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Good morning, Broncos Country. April has officially arrived and you know what that means—it’s NFL Draft month. Over the coming weeks, we will keep churning out our scouting reports and any tidbits of information about anything and everything related to the Broncos and the 2026 NFL Draft.
In case you missed it, there was a bit of Denver Broncos news that made the airwaves over the past few days at the NFL’s annual league meetings. Head Coach Sean Payton offered his thoughts on the direction of the franchise and where they are at with this month’s draft festivities just a little more than three weeks. And he may have ruffled a few feathers along the way.
After what was perceived to be a slow start to free agency, the Broncos made their big move trading multiple picks to land standout wide receiver Jaylen Waddle from the Miami Dolphins. A major critique from analysts and fans from across Broncos Country is that the team didn’t do enough to solidify their status as contenders for the 2026 season.
But were the Broncos’ brass at all concerned with all that? Absolutely not.
“We tune out the angst. There was a lot of angst when we selected Bo where we selected him. There was a lot of angst when we made quite a few of these decisions. You have to tune that out,” stated Payton in front of reporters.
“You cannot chase what others outside of the building feel like you should be doing. We spent a lot of time on this free agency class. We had a pecking order of what we thought was most important, and we were able to accomplish that.”
Coming off a fourteen-win season, the Broncos didn’t have many major holes to address. The state of the roster was strong entering the offseason—and it’s even better now—even with limited outside additions. Quite honestly, had the injury to Nix not happened in the AFC Divisional Round matchup versus the Buffalo Bills, there’s a good chance the ultimate ending to Denver’s ‘25 season was significantly different. And the dominant view of Denver’s lack of ambition to upgrade it may have very well not come to pass.
Most were hoping for potential upgrades at running back, tight end, or inside linebacker—positional groups that didn’t seemingly perform to expectations in 2025 or even in years prior. Nevertheless, the Broncos felt good about the players they had—even when the majority of outside sentiment felt differently.
“I saw the stories and I don’t believe that. So, it’s not, ‘Let’s run it back.’ I hate that term. It’s not, ‘Let’s run it back.’ Let’s understand one thing: it is anything but that. When you win 11 of 13 one-score games, like you saw the flip in just one season with Kansas City. It’s how do you improve your team. The better you get, the harder it is to improve your team,” Payton added.
By adding Waddle, the Broncos certainly improved their team. I remain optimistic about the potential of the wide receivers they’ve taken the past three season. With respect to Marvin Mims Jr., Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant—here is still room for improvement and growth.
However, adding a player of Waddle’s caliber was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Could the Broncos have gotten a player late in the first round that could amplify their chances for another Lombardi Trophy as much as his? Probably not, and a good enough reason to push the chips all in gearing up for another Super Bowl push in ‘26.
All last season, Broncos Country was hoping for more consistency and explosive plays from their receiving corps. With Waddle added into the starting lineup, that will put a lot of pressure on opposing defenses. And in turn—make third year quarterback Bo Nix’s life a little bit easier.
“He’s played everywhere. I’ve seen him outside as a tremendous route runner, inside. The route tree is pretty expansive. The best thing that I think he does is he’s explosive; he’s dynamic. A lot of times, the guys run fast, but I think he sends his hips in transition. I think you’ll see him play inside in the slot; you’ll see him outside,” Payton spoke in glowing praise of the team’s big offseason addition.
But the additions aren’t done yet. With seven picks on deck in late April, the Broncos will have the opportunity to round out their roster and fill any last remaining holes or needs before the start of their offseason program. Payton remarked he doesn’t feel comfortable yet, but believes the team has the right plan and strategy in place to have the best 53-man roster compete for another title run this season—even if a lot of folks don’t.
“We have the draft coming up and we are excited about that. The point is though; you have to apply some patience and have a good plan. We recognize where we are at. We understand exactly where we are at with Bo’s contract, our team.”
As always, thank you for reading. Here is today’s slate of articles for Horse Tracks.
