The Broncos haven’t had a 1,000-yard rusher in the 2020s. Do you think that’ll change this year?

— Mike, Denver

Hey Mike, thanks for writing in and getting us going this week. Good question, and from this stage at the outset of training camp, it’s pretty difficult to guess.

While the Broncos do have a 1,000-yard rusher drought, there’s not a ton of difference between Phillip Lindsay’s 1,011 in 2019 and Melvin Gordon’s 986 in 2020.

Still, it’s a symbolic mark.

Push comes to shove, at the moment I’d say the streak does not end this fall. But for the first time in at least a couple of years, that won’t be because of a lack of punch at the position.

RELATED: Broncos training camp primer: Position battles, storylines, numbers and subplots as Year 3 under Sean Payton begins

There just figures to be a pretty good split in workload between J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey, and at least three others — Jaleel McLaughlin, Audric Estime and Tyler Badie — will be trying to carve out roles, too. Then you factor in Dobbins’ injury history and the consideration that even if he begins the season as the lead guy, he may or may not be by season’s end.

Here’s what I do think, though: Both Dobbins and Harvey have a chance to have really good seasons, particularly when you add up a combination of rushing yards and receiving yards.

If Harvey’s got 700 rushing yards but almost equal yards receiving on, let’s say, 60 catches, that’s a darn good rookie season. If Dobbins ends up with 850 and 600, that’s a really good year.

Interesting, Denver’s rushing production from running backs specifically has been remarkably consistent the two years so far under coach Sean Payton.

They combined for 1,422 yards on 346 carries in 2023 and 1,415 yards on 343 carries last fall, both of which work out to 4.1 yards per carry. The three previous seasons looked like this:

2022: 1,540 on 367 carries (4.2)

2021: 1,863 on 413 (4.5)

2020: 1,669 on 372 (4.5)

Regardless of the 1,000-yard rusher conversation, it’ll be a surprise if the Broncos aren’t closer to the 4.5 range than where they’ve been the past three years. They’ve got an overhauled running back room and an offensive line that ranked as the league’s best run-blocking unit by some metrics last year.

Parker, there is a lot of hype and expectation for the Broncos this preseason. However, it may very well be mostly in Denver, as many of the other experts may not be buying in. Many rate the Broncos behind the Chargers in their division and as a more likely candidate for possibly replacing Kansas City as the best in the AFC West. What are your thoughts?

— Jon, Edwards

Yeah, I don’t think it’s just in Denver, Jon. Many of the national types are pretty bullish on the Broncos, too. You see the team peppered all over lists of teams in contention, playoff projections, Super Bowl dark horses and all of that. ESPN just had Denver ranked as the No. 6 roster in football. Last summer, they had the Broncos ranked No. 31. That’s a massive year-over-year jump. That’s also not to pick on ESPN. Certain beat reporters, including the one looking back at me in the mirror, had Denver pegged for six wins last year. I said a year ago that the way I’d end up very wrong on that was if Bo Nix played well in his rookie year and that’s exactly what happened. But the Broncos also got terrific production up and down the roster, saw their first two free-agent classes under Payton pay off and benefited from development among many young players.

That sets the stage for high expectations this year. But you’re exactly right about the division. I’ve said this several times and believe it: The Broncos could be demonstrably better as a football team this year and end up 10-7 and finish third in the division. It’s a tough sled.

Not only is Kansas City the favorite until proven otherwise, but the Chargers should be really good. And Las Vegas will be picked to finish last nearly universally, but the Raiders had a nice offseason and nailed down some core competencies with the hire of Pete Carroll, the trade for Geno Smith and the completion of the Maxx Crosby extension. They won’t be a pushover, particularly with Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty as a couple of young offensive cornerstones to build upon.

Today, I’ll say the Chargers are the best bet to knock off Kansas City, but it’s essentially a coin flip with the Broncos. Tie goes to the team that swept the season series a year ago.

What have you observed about how travel affects the team? Sleeping, eating, changing routines — do the Broncos use a chartered plane? How about the equipment guys, video guys, cafeteria/food guys? How do they prepare and function when the Broncos play away from Denver?

