How Broncos Stack Up Against Daniel Jeremiah’s 12-Piece Championship Formula

The Denver Broncos are returning 90% of their snaps from 2025 for a reason. 17 of the club's own free agents were re-signed or tendered this offseason.

Beyond those re-signings and the draft, the Broncos made only two meaningful offseason moves: trading for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and signing free-agent safety Tycen Anderson.

The Broncos believe they have a roster to compete once again for a Super Bowl berth. We are talking about a team that won 15 games, counting playoffs, and came one quarterback injury away from a Super Bowl berth.

One way to gauge where the Broncos stand entering the 2026 season is to compare this roster to Daniel Jeremiah's 12 pieces of a "championship roster." NFL Media's draft guru dropped this tweet last week, setting the NFL world abuzz.

Today, we're going to use it as a mirror to analyze the Broncos' roster.

I'd like to revisit this concept for every NFL team. To build a championship foundation, you need to fill these 12 spots:
QB-1
Off Playmaker-3
Quality OL- 3
Pass Rusher- 2
Def Playmaker-3

Fun exercise to compare teams with this focus
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) May 26, 2026

So, let's see how many of Jeremiah's boxes the Broncos can check currently.

Quarterback: 1

Bo Nix.

Only the most ardent skeptic will say that the jury is still out on Nix's status as a bona fide franchise quarterback. Broncos Country, however, is well acquainted with all the markers of such a quarterback.

Two seasons, two playoff berths. 24 regular-season wins. A division crown. A playoff victory. Nix tied Russell Wilson for the most wins through a quarterback's first two seasons in NFL history.

Nix also became the only quarterback in league annals to win 20-plus games while passing for 7,500-plus yards and 50-plus touchdowns through his first two seasons. Yeah, the Broncos have their guy.

Of course, as a third-year player, Nix still has plenty of room for growth. Improving his downfield accuracy and patience within the pocket are two such areas, but he already brings much to the table.

They say that a franchise quarterback is the tide that raises all ships. Without that tide, the ships recede, which is exactly what we saw happen after Nix suffered that ankle injury in the divisional round the playoffs. The Broncos could go no further without him.

Suffice it to say, the Broncos have the quarterback box checked.

Offensive Playmaker: 3

Courtland Sutton, Jaylen Waddle, and RJ Harvey.

The Broncos absolutely have two of these three boxes checked, but I would argue that they have all three. Some might argue over my selection of Harvey here, perhaps even asserting that fellow running back J.K. Dobbins or maybe even tight end Evan Engram are more qualified.

However, Harvey is entering just his second year, and he's coming off a rookie campaign, totaling 896 yards from scrimmage and 12 total touchdowns. The Broncos believe he is just scratching the surface and so do I.

Harvey was most potent in the offense when he wasn't being asked to carry the primary running back load. While Dobbins was still healthy, Harvey was at his most dangerous, and that is only going to increase in 2026.

New Broncos offensive coordinator Davis Webb will have all sorts of Harvey tricks up his sleeve. As a ball carrier and a pass-catcher, Harvey is poised to take the NFL by storm in 2026.

Sutton is an obvious choice as one of the three playmakers. He's coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and just earned his second career Pro Bowl nod.

Add Waddle to the equation, and the Broncos are now absolutely loaded for bear on this hunt. None of this even mentions the likes of Jonah Coleman, Pat Bryant, Troy Franklin, or Marvin Mims Jr.

The Broncos check all three of these Jeremiah boxes.

Quality Offensive Linemen: 3

Garett Bolles and Milton Williams — Denver Broncos offensive tackle Garett Bolles (72) blocks New England Patriots defensive end Milton Williams (97). | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Garett Bolles, Quinn Meinerz, and Mike McGlinchey.

Honestly, the Broncos have five quality offensive linemen, counting left guard Ben Powers and center Luke Wattenberg. But keeping it to the requirement of three, Bolles and Meinerz are All-Pros while McGlinchey has been one of the more reliable and consistent right tackles in the league since arriving in Denver in 2023.

The Broncos are blessed to return their entire starting five for the third straight year, coinciding with Nix's tenure under center. The benefits of this continuity have already been realized, but there's plenty more to come for the Broncos.

