On the roster (9): Pat Surtain II, Riley Moss, Ja’Quan McMillian, Jahdae Barron, Kris Abrams-Draine, Reese Taylor, Jaden Robinson, Brent Austin, Sean Fresch Jr.

How many on the 53? 5-6

Most impactful offseason move: Placing a second-round tender on McMillian

This is a position where it����ap certainly possible the offseason’s most impactful move is still to come between now and the start of the regular season, as either McMillian or Moss could end up landing a lucrative extension. For now, it����ap ensuring McMillian, a restricted free agent, returned to the fold with a tender for 2026 valued at $5.77 million. Nickel is a premium position in today’s NFL and McMillian is one of the league’s best. He played 66% of Denver’s defensive snaps in 2025, picked off two passes, ran one back for a touchdown, forced two fumbles and recovered another, logged four sacks and five tackles for a loss, ran communications from his spot in the slot and, of course, made one of the defining plays of Broncos postseason history with his game-saving interception of Josh Allen in overtime of the divisional round. He’s not the best player on Denver’s star-studded defense, but in many ways he’s the heartbeat. And he’s the tie that binds the cornerback group, which is headlined by Surtain, the multi-time All-Pro.

Biggest question to answer in camp: Is there a major surprise around the bend?

From here, the best bet is probably not. It����ap difficult to imagine a situation, however, in which there’s a change in Denver’s cornerback group without it being a major one. Yeah, maybe Barron becomes the next man in on the perimeter over Abrams-Draine. But what if he beats out Moss? Or what if a team offers a Day 2 pick plus for Moss or McMillian? Denver’s in Super Bowl mode, so perhaps the front office rebuffs anything other than a completely ludicrous offer, but the odds of both Moss and McMillian landing big deals after 2026 seem unlikely, so there could be some sense in cashing in if the interest runs hot enough around the league. More likely: The Broncos roll with Surtain, the best cornerback in football and on a Hall of Fame track at 26 years old, Moss and McMillian across the top line and a deep No. 2 line behind them.

Battle to watch: Barron against… pretty much everybody

That����ap not to say the second-year man has to be antagonistic. He just currently occupies a unique airspace that speaks to the Broncos’ depth and talent but also could understandably be frustrating for him. The 2025 first-round pick is versatile enough to play literally any spot in defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s secondary. There also happens to be an established starter in every one of those jobs in Surtain, Moss, McMillian and safeties Brandon Jones and Talanoa Hufanga. It����ap not exactly the most electrifying training camp goal for Year 2, but if Barron shows in August that he’s a better option at safety than Devon Key, a better option outside than Abrams-Draine and a backup-in-name-only in the slot, it shouldn’t be long before he’s playing major time for the Broncos… somewhere.

Under the radar: Abrams-Draine

Every time Abrams-Draine has been called into action, he’s delivered. It started his rookie season in a tilt-a-whirl “Monday Night Football” game against Cleveland. It����ap continued through periodic injuries to Moss and Surtain, too. Abrams-Draine has some of the best ball skills in Denver’s supremely talented cornerback group. He’d almost certainly start on at least a few teams around the NFL. It����ap a luxury not many teams possess that they can put him in a game if an upper-echelon player misses some time. Teams around the league have capable pro scouting departments, but it����ap also natural to wonder if, as former Sean Payton and George Paton personnel fan out around the league — think Darren Mougey with the New York Giants, Jim Leonhard in Buffalo, Addison Lynch with the New York Giants and more — some familiar face will call back to Colorado in August and inquire about Abrams-Draine.

That is the conclusion drawn when digesting ESPN’s quarterback list as ranked by league executives, coaches and scouts. Mahomes was No. 2, Herbert seventh and Nix 18th, the Broncos’ star the equivalent of a college team in the “others receiving votes” in the Associated Press poll.

On the surface, it makes sense. When considering careers, Nix pales to Mahomes, an all-time great, and Herbert, who has long had head-turning numbers. But the inference is that the rankings implied where the quarterbacks stood entering 2026.

Instead, it comes across as a lifetime achievement award because a strong case can be made that Nix has been as good or better than both over the past two seasons.

Blasphemous? Let’s go to the stats.

Take the names off:

Quarterback A: 21-9 record, 65.3% completion, 7,515 yards, 48 touchdowns, 22 interceptions, 70 sacks, 729 rushing yards, 7 TDs.

Quarterback B: 22-11, 66.1%, 7,597 yards, 49 TDs, 16 INTs, 95 sacks, 804 rushing yards, 4 TDs.

Quarterback C: 24-10, 64.8%, 7,706, 54 TDs, 23 INTs, 46 sacks, 786 rushing yards, 9 TD, 1 TD receiving.

Mahomes was A), Herbert B) and Nix C). And are we sure that is the order in how they have played since 2024? Again, not saying Nix is better overall, namely because he must get more consistent in the middle of the field and against zone defenses, but he has better numbers.

Nix has accounted for 64 scores, compared to 55 for Mahomes and 53 for Herbert. He is not as accurate, but by a whisker. He is every bit the ground threat, something he promises will remain as he returns from ankle surgery and a follow-up cleanup procedure. He has more rushing touchdowns than Mahomes and Herbert, and sits 18 yards shy in yards from Herbert.

All three take care of the ball at a similar rate. Mahomes has 22 picks and five fumbles, but none lost for 22 turnovers. Herbert boasts 16 picks, 13 fumbles and four lost for 20 total. And Nix checks in at 23 interceptions, seven fumbles, two lost, for 25.