— David Brown, Silverthorne

Hey David, great question. It’s always a little hard to tell week by week how travel impacts a team. When the Broncos got 70 hung on them in Miami in 2023, was that impacted at all by the fact that they were traveling all the way to South Florida? Or was it just a historically bad day at the office? And what of the fact that they spent extra time in Buffalo before a Monday Night game later that same season and won? Did the extended stay on Lake Erie help them? Was the preceding bye week more beneficial? Or do we remember it mostly because Wil Lutz got a do-over on the game-winning field goal and now know drama was brewing between the club and Russell Wilson?

What we do know is Payton likes traveling early when the team goes to the Eastern time zone. They’ll usually leave Friday evening rather than Saturday afternoon to get the extra adjustment time. Like all NFL teams, they do charter.

The Broncos take a lot of steps to make the road as much like home as possible. They bring their chef and some nutrition people along on every road trip and those folks typically work in conjunction with the hotel kitchen wherever the team is staying. When the Broncos went to West Virginia last year, they brought along a lot of their own food, from rice to sauces and spices to even their own honey.

That’s pretty much the approach in every facet. You want your players and coaches to be able to watch film like they’re at home, eat like they’re at home and do as much as similarly as possible.

What are the games you’re looking forward to covering most this year, Parker? I’m sure that London one has to be near the top of your list.

— Tom, Parker

Hey Tom, thanks for writing in. Yeah, the London trip is a circle-the-calendar event. Plus, even though the Broncos and Jets have played each of the past six seasons and eight of the past nine, this matchup has some good storylines. Primarily, of course, Darren Mougey leaving Denver to be New York’s general manager and the club hiring one of Payton’s former players and assistant coaches, Aaron Glenn, as head coach.

There are a bunch of other good ones: At Philadelphia the weekend before London, at Washington in late November, the Packers and Cowboys visiting Denver. Cincinnati at home, too, and those are all before the division matchups.

Night games are rougher on newspaper reporters from a deadline perspective, but it typically means you’re covering a big game — some Thursday night games notwithstanding.

Do you think we’ll ever see Von Miller return to the Broncos?

— Ryan, Aurora

Hey Ryan, hard to see how it happens at this point unless Miller’s available and Denver has a major change in their depth at outside linebacker.

Just a guess, but it wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see Miller do the one-day thing to retire as a Bronco someday. But he’s got a one-year deal with Washington as of last week and told us earlier this offseason that he wants to play as long as he feels like he can still make an impact.

Nik Bonitto was the breakout star of the defense last year, but Jonathon Cooper has steadily improved over the past two seasons. Do you think he can become a Pro Bowler this year?

— Marshall, Parker

Hey Marshall, there’s no doubt Cooper has been a key cog in what the Broncos do defensively. That’s why he got a four-year extension in the middle of last season that’s worth up to $60 million.

For better or worse, whether he makes a Pro Bowl probably depends on where his sack total ends up. If he’s in the 8-9 range again, probably not. If he has one of those years where he ends up with 12, then it’s definitely possible. That tends to be the nature of individual accolades like that, particularly for edge players and defensive linemen.

No matter where Cooper ends up, though, the 2021 seventh-round pick has turned himself into an indispensable part of the Broncos’ operation and he enters 2025 as a leader on one of the best units in football.

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Hey Parker, with Courtland Sutton set as our No. 1 receiver, who’s our No. 2 guy? Marvin Mims Jr. seems to be the slot/joker weapon for us. Can Devaughn Vele make the next step? Or Troy Franklin? Or Pat Bryant?

— Mark, Arvada

Hey Mark, thanks for writing in and getting us going this week.

It’s a really good question and one that to me is probably the single most interesting offensive storyline — maybe tied with how the running back room shakes out — to watch in training camp. That’s because, you’re right, there are several options.

From here, Mims looks like the best candidate. He really started to break out down the stretch last year and head coach Sean Payton found more and more ways to get the ball in his hands. Not just screens and reverses and handoffs out of the backfield, either. For the first time in his career, really, Mims was a central part of the offense and the Broncos made sure they got him the ball.

