One Concern That Hasn't Been Solved Yet (And How Broncos Can Fix It)

With two of three preseason games in the books, the Denver Broncos appear to have a problem.

Denver's special teams have been concerningly rough this summer, and it hasn't shown any progress in the two preseason games. From bad long-snapping to botched field-goal attempts to poor punt and kick coverage, and even a kickoff out of bounds, the Broncos' third phase has left much to be desired in the preseason.

The Broncos allowed 28.8 yards per kick return to the Atlanta Falcons in preseason Game 1 and 39.7 per return to the Green Bay Packers in Game 2. Denver's punt coverage has been much better, but the kickoff coverage has been shockingly bad.

“Obviously that wasn’t good enough," head coach Sean Payton said after Friday night's loss to the Packers. "There weren’t a lot of things... I said this after the game—just pick a topic. Pick penalties, we lose there, kickoff, kickoff return, we lose that battle; rushing numbers, we lose that... You can’t not pay attention to these games, these scrimmages, these important steps towards the start of the regular season.”

It's worth noting that many of the players covering these kick and punt returns in the preseason won't be on the Broncos' roster come September. Still, third-phase mavens like Devon Key and JL Skinner have been involved in many of these returns, so it's a troubling trend regardless.

What to Make of the Coordinator

Special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi enters his second year with the club after spending the preceding six seasons with the New Orleans Saints. Before Rizzi arrived, the Broncos' special teams were in pretty good shape under Payton, beginning in 2023 with the hiring of Mike Westhoff as a third-phase expert and Ben Kotwica as the coordinator.

No special teams unit is going to be perfect. There were some gaffes under the Westhoff/Kotwica regime, the most noteworthy being Leo Chenal's blocked field-goal attempt in Kansas City during Bo Nix's rookie season, which saw the Broncos snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Shortly after that ignominious moment, Westhoff stepped down, citing his advancing age and health, while Kotwica marched ahead. The coaching tandem achieved some great things together, though, including Marvin Mims Jr. earning Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors in 2023 and 2024 as a returner.

Following the 2024 season, Payton fired Kotwica. It was a shocking move at the time, but it seemed to be preemptive so that the Broncos' head coach could make room on the staff for Rizzi, who was about to become a free agent, so to speak.

Payton hired Rizzi shortly after, and one of his first moves as coordinator was the scouting and drafting of punter Jeremy Crawshaw. The Broncos invested a sixth-round pick in the Australian-born punter, which was their way of ensuring they landed Crawshaw, rather than taking their chances competing with other teams for his services as a potential undrafted free agent.

Crawshaw started off a bit rocky as a rookie, but he eventually found his footing, and is poised to take a big leap forward in Year 2. Also notable in Rizzi's first year as special teams coordinator was Mims's failure to earn any returner accolades for the first time in his young career, despite averaging a healthy 15.6 yards per punt return, including a touchdown, and 26.3 yards per kick return.

However, it must be noted that kicker Wil Lutz really flourished after being reunited with Rizzi in Denver. Lutz was excellent in the clutch, kicking one game-winning field goal after another throughout the 2025 season. He was a big reason for Denver's 11-game winning streak last year.

Under Rizzi's purview, Mims may not have earned a Pro Bowl or an All-Pro selection for the first time in his career, but Key set a new franchise record for special teams tackles and was named first-team All-Pro as a third-phase ace. So, with Rizzi, there have been concerning special teams developments, but also plenty of success stories for Payton to hang his hat on.

How They Fix It

Devon Key celebrates a special teams tackle. | Dustin Bradford / IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

Honestly, I don't expect the Broncos' coverage units to show much improvement during the preseason. And there's only one more game to go.

If the coverage units look this bad in Kansas City on Monday Night Football come September 14, then my concern will morph into true alarm.

For now, though, the Broncos will continue to play inexperienced guys like Miles Scott, Parker Robertson, Tycen Anderson, Brent Austin, Sean Fresch Jr., Dallen Bentley, Taurean York, and others in the preseason finale because the team has to evaluate its depth players to make the best decisions come roster cut-down day.

That day rapidly approaches, though. The Broncos' preseason finale vs. the Minnesota Vikings is on Friday, and two days later — August 30 — is the NFL's deadline to trim rosters down to the final 53 players.

I do hope the players I mentioned above, and many others, are able to capitalize on their opportunity against the Vikings, especially after the Broncos' depth looked so collectively lost in last week's 30-13 loss to the Packers.

As for Rizzi, I'm still waiting for that big aha moment that makes it clear why Payton dumped Kotwica for him. One thing I know for sure, though, is that Payton trusts Rizzi, and that goes a long way.

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