And perhaps most salient is how Nix prevents negative plays. We can all agree he needs to become more explosive, and the onus is on offensive coordinator Davis Webb to use a simplified run game and Jaylen Waddle in concert to make this happen.

But Nix has only been sacked 46 times in his career, compared to Herbert’s 95 and Mahomes’ 70 over the same stretch.

Mahomes will be ranked in the top 10 for the next 10 years given the NFL industry’s inability to assign a year-over-year WAR value like major league baseball.

The love for Herbert is more puzzling. He looks the part, but has never won a playoff game. And miss me with blaming the offensive line the past two years. He played terribly against Houston and New England. Mike McDaniel could help Herbert reach his potential this season. But at some point, he has to meet the moment in the biggest games.

By comparison, Nix is tied for the lead in fourth-quarter quarterback comebacks (eight) and game-winning drives (10) since entering the league.

It comes down to this. Nix must improve. But he deserves more respect.

Rock on: Under new management, the Rockies received high marks for the most recent draft, especially with first-round shortstop Tyler Bell and starting pitcher Logan Reddemann. Both profile well for the new philosophies implemented at the plate and on the mound. Bell struck out at an 18.5% rate, while walking 15.4% of the time last season at Kentucky. And Reddemann features a live fastball with a varied arsenal of five to six pitches. This is how change happens, by identifying what a future Rockie looks like before he enters the organization

Horsepower: Five Broncos made Pro Football Network’s Top 100 entering the 2026 season: Pat Surtain (seventh), Garett Bolles (24), Quinn Meinerz (35), Zach Allen (56) and Nik Bonitto (59). If Nix cracks this list before next season, it means the Broncos will have likely reached the Super Bowl.

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

He’s also got a growing reputation around the NFL.

Allen, the eighth-year man entering his fourth season with the Broncos, was named the No. 73 overall player in the NFL by the league in its annual summer countdown Thursday.

He’s the first — but almost certainly not the last —��Denver player to appear on the list as it moves from No. 100 toward No. 1.

Allen led the NFL with 47 quarterback hits in 2025 and provided punch in the middle that not only resulted in seven sacks and an 11.5% pressure rate, but also helped keep teams from being able to pay too much attention to Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper and the myriad blitzers that defensive coordinator Vance Joseph deployed throughout the year.

When Allen got one-on-one matchups, he thrived. When he didn’t, his presence created them for others.

After the season, Allen was named a first-team Associated Press All-Pro for the first time in his career.

“He has this weird stutter-bull (rush) where his chest will be presented, but by the time you throw your hand out there, his ass is already gone,” Kansas City offensive lineman Trey Smith said in the NFL’s video about Allen. “Very unorthodox with his rush and one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL.”

Marveled teammate and fellow All-Pro Pat Surtain II: “It����ap like watching ballet on grass. The moves he does, the counters, the swim moves.”

No. 73 on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2026… DE Zach Allen!

— NFL (@NFL)

Allen has been a disruptive player since he arrived in Denver via free agency shortly after head coach Sean Payton’s hire. The 28-year-old has averaged 63 quarterback hits per year with the Broncos and has logged a pressure rate of 11.3% or better in each season.

“In this league you’ve kind of always got to keep on finding ways to get better and adjusting and all that,” said Allen, who inked a four-year, $102 million extension during training camp last summer. “It also helps when you’ve got ‘V.J.’ dialing stuff up that helps us get one-on-ones. We’ve got a lot of good guys and that����ap going to create a lot of opportunities for people.

“We came close to the sack record last year and we fully expect to break it this year.”

That would be quite an accomplishment, considering the Broncos logged a franchise-record 63 sacks last fall — re-breaking the mark they set in 2024 — and came up just five short of Chicago’s single-season record.

In the process, Allen has started to accumulate individual accolades, including the All-Pro nod and his first Pro Bowl selection last season.

“It����ap definitely nice to get it. Obviously, growing up as a kid, you dream of stuff like that,” he said this summer. “The cool thing, too, is we have a lot of guys and it����ap really a cohesive group and everyone helps everyone. That����ap why you saw so many guys get recognition on the team. With team success comes individual awards.

“We’ve just got to keep on winning and more guys will keep getting awards.”

Such is the case for Broncos cornerback Riley Moss, who heads into training camp this month no longer just a young, promising player.

He’s a multi-year starter opposite Pat Surtain II. He’s a critical piece of one of the best defenses in the NFL. And he’s entering the final year of his original rookie contract.

“Dude, it����ap gone by so fast,” Moss told The Post after a minicamp practice last month. “It����ap unbelievable.”

Moss enters his fourth training camp as one of the most interesting figures on Denver’s roster. He has provided two seasons of mostly high-caliber play in an unenviable role opposite Surtain, the perennial All-Pro candidate. Moss has reveled in knowing he’ll be targeted frequently rather than shying away from it. He’s bounced back when he’s had a tough game and worked to correct issues like his eight 2025 pass interference penalties, the second-highest mark in the NFL.

He will soon dive into a contract year as part of a fascinating secondary picture that is almost sure to change in some sort of substantial way after the 2026 season. Moss and nickel Ja’Quan McMillian are both free agents after the year. Denver has 2025 first-rounder Jahdae Barron waiting in the wings and coaches have said repeatedly that they believe he can play in the slot or outside. The Broncos have also received quality play from Kris Abrams-Draine in spot outside duty over the past two seasons.

Moss may marvel at how quickly this point in his career has arrived, but he said he rarely considers what����ap just beyond the horizon, which is likely a lucrative contract extension here or elsewhere.