The numbers are well-known at this point but still striking. Mims had seven catches on 15 targets for 56 yards through nine games last year. Plus one carry for 17.

Over the final eight, he had 32 catches on 37 targets for 447 and six touchdowns, plus 12 carries for 25. His finishing kick was even more impressive, catching all 13 targets for 154 yards and four TDs in the final two weeks, including the heroics at Cincinnati in Week 17.

If he continues on that trajectory, Mims has a chance not only to be the second man in the pecking order, but perhaps to lead the Broncos in yards receiving. He’s got that kind of game-breaking ability.

Vele, Franklin and Bryant all showed some positive signs during the offseason program, though obviously it’s a step up to training camp and then to the preseason and the regular season.

Vele was second among receivers in targets last year behind Sutton with 55 followed in quick succession by Franklin (53) and Mims (52).

Two things to keep in mind here: It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Bo Nix throw the ball to his running backs more this year with J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey primed to potentially both serve as upgrades in that department. Javonte Williams was reliable (52 catches on 70 targets), but didn’t do much with the ball in his hands (346 yards receiving).

The other, of course, is that in reality tight end Evan Engram could end up being Nix’s defacto second target behind Sutton. In his last two healthy seasons, Engram’s had 98 targets (2022) and 143 (2023). In the nine games he played last year he averaged 7.1 targets per, which translates to 121 over 17 games.

Take the RBs out of the equation for now and I’ll put in an early guess among the rest that the targets go Sutton first, Engram as a close second, then Mims third and Vele fourth. But that’s a starting point only. Camp is going to have a lot to say about the pecking order among the young guys.

Hello Parker! In his first season, Bo Nix played primarily out of the shotgun because, or at least in part because, like many rookie quarterbacks, he didn’t have a lot of experience playing under center in college. Do you think that will change next season or is it something that Sean Payton also prefers? Do you believe that it could help the running game and play-action?

— Yoann, Beine-Nauroy, France

Hey Yoann, great question. It’s a little bit of a “two things can be true at the same time” situation. The Broncos did play primarily out of the shotgun last year with Bo Nix. They also played from under center more than most teams in the NFL. That’s just a nod to how thoroughly the NFL has become a league played from the gun.

Denver, per Next Gen Stats, ran 370 plays from under center, which was a 35.1% rate. Both of those marks ranked No. 9 in the NFL. For perspective, only 28.9% of all snaps in the regular season last year were from under center, per NGS.

The Broncos ran a higher percentage of their offense from under center than any of the other teams starting a rookie quarterback, too. In fact, Washington and Jayden Daniels checked in dead last under offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, running a miniscule 7.4% of snaps from under center.

Interestingly, however, the Broncos were among the most run-heavy teams from under center. Their 23.2% under center pass rate was tied for No. 24 in the NFL.

Also worth noting: Denver’s under center rate dropped from 41% in 2023 (mostly with Russell Wilson). You can frame this a couple ways: One is that perhaps Denver will be under center a bit more with Nix going forward as he gets a fuller command of Payton’s system and they continue to diversify what they do offensively. The other is that Payton is clearly much more comfortable with Nix than he ever was with Wilson, so perhaps last year is closer to Payton’s true North in terms of ideal usage.

One of the many interesting things to track as the 2025 season unfolds.

Great insight, Parker. Do Wil Lutz’s stats warrant as much confidence as Sean Payton has in him? And while he’s only been with Denver a couple years, how does he stack up compared to past kickers, like Jason Elam, Matt Prater and Brandon McManus?

— Rod, Tampa, Fla. (formerly Highlands Ranch)

Hey Rod, Lutz has definitely earned the very apparent trust that Payton has in him. Their history, of course, goes back to 2016 when they spent five seasons together in New Orleans. But for now let’s just look at the Broncos stats.

