harvey, RB3 Tyler Badie (likely to sign ERFA deal)

Who Denver could lose: RB1/RB2 J.K. Dobbins, RB4 Jaleel McLaughlin

What Denver needs: A true RB1 or Harvey complement, and depth

Key market options: Kenneth Walker III (Seahawks), Travis Etienne Jr. (Jaguars), Rico Dowdle (Panthers), Tyler Allgeier (Falcons), Kenneth Gainwell (Steelers), Emanuel Wilson (Packers)

Here’s the spot that’ll draw the most buzz next week. The Broncos have already been connected to some of the top names on the market, clearly needing an upgrade in the room even if Denver brings back Dobbins on the cheap; the oft-injured veteran simply can’t be relied upon to play a full season. The Seahawks elected not to give Walker a one-year, $14 million franchise tag after a Super Bowl MVP, and the star RB could easily command upwards of $12 to $14 million on the market.

Would Denver swing on that price, though? Walker wasn’t good in pass protection last year (two sacks and nine pressures in 51 pass-blocking snaps, per PFF), and the Broncos need a third-down back whom Nix trusts. The 5-foot-11, 215-pound Etienne is a highly intriguing fit for Denver, a bigger back who’s dynamic in the passing game (six receiving touchdowns in 2025). The 25-year-old Allgeier is a power back without excessive tread on the tires who could be available at a lower price, but expect Denver to look elsewhere.

Don’t be surprised if the Broncos walk away with Dobbins, Harvey and a supplemental piece instead of swinging big here. Wilson is an interesting name, a 226-pound RB who ran for 496 yards in Green Bay last season.

Wide receiver

Who Denver has: WR1 Courtland Sutton, WR2 Troy Franklin, WR3 Pat Bryant, WR4 Marvin Mims Jr.

Who Denver could lose: WR5 Lil’Jordan Humphrey

What Denver needs: A high-upside complement to Sutton, or at least another trustworthy WR4/5 option

Key market options: Alec Pierce (Colts), Jauan Jennings (49ers), Wan’Dale Robinson (Giants), Rashid Shaheed (Seahawks), Mike Evans (Buccaneers), Stefon Diggs (Patriots), Romeo Doubs (Packers), Jahan Dotson (Eagles), Jalen Nailor (Vikings)

The Broncos like their current receiver room. The Paton-Payton braintrust has made that clear this entire offseason, and their firing of receivers coach Keary Colbert and hire of longtime Payton associate Ronald Curry signal that Denver believes in unlocking the potential of its current group rather than needing a drastic personnel overhaul. That being said, they need to add a piece here, whether in free agency or via a deep draft class.

Pierce is the true difference-maker on the market. There are few in the NFL like him, a 6-foot-3 deep-ball extraordinaire who racked up 1,003 yards last year on 21.3 yards per catch. Denver got an up-close look at him in a Week 2 loss to Indianapolis. But one agent The Post spoke with pinpointed Pierce’s likely market value at $27 to $30 million, which would be a steep price for a team already giving Sutton $23 million yearly. Don’t expect Denver to get into a bidding war for him.

The rest of the market is somewhat iffy. Jennings has the frame (6-foot-3), blocking prowess and red-zone ability (nine TDs in 2025) that Payton would love. Robinson will likely land somewhere in the $10 to $15 million range, and would bring a high-volume slot weapon that Denver doesn’t currently have.

Doubs is a definite potential fit for the Broncos here; Denver has interest in the former Green Bay receiver, an NFL source told The Post. He’s a big-bodied target who doesn’t demand the ball but has good red-zone production and can play in a variety of alignments. Keep an eye on Dotson as a potential depth piece, too, as Dotson’s agency CAA also represents Nix. He’s a former 2022 first-round pick whose production stalled out in Philadelphia, but he can block, play from the slot and hasn’t dropped a pass since 2023.

Tight end

Who Denver has: TE1/TE2 Evan Engram

Who Denver could lose: TE1/TE2 Adam Trautman, TE3 Nate Adkins, TE4 Lucas Krull

What Denver needs: A legitimate in-line TE who can complement Engram as a pass-catcher, and stay on the field on any down

Key market options: David Njoku (Browns), Isaiah Likely (Ravens), Cade Otton (Buccaneers), Chig Okonkwo (Titans), Dallas Goedert (Eagles), Daniel Bellinger (Giants), Charlie Kolar (Ravens)

Denver can’t simply run it back from 2025 and expect better production from Engram, who caught 50 passes for 461 yards in 2025, under new play-caller Davis Webb. The Broncos need a versatile weapon whom they trust as both a blocker and a matchup-threat receiver. Otton might just be that guy: he played in-line (attached to the offensive tackle) on nearly half his snaps in Tampa Bay in 2025, according to Pro Football Focus, and has caught 59 passes in each of the last two seasons.

Otton’s yearly value has been pinpointed in NFL circles somewhere around Jake Ferguson’s four-year, $50 million extension with Dallas in 2025. If Denver wants to spend at TE, he and Likely would be the most well-rounded options on the Market. Njoku and Goedert are likely past their primes, and Okonkwo’s not a blocker.

Bellinger had 88 yards and a touchdown for the Giants against Denver in Week 7, and is seeking $7 to $8 million yearly. Kolar is the most intriguing upside swing here, a 6-foot-6 blocker who was stuck behind multiple TEs in Baltimore in the receiving game.