“To be honest, no. It’ll handle itself out like it always has,” Moss said. “I trust in God, and I trust in myself, and I’m just going to go out, do my thing, continue to do my thing, and the rest will take care of itself.”

If Moss and McMillian each enter training camp without an extension, it will be tempting to interpret Barron’s workload as a clue to what the future might hold. Will Barron play primarily outside and try to push Moss for a timeshare or the job outright? Will he mostly man the slot and try to stage a more compelling battle against McMillian than he did last summer? Or will he split work in preparation for what could be a similar reserve role to last season?

Moss expects competition from somebody or somebodies four weeks from now, when the Broncos report.

“Naturally, if you’re a competitor and you want to last in this league, you have that regardless of who is behind you,” he said. “It����ap good for us. It pushes me, it pushes them and overall I think it����ap good for our room.”

A focus on creating turnovers

The Broncos originally traded up for Moss in the third round of the 2023 draft, selecting him No. 81 overall. The former University of Iowa standout had a core muscle injury that sidelined him for most of his rookie training camp, but he developed into a trusted special-teams player over the 2023 season. Then he won the job opposite Surtain and hasn’t looked back, starting 31 games over the past two seasons.

After this most recent season, Moss got a reel of film from the coaching staff and front office that he said broke down “the good, the bad and the ugly” and provided a roadmap for where the brass wanted him to focus. Those things can be picked at over the spring and summer, but the real technical work begins anew in training camp.

Mostly, Moss said, his focus during the offseason months is on physical conditioning.

“The first thing is getting my weight back,” Moss said. “I lose a good 8 pounds during the season just naturally from running all over the place. So I just try to get my feet back, get my weight back and then kind of work from there.”

During minicamp, Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph called creating more turnovers this fall a problem that needs fixing after his group wreaked havoc in 2025 but forced just 14 turnovers (tied for 29th in the NFL).

“That’s for me, schematically, having more eyes on the ball with pressure,” Joseph said. “That’s our players catching the football. That����ap our players, when they’re sacking a quarterback, breaking the elbow and causing more forced fumbles.”

For Moss, No. 2 on the list rings particularly true after he tied for the NFL lead in passes defensed.

“It����ap me, myself and I,” he said. “I only had one pick and I had like (19) passes defended or whatever the heck it was.

“We’re going to start coming down with those a little more often. That����ap something you work in practice and we’re going to get some more turnovers for sure.”

Sean Payton nixed the final day of Broncos minicamp Thursday, a sign that Denver’s staff has seen all they need to see before players re-enter the building in late July to tug on actual gear. And Payton has been quick to remind reporters, throughout weeks of summer practices, that it’s tough to properly evaluate one’s roster while playing in shorts and T-shirts.

“I think all of us are anxious,” Payton said Wednesday, “to get to where we’re in pads.”

Denver’s organized team activities and subsequent minicamp this June, though, still set in motion a horde of training-camp storylines that’ll have key parts to play in the Broncos’ 2026 outlook. The Post observed two full OTA and two full minicamp practices across the past three weeks, which provided first looks at new receiver Jaylen Waddle and new play-caller Davis Webb’s offense in early 11-on-11 periods.

With that in mind, here are seven things The Post learned from the Broncos’ summer program.

1. Davis Webb has yet to dip deep into his bag

Remember the screens? Sick of them yet? They’re still around. This is still Sean Payton’s ballclub, after all, even if Davis Webb is his new play-caller.

“It’s the Broncos’, right?” Payton said Wednesday, when asked if this was his offense or a combination of he and Webb’s.

The quick game will forever be a staple of Payton-led offenses, and it won’t go away under Webb. It just has to get better. Bo Nix led the NFL last year in passing attempts of under 10 air yards (432), and finished 27th in yards per attempt on such throws. That’s not good enough to run back. In that vein, the Broncos’ offense under Webb found its most offensive success throughout summer practices by attacking the defense with weapons in the flat and in the short-to-intermediate range in the middle of the field.

New receiver Jaylen Waddle is already playing a considerable part there. Waddle had more yards after the catch with the Dolphins in 2025 — even in a down season in Miami — than any Broncos wide receiver not named Troy Franklin.

“You just can’t replace speed,” Nix said Tuesday, on Waddle. “That����ap just what he brings to the table.”

2. Jahdae Barron will compete at outside cornerback

Payton confirmed this point-blank to reporters in the first week of OTAs, but weeks of practice have only underlined this further. After the Broncos took him in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft with no actual pressing need for a cornerback, Barron lost a training-camp competition for the starting nickel job with Ja’Quan McMillian in last year’s training camp. A year later, and Barron is poised to challenge Riley Moss at outside CB2 come July.

That could have direct ramifications for who Denver decides to pay between McMillian and Moss, who will both be free agents after the 2026 season.

“It seems like he’s wise beyond his years, going into his second year,” star cornerback Pat Surtain II said Tuesday, of Barron.

3. Rookies Tyler Onyedim and Jonah Coleman can — and probably will — play right away

The Broncos’ first two picks of their 2026 NFL Draft class have looked more than the part. The 6-foot-3, 292-pound Onyedim is wearing No. 98 in Denver, the number vacated by John Franklin-Myers, and is poised for immediate rotational snaps at Franklin-Myers’ former boundary-end slot on the defensive line. He has drawn rave reviews inside the building, and has been hard to miss outside of it, with several reps through OTAs and minicamp either bursting through the line of scrimmage or fitting a run gap.

Coleman, meanwhile, has been heavily involved in the Broncos’ passing game. He’s flashed the open-field burst to be a threat on screen passes and choice routes out of the backfield, and has clear enough stockiness to chip rushers on obvious passing downs.

