Broncos Name Nine Team Captains for 2026, Including One First-Timer

The Denver Broncos are just days away from their season-opening trip to take on the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football.

With a few days to spare, the Broncos have announced nine team captains for the 2026 season, with three on offense, four on defense, and two on special teams. Each was chosen by his teammates.

Broncos' 2026 Team Captains

Bo Nix | QB
Courtland Sutton | WR
Quinn Meinerz | OG
D.J. Jones | DL
Alex Singleton | LB
Patrick Surtain II | CB
Talanoa Hufanga | S
Devon Key | S
Wil Lutz | K

HC Sean Payton has announced our 2026 captains as chosen by the players. ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/0jWwJfHkyB
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) September 9, 2026

Why They Were Chosen

Pat Surtain II and Devon Key — Denver Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II (2) reacts with safety Devon Key (26) after a play in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Nix has now been named a team captain in each of the three years he's been a Bronco. Nix became the first Broncos rookie quarterback since John Elway to start the regular-season opener back in 2024, and he's never looked back.

Nix has proven to be a franchise quarterback — the tide that raises all the ships around it — and he's taken on a leadership role since being drafted. Entering Year 3, if training camp was any indication, he's feeling himself even more, and seems intent on making up for lost time after his magical 2025 season was cut short on the doorstep of the Super Bowl by a heartbreaking injury.

Sutton is one of the Broncos' longest-tenured players. A 2018 second-round pick, when Sutton first joined the Broncos, the late Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders were still on the team.

Their professionalism and leadership rubbed off on Sutton, and he's since become one of the veterans that players look to in the Broncos' locker room. This is the sixth straight year he's been selected as a team captain by his teammates.

Sutton leads by example, and his production reinforces it all, coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and a Pro Bowl nod.

Meinerz is a two-time first-team All-Pro right guard, and he definitely sets the tone for the Broncos' offensive line. This is his third straight year as a team captain.

Jones has been named a team captain in consecutive seasons and is the lynchpin of the Broncos' defensive line. As the Broncos' starting nose tackle, he's been in that role since the Broncos originally signed him back in 2022 as a free agent.

Like Jones, Singleton and Surtain were selected as team captains for the third straight year, and both are established leaders on defense. Singleton is an automatic 100-tackle linebacker, whom the Broncos re-signed in the offseason.

Surtain needs no introducton; a perennial Pro Bowler and All-Pro, he's only two yeras removed from being named the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year. Surtain and Hall-of-Fame linebacker Randy Gradishar are the only Broncos to ever win that award.

Hufanga joined the Broncos as a free agent last season and quickly established himself as a locker room leader. He was named a team captain in 2025, which honestly surprised him at the time, but he backed it up when the games rolled around with his leadership and production, earning second-team All-Pro honors.

Key's selection as a team captain is interesting, but it shows his standing among his teammates. On the depth chart, he's a backup safety, but on special teams, he's a first-team All-Pro, setting a new franchise record last season for third-phase tackles.

Lutz gets the C on his chest for the third straight year, as well. He might not have the biggest leg in the NFL, but he's become one of the best clutch-time kickers in the league, helping the Broncos win 11 one-score games last season, not including the club's first playoff win since Super Bowl 50.

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