Only one quarterback has been sacked fewer times than Nix since he entered the league in 2024. That's a credit to him, of course, but it is shared by the offensive line.

Where this unit can show clear improvement in 2026 is on the ground. The Broncos reinforced the running back room by re-signing Dobbins and drafting Coleman, so the big boys up front have everything they need to get push off the snap and create some holes and rushing lanes.

Waddle's presence should help the Broncos' run game, too. Defenses won't be able to flood the box or crowd the line of scrimmage with impunity, which should redound to a more efficient rushing attack.

The Broncos have these three boxes checked, and then some. Being able to boast two All-Pros up front is a rare thing indeed, and they are complemented by three other quality players, though Powers and Wattenberg must prove they can stay on the field in 2026.

Pass Rusher: 2

Nik Bonitto and Zach Allen.

Once again, the Broncos have these boxes checked and then some. Bonitto and Allen are All-Pros, providing relentless inside/outside pressure on the quarterback.

There's a reason the Broncos have led the NFL in sacks in back-to-back seasons. Rush linebacker Jonathon Cooper is always a threat for double-digit sacks, and even the Broncos' linebackers and secondary get in on the action.

There is a question mark opposite Allen. The Broncos have a plan to replace John Franklin-Myers and his 14.5 sacks over the last two years, and it involves recent third-rounders Tyler Onyedim and Sai'vion Jones, as well as veteran Eyioma Uwazurike.

If the baseline for this box is two, again the Broncos check it with aplomb.

Defensive Playmaker: 3

Talanoa Hufanga and Nik Bonitto — Denver Broncos Defensive back Talanoa Hufanga (9) and Denver Broncos Linebacker Nik Bonitto (15) celebrate a combined tackle against the New York Jets in London. | Manjit Narotra / IMAGO / Pro Sports Images

Patrick Surtain II, Talanoa Hufanga, and Ja'Quan McMillian.

Surtain is a reliable playmaker, but he's often wasted on the stat sheet because quarterbacks go away from him. However, when Surtain is tested, the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year is a proven playmaker.

Hufanga qualifies as well, although he's got to really work on his hands. Without exaggeration, he dropped 10 interceptions last season, but he still made a phenomenal impact and earned a second-team All-Pro nod.

Hufanga only had one forced fumble, but he was a whirling dervish, totaling 106 tackles, six for a loss, and two sacks. That was just Year 1 in Denver. Look for him to build on that excellent start in 2026.

McMillian was a godsend to Denver's takeaway-starved defense last year. He had his fingerprints on five of the Broncos' 14 total takeaways, and that continued in the playoffs, where he made a game-changing interception in overtime against the Buffalo Bills to help seal the win.

Bonitto is another major defensive playmaker. He not only impacts the quarterback as a pass rusher, but he also has a great nose for the ball, scoring two defensive touchdowns in 2024 alone.

On defense, everyone needs to be a playmaker to some degree, especially a unit that runs an attacking 3-4 scheme. There are other honorable mentions to be sure, like linebacker Justin Strnad, whose fourth-quarter interception helped launch the Broncos' furious Week 7 comeback win over the New York Giants, as well as safety Brandon Jones and cornerback Riley Moss.

Like many players on Denver's defense, the Broncos could use a few more takeaways from Moss and Jones, but last year was just an odd outlier when it came to turnovers. In the grand scheme of things, the Broncos have no shortage of defensive playmakers, that's for sure.

The Takeaway

One can quibble with my selections and whether the Broncos check all 12 of Jeremiah's boxes, but I think it's quite clear where this team stands. The Broncos have everything they need to compete from a roster perspective, as well as the experienced coaching of Sean Payton and his staff.

As with any contender, the Broncos need a little luck by way of the injury bug, but even in the face of their gauntlet of a schedule, all of their Super Bowl aspirations are very much on the table. Fans should be feeling good about the state of the Broncos.

It's quite remarkable, considering the state this team was in after the 2022 season. Coming off a five-win finish and the embarrassment of having to fire a head coach before his first season was even over, Payton and GM George Paton have worked miracles in Denver.

The Mile High Magic is back in full effect.

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