“He’s put together well,” Payton said, in early June.

4. There could be a QB2 battle brewing

Backup Jarrett Stidham has had his moments — including a beautiful ball to Courtland Sutton up the seam on the final day of minicamp Wednesday — but largely has looked like the same quarterback who struggled at times to get the ball out in January’s AFC Championship loss. QB3 Sam Ehlinger, meanwhile, has at times ran the offense smoother in team periods and continues to flash sneaky athleticism.

Stidham remains the team’s 18th-highest-paid player in terms of average contract value, and led the way in quarterback reps with Nix limited through the offseason program. But in Ehlinger’s second year in Denver’s system, he could push Stidham for the backup job in training camp on sheer performance.

5. It’s obvious why ILB Jonah Elliss will not be a reality

This is a compliment, actually. Elliss has stuck at outside linebacker through the offseason because he’s simply “doing too well outside,” as Payton said during OTAs. He hasn’t played inside at any point in team periods, despite Payton’s declaration in March that Elliss could shift there. It’s only taken a couple weeks for reporters to see why.

On Wednesday, Elliss broke off a lightning-quick spin move for a would-be sack and the day’s defensive highlight. He had another eye-catching pass-rush rep on the first day of minicamp Tuesday, too. It’s difficult for offensive lineman to adequately protect without pads, but Elliss’s sheer speed off the ball has been impossible to ignore.

6. The Broncos love the UFL, for demonstrated reason

The Broncos plucked one key reserve out of the UFL in 2024 with edge rusher Dondrea Tillman, and are trying for two more in former St. Louis Battlehawks Hakeem Butler and Sean Fresch Jr. Both wasted zero time acquitting themselves to an NFL practice field. Cornerback Fresch had a highlight pass-breakup Tuesday and receiver Butler pinned a pass down the sideline against a defensive back’s back for a ridiculous catch Wednesday.

The 6-foot-5, 242-pound Butler was a two-time Offensive Player of the Year in the UFL, and has shown why in just two days in a Broncos jersey. His natural fluidity is impossible to teach at his size, and he has a real shot to force Payton and the Broncos’ staff to make some tough decisions in camp.

7. Some receiver in Broncos camp will get snapped up elsewhere after roster cuts.

After trading for Waddle, the Broncos suddenly have too many standouts at receiver for too few roster spots. Denver only activates five receivers on gameday, with its current quintet of Waddle-Courtland Sutton-Troy Franklin-Pat Bryant-Marvin Mims Jr. all but set. That will likely leave veteran Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Butler and a host of undrafted rookies competing for practice-squad spots.

Former Nebraska and Kentucky receiver Dane Key has stood out from that group of undrafted pass-catchers in summer workouts, with good speed in space at his 6-foot-3 frame and a handful of chunk catches. Some standout will inevitably get left on the chopping block.

Head coach Sean Payton said the Broncos have excused Cooper��after the outside linebacker’s second arrest last Thursday on multiple charges that he violated a protection order after his initial arrest on June 4 following a physical altercation with his girlfriend.

“He’s taking this time, obviously,” Payton said. “The club is very much in tune to the league office, local authorities here, and we’ve had several meetings. Clearly from an ownership standpoint, head coach, organizationally — there’s a bar that we have, and an expectation that we have, that����ap very high. We’ll consider all of that as we continue to gather the information.”

In total, Cooper is facing five active charges in Douglas County District Court, including felony second-degree assault by strangulation, misdemeanor third-degree assault, misdemeanor criminal mischief, misdemeanor harassment, and misdemeanor violation of a protection order.

A source with knowledge of the situation told The Post that Cooper isn’t around the building in any capacity.

Payton acknowledged that “we all know the logistics” and declined to answer further follow-up questions about Cooper having meetings with team brass before his second arrest.

“I don’t think it’s my place to comment any more right now,” Payton said, “because, obviously, it’s a pretty significant issue.”

If found guilty of criminal assault in an NFL investigation, Cooper could face a baseline suspension of six games, with the number of games increasing or decreasing depending on the NFL’s findings. Payton’s mention of the organizational “bar” marks the first time any team official has hinted at potential consequences for Cooper since his June 4 arrest. The Broncos haven’t dealt with a similar legal case involving a player since owners Greg Penner and Carrie Walton Penner took the reins in 2022.

“I mean, he’s our brother at the end of the day, and we all rally behind Coop,” Broncos All-Pro cornerback Pat Surtain II said Tuesday. “And we just wish him the best with everything. But, just keeping him in good spirits.”

According to arrest affidavits, Cooper and his girlfriend got into an argument over allegations of infidelity at his Parker apartment on June 4. The felony second-degree assault by strangulation charge was added by the district attorney’s office following a forensic examination on Cooper’s girlfriend that same night by a nurse at Anschutz Medical Center in Aurora. The nurse concluded that Cooper’s girlfriend sustained “strangulation with hypoxia and traumatic brain injury,” and suffered “substantial risk of death.”

Cooper’s girlfriend was also arrested June 4 by Parker Police for her role in the incident on suspicion of domestic violence and a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief. On Tuesday, a Douglas County judge granted the DA’s office’s motion to dismiss charges against Cooper’s girlfriend.

The 28-year-old Cooper is set to make $12 million in 2026, according to OverTheCap, and has two more years remaining on a four-year, $60 million contract extension signed in November 2024. He played the ninth-most snaps of any Broncos defender in 2025, and finished second on the team in sacks.