Lutz has made 61 of 68 field goal attempts (and 75 of 77 extra points) in his two seasons in Denver and has been remarkably consistent in doing so. Lutz was 30 of 34 in 2023 and 31 of 34 last year. One miss in each of those season was a blocked kick by Kansas City (including the brutal, game-decider last year at Arrowhead Stadium).

If you want to look just purely at accuracy marks, Lutz is at 89.7% conversions over the past two years. Elam: 80.6%. Prater: 82.9%. McManus: 81.4%.

Of course, making field goals is the name of the game but judging kickers is not as simple as just looking at one number.

Lutz is 8 of 12 from 50-plus yards with the Broncos and his longest make in that span is 55 yards. He’s tried a couple of real long ones — like a 60-yarder that came up well short at KC this past fall — but overall Payton hasn’t used him too frequently as a guy to go out there and hit bombs. Lutz’s seven attempts from 50-plus in 2024 tied for 19th most in the NFL. Across the league, 24 kickers made field goals longer than Lutz’s season-best of 55.

Lutz from a percentage standpoint stacks up well from 50-plus with Elam (60.6%), Prater (77.7%) and McManus (55.5%) though each of those guys obviously had many more years kicking for Denver than Lutz. Each of those guys also hit from 60-plus in his career, which Lutz did once in New Orleans (his career-long is 60) but has not yet done in Denver.

All in all, two years isn’t enough to put yourself into the category of Elam or Prater, but Lutz has been accurate and reliable and will be counted on again in big spots this fall (with a new holder in rookie punter Jeremy Crawshaw).

Which Broncos free agent signings and draft picks might not make the opening day roster? And why?

— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.

Hey Ed, great question. Will be a little clearer once we get going in camp, but right now there aren’t a ton of guys added this offseason that look like major roster risks from this point on the calendar. Especially if you’re taking injury conversation off the table.

You’re probably talking about a guy like safety Sam Franklin, who doesn’t have a ton of guaranteed money and will have competition from younger players to make the roster as a special teams-first type of player. But Franklin’s played in 74 NFL games, so it’s not going to be easy for an undrafted rookie or less experienced player to bump him off the bubble.

It’s always possible there’s some 53-man roster/practice squad maneuvering at the roster cutdown with a guy like, say, fullback Mike Burton. He was part of that process last year but still ended up active for all 17 games.

In terms of draft picks, you figure fourth-rounder Que Robinson is a safe bet and Crawshaw is a sixth-rounder but projects as Denver’s starting punter. That only leaves Lohner, who could end up being one of the more interesting roster decisions. He might need a year or partial year of development after playing only 53 collegiate snaps at Utah. At the same time, Lohner was going to have a bunch of free agent suitors if he didn’t get drafted, which could well make the Broncos leery of trying to get him through waivers to the practice squad at the end of August. Plenty of time before anybody has to worry about that.

Bottom line here: Denver was active in free agency and obviously in the draft this offseason, but the players they added they did so for very specific reasons and with roster roles pretty clearly in mind.

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Hey Parker, I know we’re still paying Russell Wilson this year. How long is that going to continue and how much are we going to have extra to spend next year?

— Mike, Denver

Hey Mike, thanks for writing in and good question. One distinction here: The Broncos are no longer actually paying Russell Wilson. They are, however, still accounting for his money on their salary cap this year.

Denver paid Wilson the final $37.79 million it owed him last year. That represented their share of the $39 million guaranteed he was owed for 2024. Pittsburgh somehow scraped together the other $1.21 million.

What is left, though, is Wilson’s remaining cap charge of $32 million. Remember the salary cap basics at play here: Every dollar you actually spend on a player has to be accounted for on the cap at some point, even if you structure a contract to push those charges into the future. So Denver ultimately paid Wilson just short of $124 million. That’s how much was guaranteed when he signed the five-year, $245 million extension before the 2022 season. Funny enough, those negotiations are part of a fascinating document just published this week by Pablo Torre regarding collusion charges levied against the NFL by the NFL Players Association.