Offensive line

Who Denver has: LT1 Garett Bolles, LG1 Ben Powers, C1 Luke Wattenberg, RG1 Quinn Meinerz, RT1 Mike McGlinchey, OL2 Alex Palczewski, OT2 Matt Peart, OT2 Frank Crum, C2 Alex Forsyth

Who Denver could lose: Nobody

What Denver needs: Maybe another swing tackle

Key market options: Wide-open

Denver doesn’t need to spend here, with its current starting offensive line set again for 2026. The Broncos could always look to cut or deal Powers to create cap room and have a ready successor in Alex Palczewski, whom they inked to a two-year extension Thursday. It’s more likely they look to the draft to bolster depth here, although they could certainly cut Peart to save over $3 million in cap room and target another backup tackle in free agency. Players like former Vikings veteran Justin Skule or Seahawks backup Josh Jones could be good value there.

Defensive line

Who Denver has: DE1 Zach Allen, NT1 D.J. Jones, OLB1 Nik Bonitto, OLB2 Jonathon Cooper, DE/DT2 Eyioma Uwazurike, DT2 Malcolm Roach, OLB2 Jonah Elliss, OLB2 Dondrea Tillman (likely to sign ERFA deal), OLB3 Que Robinson, DE/DT3 Sai’vion Jones

Who Denver could lose: DE1 John Franklin-Myers, DE/DT3 Jordan Jackson

What Denver needs: A cheap, productive interior defensive lineman to push Uwazurike, Roach and Jones

Key market options: Logan Hall (Buccaneers), David Onyemata (Falcons), Calais Campbell (Cardinals), Sebastian Joseph-Day (Titans), Rakeem Nunez-Roches (Giants)

The Broncos already have massive amounts of money tied up in their defensive line, and Franklin-Myers is already all but gone. His likely landing spot is Tennessee, where recently-acquired defensive end The thinking from agents who spoke with The Post is that Denver could bring in depth to help supplant Franklin-Myers, but will likely rely on its pieces already in the building to fill the void.

Ironically, the Broncos’ movements in the defensive-line market will depend on Franklin-Myers’ own movements. Agents are completely across the board on projecting Franklin-Myers’ yearly value in a weak class; one suggested $12 to $14 million, one suggested $16 to $18 million, and one went as high as $20 to $22 million. If teams end up bidding closer to that higher end, it could price the Broncos out of what they’d be willing to spend for another body in the room. Onyemata, Joseph-Day and Nunez-Roches could all offer cheap, veteran depth.

Inside linebacker

Who Denver has: LB1 Dre Greenlaw, LB2/LB3 Karene Reid, LB2/LB3 Jordan Turner, LB2/LB3 Levelle Bailey, LB2/LB3 Drew Sanders

Who Denver could lose: LB1 Alex Singleton, LB1/LB2 Justin Strnad

What Denver needs: An instant-impact starter, or at the very least a high-end LB3.

Key market options: Devin Lloyd (Jaguars), Nakobe Dean (Eagles), Quay Walker (Packers), Quincy Williams (Jets), Kaden Elliss (Falcons), Alex Anzalone (Lions), E.J. Speed (Texans), Bobby Okereke (Giants)

It’s a great year to need a middle linebacker. Denver could certainly look to a strong draft class to address this spot. But an NFL source who met with Denver at last week’s NFL Combine told The Post that the Broncos will have a “significant appetite” in the free-agent linebacker market.

That could mean they’ll take a monster swing on Lloyd, a 2025 All-Pro and the kind of playmaker that Vance Joseph would have a field day with in the middle of Denver’s defense. It could also mean they’ll re-sign Singleton as their green-dot defensive leader — he’s been pinpointed by multiple NFL sources at somewhere between $5 to $8 million yearly — and add another piece to compete for a starting job. Strnad is likely headed for new pastures, as he told The Post after the season he wouldn’t be back in Denver unless it was in a clear starting role.

The Broncos have interest in Anzalone and Speed, sources said, both potential green-dot options or LB3 pieces who will come in below the top of the market, where NFL sources pinpointed Lloyd likely to come in between $15 and $17 million annually. Dean is another interesting and versatile option who told The Post at the Super Bowl he likes watching the Broncos’ defense and would be interested in Denver in free agency if the price was right.

Secondary

Who Denver has: CB1 Pat Surtain II, CB1 Riley Moss, NB1 Ja’Quan McMillian, NB2/CB2 Jahdae Barron, CB2 Kris Abrams-Draine, S1 Talanoa Hufanga, S1 Brandon Jones, S2 Devon Key (likely to sign ERFA deal), S2 JL Skinner

Who Denver could lose: S2 P.J. Locke

What Denver needs: A third safety to replace Locke and potentially push Jones

Key market options: Tony Adams (Jets), Dane Belton (Giants), Kyle Dugger (Steelers), Andrew Wingard (Jaguars), Alohi Gilman (Ravens), Ifeatu Melifonwu (Dolphins), D’Anthony Bell (Panthers), Rodney Thomas II (Colts)

A notable Broncos development to track in free agency: Denver has expressed interest in adding a safety, several NFL sources told The Post this week. Locke is likely headed elsewhere after a nice fill-in stretch for the injured Jones late in 2025, and the Broncos want to add another piece to replace him, as Hufanga and Jones are both injury risks. Wingard is a name to watch here, a seven-year Jaguars veteran who recorded 84 tackles and nine passes defensed as a full-time starter in 2025.

The Broncos also did work on Melifonwu in last year’s free agency, and Denver tracked Bell’s status on the waiver wire as the Seahawks pulled him between the practice squad and active roster in 2025, sources said. At the very least, expect Denver to sign a depth safety who can also be a special-teams contributor.

Special teams

Who Denver has: K1 Wil Lutz, P1 Jeremy Crawshaw, LS1 Mitchell Fraboni

Who Denver could lose: Nobody

What Denver needs: Nothing

Key market options: Wide open

Denver need not spend much time here on specialists.