Cooper has a hearing on advisement — where he’ll hear the total sum of charges against him — in Douglas County court Wednesday afternoon. His case is expected to proceed to a jury trial, currently slated to begin July 22.

Week after week, his digits splayed across his helmet in anguish after passes ticked off his hands and into the grass. Hufanga was a 200-pound whirling dervish from the moment he joined the Broncos’ secondary last year, and earned a second-team All-Pro nod for it. He also left five potential interceptions on the ground of NFL stadiums across the country, and visibly reacted to each as if he’d just been handed his entire season paycheck and accidentally dropped it down a drain.

Going back through DB tape from '25 after Talanoa Hufanga's discussion of dropped interceptions at OTAs last week. Story later.

But man, was Hufanga's self-disappointment evident on a few plays last year. A four-part portrait of four dropped picks:

— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans)

Months later, despite a full 17-game slate that exceeded anyone’s expectations for his first year in Denver, Hufanga’s hands still burn from the unfortunate memories.

“A lot of it (was) left on the board, and a lot of it was me, man,” Hufanga said last Thursday, when asked how the Broncos’ defense can be even better in 2026. “We left a lot out there in terms of interception-wise, and that����ap exactly what we’re preaching this year is taking the ball away. We did well in third downs and sacks and things like that, but when we look at the lack of production, it starts with me.

“I gotta lead that better.”

Missed opportunities for turnovers

True to Hufanga’s words, last season’s Broncos had one of the stranger profiles of any dominant NFL defense in recent memory. In coordinator Vance Joseph’s third season at the helm, Denver led the league in fewest��yards allowed per play��and tied for fifth in NFL history in team sacks; the club also tied for the fourth-fewest turnovers forced by any defense in the NFL. Despite Joseph’s creativity and aggressiveness on situational blitzes, the Broncos thrived more on situational conservatism: they tied for the league lead in fewest��red-zone touchdowns allowed (21) and finished�� in opponents’��third-down conversion rate (33.8%).

One needs nothing more than a handful of clips of dropped picks, though, to know Joseph’s unit still has acres of room for growth. And on the Broncos’ first day of OTAs last week, the 53-year-old veteran coordinator delivered a pointed message to his defense.

“Basically saying, ‘It����ap a new year,'” cornerback Pat Surtain II recounted last week. “‘Whatever you did last year doesn’t matter now. It����ap a new slate. Teams are getting better and better.

‘We gotta find a way to get better.’”

Indeed, opposing AFC West offenses have improved, after the Broncos surrendered more than 20 points in just one of six regular-season divisional matchups. The Chargers’ offense will likely see a jolt with new play-caller Mike McDaniel. Patrick Mahomes looks probable to return for Week 1 in Kansas City, with reigning Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III now in tow at running back. The Raiders have their franchise quarterback in Fernando Mendoza as well as veteran Kirk Cousins.

The Broncos’ defense, by contrast, lost starting defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers in free agency — and didn’t add a single external piece beyond a handful of rookies and special-teamer Tycen Anderson. It’s unreasonable to expect Joseph’s defense to put up 68 sacks again in 2026. And such a level of retention necessitates internal defensive progress; that begins with the Broncos’ ability to create turnovers, which Joseph and head coach Sean Payton stressed both internally and externally throughout 2025.

“That’s something,” Payton said after a December win over Kansas City, “that we’ve gotta improve on.”

The secondary’s lack of ball-production, in fact, became the subject of good-natured locker-room needling early in the year — and something slightly more, as weeks went by. The Post watched back tape of every Denver defensive pass breakup in 2025; players dropped a total of eight passes in coverage in the regular season, which would’ve jumped the Broncos’ league ranking in total interceptions from tied for 18th to tied for fifth.

Simple body language was even more telling. Surtain slammed his palms into the turf repeatedly after a fourth-quarter play in Week 7 against the Giants, when he and Ja’Quan McMillian tipped a can-of-corn pick away from each other. Two plays later, in that same game, safeties Hufanga and Brandon Jones ran smack-dab into each other and dropped another easy would-be interception from New York quarterback Jaxson Dart.

“I swear — as much as the lack of production in interceptions right now on the back-end — but we are trying to get the ball,” Hufanga reflected, a day later.

Back for more

He, for one, has a built-in excuse. He missed much of his 2024 season with San Francisco , and told reporters last week he wasn’t able to work his hands on a JUGS machine last offseason. He continued wearing a club on his wrist in 2025, too, and said his hand-eye coordination was “not great.”

“I’m going to be honest … I don’t know how I dropped all of them,” Hufanga smiled last week. “Because some of them, like — I’m being real with you, man, it dropped right in my lap. And I didn’t come out with them.

“And at the end of the day, a lot of my teammates would say, ‘You ain’t living right.’ So we gotta change that.”

This phenomenon extends beyond just picks, too. Despite a record-flirting sack season and excellent production against the run in 2025, the Broncos tied for the second-fewest fumbles recovered of any NFL defense last year.

There is no obvious external upgrade to that turnover margin, unless rookie linebacker Red Murdock manages to roll his NCAA all-time lead in forced fumbles into smashing NFL ball-carriers. Any salvation, then, lies within.

“What, realistically — we lost JFM, which is a guy that I’m gonna probably miss a lot,” Hufanga said. “But we did a really good job of being able to keep everybody intact, defensively at least.

“And so we’re super excited just to get this ball rolling.”

A team won’t hesitate to cut a player. Cold, calculated decisions are made on the daily.

NFL players, likewise, aren’t interested in charity when it comes to their employer.