So, $124 million guaranteed, but Wilson’s cap numbers were relatively modest in 2022 ($17 million) and 2023 ($22 million) because of how the deal was structured. Then, of course, the Broncos cut him. The remaining $85 million in cap responsibilities don’t just disappear, though. So Denver took $53 million last year and has the remaining $32 million on its books this year.

Beginning with the 2026 season, they are free and clear of all cap charges related to Wilson.

For as massive as that $85 million number is, the Broncos turned it into essentially a best-case scenario. They made the postseason during the most burdensome year and now have more flexibility this year and even more going into the future.

As crazy as it sounds, being clear of the Russ charges next year will help the Broncos set up for life after Bo Nix’s rookie contract assuming he continues on a track toward being Denver’s long-term answer at quarterback.

Life comes at you fast in the NFL.

Which undrafted free agent has the best shot of making the Broncos opening day roster?

And in your estimation, which Broncos position group seems a bit weak and needs work?

— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.

Hey Ed, interesting questions. Second one first. The Broncos’ overall roster depth is much improved. I got a similar question earlier this offseason and said offensive tackle and outside linebacker would both be tested in a major way if a top guy missed extensive time with an injury. Doesn’t mean that Alex Palczewski on offense or Jonah Elliss on defense couldn’t really come into his own and play well, but it’d be a major challenge. Inside linebacker can also be put in that group. Obviously getting Dre Greenlaw helps a lot, but he and Singleton are both working toward full health now. Justin Strnad played a ton last year and mostly held up well, but relying on him and Cody Barton for a big chunk of last year after Singleton tore his ACL is part of what made the Broncos more susceptible in the middle of the field as the season went along. There’s certainly no reason to count Drew Sanders out yet, but he’s a question mark at this point.

As far as undrafted free agents go, you can start by following the bonus money and figure that those guys are at least pretty safe bets for the practice squad. In that camp you’re talking about guys like OLB Johnny Walker Jr., inside linebacker Karene Reid and JB Brown and offensive linemen Xavier Truss and Clay Webb. Of course, barring a run of injuries both the offensive line and outside linebacker rooms are going to be tough to crack in terms of the 53-man roster. The ILBs are decent bets but I’ll throw a tryout guy in the mix, too, in Jordan Turner. The Broncos have two veteran inside linebackers as starters — assuming good health — who are not going to play much special teams most likely. That might leave a 53-man spot at the back of the roster if somebody stands out on special teams during camp.

Outside of Bo Nix and Pat Surtain II, who do you think will be with the team for a long time? I’d love to get another jersey this year, but I don’t want to see it become outdated in a year or two. Thanks.

— Phil G., Denver

Hey Phil, good question. Figure a No. 77 jersey would be a pretty safe buy. Quinn Meinerz is terrific, still young and under contract for several years. Obviously a lot can happen, but from here he looks like a guy who’d be in line for a third contract. Do you like the double-number look? If so, you’re probably safe getting a No. 99, too. Zach Allen’s going into a contract year but if you were to handicap who gets an extension first out of the eligible group, he’d be a pretty good bet. If you want to be safe, you could wait until that gets done. Same goes for Nik Bonitto.

Otherwise, there are a bunch of young players who could stick for years to come. Marvin Mims Jr., Riley Moss or heck, Jahdae Barron all figure to have good staying power. You never know given the injury history and the fact that the Broncos don’t have a ton of true obligation after this year, but if you’re willing to roll the dice a bit, I bet Talanoa Hufanga will be a popular one this fall once fans see him in action.

How much do you think we need to pay to keep Nik Bonitto on the team? He was beastly last year. And is this Alex Singleton’s last year with us? I love his energy, but he turns 32 this year and is coming off a ruptured ACL.

— Vince, Westminster

Hey Vince, good questions. Bonitto’s going to be an interesting case. Obviously top-end pass-rushers get paid premium dollars. Bonitto’s a little short on track record, but last year he played like one of the best in the business.

What will be interesting is if a long-term extension gets done before the season or if it goes into the fall. He’s going to be in a different pay bracket than Jonathon Cooper, but perhaps the approach to an extension could be similar. Remember, Cooper began last fall playing on the last year of his rookie deal. He continued to show progress overall in his game, made himself more money and was rewarded with a four-year, $60 million extension midseason.