Clubs try to pay players as little as they can. Players try to earn as much as possible.

That����ap the way the business works 99% of the time.

That����ap also what made the news earlier this month that the Broncos had given Pat Surtain II a $5 million raise — and added a 2027 escalator worth another $5 million if Surtain makes the Pro Bowl or an All-Pro team this fall — interesting.

It was a smart move by the Broncos, even if it wasn’t done out of pure grace.

Surtain knew he was underpaid after a boom in the cornerback market since he signed an extension in September 2024. So did Broncos officials. There was really no reason to play hardball with a guy the club is likely hoping plays another 7-10 years on the Front Range and retires a Bronco and a future Hall of Famer.

Surtain is 26 years old. He’s going to be due for a monster extension in the next 12-24 months anyway. Why risk souring the relationship now, just as the roster around Surtain has blossomed into a Super Bowl contender?

It looks from here like good employee management on the front office’s part to bump Surtain up this year — and likely next year, too, as long as he’s mostly healthy this fall. A four-year, $96 million extension signed in 2024 essentially becomes four years and $106 million, setting Surtain up to cash in again before too long.

There’s another key to the raise, though, and it����ap a very simple one.

The Broncos did it because they could. They started the week more than $25 million under the salary cap, and even after giving Surtain a raise, they can easily absorb another contract if they wanted to add a veteran this summer, add at the trade deadline this fall — or both.

“He’s obviously someone that we feel like is elite and at the top of his position,” head coach Sean Payton said Thursday, explaining why Surtain got a raise without a new deal. “Part of that is the salary cap and how that fluctuates and moves, especially in the last three years.”

As it pertains to Denver, specifically, the Broncos have worn $85 million in dead cap for Russell Wilson alone over the past two seasons. Now they head into 2026 with among the cleanest books in football. They have newfound flexibility and are putting it to use.

There is still plenty of roster maneuvering, cap management and future planning to do, however.

First, Denver will likely want to get back to rolling over a fair chunk of cap space year to year. They’d made a practice of it under George Paton until cutting Wilson. The past two years, they’ve rolled over less than $1 million. Before that, Paton was consistently rolling between $5-10 million over per year.

The Broncos’ use of option bonuses as a contract tool likely plays into their approach this offseason, too.

Option bonuses give a club flexibility on how it accounts for a player’s pay. Remember, base salary counts against the cap in the current year, whereas bonus money can be prorated over up to five seasons. Teams regularly convert base salary to bonus to lower a player’s current-year cap number and push cap charges down the road. Option bonuses basically let teams decide how to handle those decisions as they go.

Under Paton and vice president of player administration Rich Hurtado, the Broncos have used option bonuses with more frequency as they’ve locked up more than 10 core players on major extensions in the past two years.

Teams like option bonuses in part because, the way the CBA is written, the default assumption is that each option will be exercised and the money will be accounted for as a bonus. So teams get the flexibility of the proration built in until the option date, then can decide whether to actually use it.

That����ap a bit of a mouthful, so an example might be cleaner: Broncos receiver Courtland Sutton has a $12 million option bonus this year due Sept. 1. The money is guaranteed, so he’s getting paid no matter what Denver does.

Currently, that $12 million is accounted for as $2.4 million on the cap for this year and each of the next four. Add the $2.4 million to Sutton’s $4.735 million base salary, $6.075 million of prorated signing bonus and $765,000 in per-game roster bonuses, and you get his 2026 cap number of $13.975 million.

On Sept. 1, Denver can leave that just the way it is. But the team could also rescind the option bonus in total or in part. The Broncos’ options usually allow them to choose between prorating all, half or a smaller portion (around a third) of the bonus amount. So, if Denver rescinded the entire bonus, Sutton’s base salary would jump from $4.375 million to $16.375 million. His cap number would balloon from $13.975 to $23.575 million this year, but the Broncos wouldn’t have $9.6 million in future-year prorated bonus money on their books.

The Broncos did this in part with Garett Bolles last year, prorating out $6 million of his option bonus but rescinding some of it and bumping his base salary to $10.235 million and his cap number to $13 million.

Bolles, like Sutton, has an option bonus due Sept. 1 this fall. His is $16.935 million.

So, put it this way: Bolles and Sutton could eventually count a combined $22.43 million against Denver’s cap in 2026. But they could also count $45.58 million. Or somewhere in between.

It just depends on whether the Broncos want the cap room now or want to increase their flexibility in future years. Some teams, like Philadelphia, use option bonuses aggressively and basically always exercise them. Kick the money down the road. As long as the cap keeps going up each year, a dollar on the cap is cheaper in the future than it is this year. It����ap a bet that there’s not another surprise downturn like the COVID-impacted years coming around the corner.

There’s an argument to be made that if a team can choose between counting money on the cap this year or in the future, it should choose the future every time. The pandemic happened, though. It����ap not impossible for the cap to drop or stagnate. Payton in New Orleans was part of a group that spent years walking the tightrope and prorating aggressively. It mostly worked until the pandemic. Now it����ap taken years and years of roster slashing and money burning in a straitjacket to unwind the mess.

The Broncos are aggressive but have demonstrated a somewhat lower-than-maximum risk tolerance.

The older a player is, the more likely Denver will at least consider rescinding an option bonus and taking more of the money on the current year cap.

Sources also indicate that internally, the Broncos generally treat option bonuses as if they’re going to rescind them. So, they don’t necessarily look at Sutton as a player with a $13.975 cap hit this year. They look at him as a player with a $23.575 million cap hit that they can choose to lower by exercising the option on Sept. 1.

The CBA assumes the flexibility and the league credits Denver with around $21 million in cap space after Surtain’s raise. But the Broncos enter the summer likely working under their own internal assumption that they have less room than that.

Now that the team’s built a stable of players with option bonuses in their deals, it can treat them essentially like puzzle pieces. Exercise a couple here, rescind a portion there. Manipulate cap space and associated risk on a per-player, per-year, per-option basis.

It����ap complicated, it����ap interesting, and it����ap the way the front office has decided to attack a future that could, as soon as next summer, include a mega-contract for quarterback Bo Nix.

Every team’s calculus changes once it pays a quarterback. But from this far away, it����ap impossible to say exactly what that might look like, how fast the cap will grow, how players at other positions will age and what position might go from strength to weakness or vice versa.

As such, the Broncos are trying to set themselves up with as much flexibility as possible.

It means you can pay a star player what he’s worth in the present and maybe, just maybe, keep an extra quality player or two down the line.

It remains the defining characteristic of the Broncos. It is why on Tuesday they gave their best player Pat Surtain II a $5 million raise before his new $96 million contract even kicked in.

He outperformed his deal, ownership recognized it, and rather than risk creating a rift or causing a holdout — something Surtain said he was not considering — the Broncos paid him closer to his worth.

Over the past two years, the Broncos have awarded nearly a half-billion dollars in contract extensions.

For this, they have earned praise and, um, threatened to undermine expectations. They change their cast of characters less than “Friends.”

Trust began defining the Broncos’ roster after co-owners Greg Penner and Carrie Walton Penner fired Nathaniel Hackett and hired Sean Payton.

What began this week with OTAs can end only in one place for this season to be a success: at SoFi Stadium in Super Bowl LXI on Feb. 14, 2027.

That would sure beat a box of overpriced chocolates.

Another ring is the expectation they put on themselves.

This is what happens after back-to-back playoff berths and a division title. And yet the Broncos followed an AFC Championship Game loss with an offseason of crickets chirping.

They took one big swing, acquiring receiver Jaylen Waddle.

The Patriots added A.J. Brown, Romeo Doubs and Alijah Vera-Tucker.

The Bills signed a battery of veterans, including old friend Bradley Chubb. The Ravens brought new coach Jesse Minter aboard, edge rusher Trey Hendrickson and multiple depth pieces.

And the Rams went full arms race to dominate the Walton Christmas Day dinner conversation by trading for reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett and two-time All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie.

Did the Broncos really do enough?

“I think we’ve got a great team all around,” Surtain said when I asked him that question. “So it����ap more than enough, honestly.”

It goes back to trust.

The Broncos view Team Retention as a solution. I have questions. At tight end in the passing game. At running back in the training room. At how they plan to maximize the return on investment with Jahdae Barron.

Can the Broncos take the next step without upgrading at certain positions? Denver tripled down on loyalty, keeping Alex Singleton, Justin Strnad, J.K. Dobbins, Adam Trautman, well, really everyone but John Franklin-Myers and P.J. Locke.

How is this going to work? The Broncos went so far on the field and made such improvement that anything less than a Super Bowl will be a disappointment.

But shouldn’t they have done more?

“We believe in each other. Love challenges,” cornerback Riley Moss said. “There are no complainers.”

Payton made clear when he arrived that he wanted players who loved football, were tough and lived to compete.

“And he’s done that. Now, we’ve had a year of winning where we got close,” linebacker Alex Singleton said last week. “Instead of trying to fix something that isn’t broken with new pieces. ….”

They kept the band together. There is a reason Mötley Crüe is still touring, right?

Continuity has only strengthened camaraderie and chemistry. No one has said it out loud yet, but we will hear it soon enough.

It is the Broncos vs. Everybody.

Now more than ever.

No one likes these players more than this GM, this coach, and, well, these players.

But is their confidence misguided? ESPN’s offseason power rankings placed the Broncos 15th behind six teams in the AFC alone. Their over-under for wins is 9.5

If the Broncos pull this off, they will cement their standing as one of the best teams in franchise history. If not, their static free agency will taint them as a collection of high-character guys who couldn’t finish the job without more outside help.

It was a huge risk by staying internal, save for Waddle.

So, again, how do the Broncos continue the climb against opponents who appear to be more all in?

It goes back to players like Surtain. To trust. “To a locker room with the same mentality and work ethic,” Moss said.

These types of statements roll eyes. But I have seen it work, most notably with the 2007 Rockies. Players who grew up in the minors, stayed together, were bonded by friendship and did the unthinkable because of the power of playing for each other.

That same kind of dynamic is at work here. The premise is simple, if not fraught with danger. That standing pat will allow them to move forward. Even Surtain.

“We haven’t seen his best yet,” said Pat Surtain, the star cornerback’s father, and former NFL stalwart, who attended PS2’s foundation Topgolf event that raised money to provide resources for students in financially disadvantaged communities. “We haven’t.”

Really? How so?

“What would happen if he is targeted more and gets like six interceptions?” the elder Surtain said.

Or is healthy. Surtain missed three games last season, the longest absence of his football career at any level, with a partially torn pectoral muscle. It was a remarkably fast recovery.

“It should have been season-ending,” Pops said. “But he came back.”

This is why the Broncos gave him a raise before he was due. Surtain is all in for the team.

Bo Nix is the face of the franchise. But Surtain is the best player, a future Hall of Famer. He knows what a title looks like, having won a national championship at Alabama in 2020.

Waddle was his teammate. That is where the confidence comes from when he believes the Broncos did enough.

Waddle will help Nix. And force teams to use more man coverage on Courtland Sutton.

Based on conversations with multiple players over the last month, they also believe Davis Webb will make the offense more explosive. It must be to survive an opening six-game gauntlet that smacks of cruel and unusual punishment.

“In order to reach the top you have to play the best and our schedule definitely says that,” Surtain said. “I am looking forward to it. That is the exciting part of the game. You have to prove yourself every year.”

No matter what happens in the opening two months, the Broncos will be good and remain a contender. But for this to work, they have to improve after an offseason where they were complacent.

“I am telling you,” Surtain said with a smile, “this is a special group.”

In other words, trust him.

Denver started the first of two weeks of organized team activities on Tuesday. The team is on the field three days this week and three days next week for voluntary work, then has its mandatory minicamp slated for June 16-18.

The next three weeks, then, are the only time Sean Payton’s team will be on the grass in any formal capacity until training camp begins at the end of July.

It����ap football without pads. It����ap more than three full months before the regular season begins. There is a lot of time left in the offseason and the rush to blow small developments or highlights out of proportion this time of year runs rampant across the league.

Nonetheless, these three weeks do mark important waypoints on the Broncos’ path toward training camp and, ultimately, a “Monday Night Football” opener Sept. 14 at Kansas City.

So, here are four storylines that could realistically be moved forward over the coming weeks.

Is Bo Nix nearing the end of his rehabilitation?

It’s the story that will be a story until it����ap not. And even then, questions about the third-year quarterback’s ankle will linger until he puts another long stretch of healthy play together this fall.

Payton indicated last month that he expected Nix to be around for OTAs, but also that he was more confident Nix would be actually involved in some capacity later this month during the minicamp.

“If it were up to him, it’d be earlier,” Payton said May 9. “But we’re going to be smart.”

Nix fractured his ankle in January late in a postseason win against Buffalo and had surgery shortly after. Payton and others originally indicated that Nix would be full speed at the start of Denver’s offseason program, which started in early May, but a second procedure on the ankle in late April pushed that timeline back.

“You’ll see him (in June),” Payton said. “I’m sure you’ll see him in, probably minicamp maybe, but he’ll be full speed throwing everything in July before we even get back here (for training camp).”

The Broncos have expressed confidence in Nix’s rehab both after the initial surgery and after the second. The coming weeks will give a bit more clarity on where the 26-year-old is in that process.

Who will win playing time in the Broncos’ revamped wide receiver room?

Aside from Nix, the single biggest item of interest when reporters are allowed into OTA practice Thursday will be seeing Jaylen Waddle on the field for Denver for the first time.

The star wide receiver, acquired in March from Miami, will likely have to wait a bit longer to start building rapport with his starting quarterback, but his impact is sure to be felt right away in the receiver room.

Not only does he make a dynamic pairing atop the room with Courtland Sutton, but his arrival and sure-to-be-heavy workload have an impact on the rest of the room.

Exact roles and playing time will be up for grabs through the summer, but that competition is already on.

The list of contenders is long but starts with Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant and Marvin Mims Jr. The Broncos have used all three in different ways over the years and each has his strong suits. Franklin can fly and his production jumped last fall from 28 catches, 265 yards and a pair of touchdowns as a 2024 rookie to 65, 729 and six, respectively. Bryant is tough over the middle and in traffic, has run-after-catch ability and is the group’s best blocker. Mims is explosive and has shown he can play any of the spots or out of the backfield in addition to being a terrific returner.

Maybe by September it����ap as simple as rotating those three guys in with Waddle and Sutton depending on game situation. Maybe somebody grabs control of the No. 3 spot. It’ll be one of the best summer battles on the roster.

Can Jonah Elliss make the ILB transition stick?

There’s no substitute for actually playing full speed and, eventually, tackling, so this will be an ongoing process. The staff has confidence, though, that Elliss can play in the middle of the field and he can begin to show signs of that — or plant the seed for question marks — depending on how the next few weeks go.

One player who’s confident Elliss can make the move smoothly: Veteran inside linebacker Alex Singleton, who will be part of the group trying to help get the 2024 third-round pick up to speed.

“It����ap fun. Anytime a guy can learn more, all the better,” Singleton said Friday of welcoming Elliss into the inside linebacker room. “I actually played inside backer with his brother (Christian), too, so I know, kind of, the mindset he’s going to have about it.

Several players this offseason have noted Elliss’ overall talent and concluded that he needs to be on the field some way, somehow. If him moving inside helps create playing time for young edge rushers like Que Robinson, all the better.

The first steps: Learning the responsibilities and communications in the middle of the field. That’ll be Elliss’ challenge this summer before attempting to show he can play regularly inside during training camp.

Is Jahdae Barron headed for a similar role in Year 2?

The personnel in Denver’s loaded secondary has not changed. Pat Surtain II is the premier cornerback in football and has a new, $5 million raise, too. Riley Moss and nickel Ja’Quan McMillian are both valued players and are both entering contract years, too.

So, where does that leave Barron, Denver’s 2025 first-round pick? He played a modest 30% of defensive snaps as a rookie — and less than that outside of the stretch Surtain missed due to injury.

Will he again compete with McMillian for the nickel job in camp? Will he compete for a starting job outside against Moss and Kris Abrams-Draine? Is he perhaps the third option behind starters Talanoa Hufanga and Brandon Jones at safety after P.J. Locke’s departure this spring? All of the above?

Barron’s time is likely coming with McMillian and Moss both in line for big paydays after the 2026 season, but what does the shorter-term future have in store for him?