Bonitto could get done later this summer, but I don’t think it would be a shock if he followed the Cooper path.

As for the price tag, currently there’s a gap in average annual value between the top seven (all $28 million per year and up to Myles Garrett’s $40 million per) and the next tier (Montez Sweat and Rashan Gary in the $24 million range). Dallas’ Micah Parsons will reset the market again at some point in the near future, whenever the Cowboys decide they’ve driven up the price on themselves enough.

No inside information here, but if you told me Bonitto jumped into or just ahead of the Sweat/Gary neighborhood but short of T.J. Watt territory at $28 million per year, that’d sound about right to me.

So how about just a plain old four years and $100 million?

As for Singleton, it’s obviously an important season for him. I still think if anything there’s a chance the Broncos could ask him to take a pay cut this year during camp once he’s shown he’s healthy. He carries a $6.9 million cap hit and has no guaranteed money.

There could be room for it to work for both sides, though. Singleton could take a slight cut this year and get guaranteed money and perhaps another year or two on his deal in return. That’ll be one to at least keep an eye on in camp.

Bottom line: It could well be the last season Singleton’s a Bronco, but there’s also plenty of reason to think he could stick longer than that and it’s worth pointing out there’s no surefire heir apparent inside behind he and Greenlaw, either.

Parker, you’ve been a newspaper reporter covering Nebraska and Broncos football. What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned in reporting football to the readers?

— David Brown, Silverthorne

Hey David, there are so many things I could go on at length about, but let’s keep it to a quick one.

Not always, but generally speaking I’ve found that if I think something’s interesting, somebody else out there does, too. One of the very coolest parts about this job is if something happens — a play or a sequence or a roster move or a contract structure or literally anything regarding the NFL — that I think is interesting, I get to go to the people directly involved and ask them about it.

Sometimes those are high-profile moments. Wilson getting benched or the factors that will drive a stadium decision or a blocked field goal that cost the Broncos a game at Kansas City last year. Or it could be something extremely random, like why Meinerz and Ben Powers use a goofy looking — but apparently very effective — stance on extra points and field goals.

Covering Nebraska and the Broncos definitely have some similarities, not least of which is that there are a lot of talented people covering both organizations on a daily basis. So part of the challenge is coming up with stuff that not everybody is writing. If you do that, there’s a lot of room to operate. We’ve got a bunch of people on this beat across outlets who are good at that. So you’re always trying to expand and do better and all that, but also it’s important to kind of trust your gut and find your own lane, so to speak, and maximize that.

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What’s your take on the lack of love for Bo Nix for Season 2? I feel like it’s been underplayed what a rare rookie season this guy had. Maybe it’s the Jayden Daniels effect and how Washington transformed. Maybe it’s that so many pundits thought Nix wasn’t a first-round talent and don’t want to acknowledge that Payton was right. I just don’t know how you can look at what Nix did after those first four games finding his footing and not see more to come.

David, Charlotte, N.C.

Hey David, thanks for writing and for getting us going this week. I wonder if your view about Nix is a commonly held one. Not saying you’re wrong, just that I haven’t got the sense this offseason. Maybe that means I’m not giving Nix enough love, too?

There could be a couple of things at play here. One is that, you’re right, Jayden Daniels had such a terrific rookie season that he gets talked about more. Caleb Williams is obviously a big story because he was the No. 1 overall pick in 2024 and the Bears hired Ben Johnson as their head coach. In fact, you could rightly say that Daniels turned into a superstar, and the other four rookie quarterbacks heading into Year 2 all have more drama/turnover/big storylines than Nix and the Broncos. It’s just kind of, if not quiet, then at least stable in Denver. That’s not a recipe for spinning the ratings wheel on ESPN or NFL Network, but I bet the Broncos are fine with it.

Another element: There are just so many terrific quarterbacks in the AFC. Nix could have a great second season and slot in behind, what, five guys at least? We run through the list a lot, but it’s hard to wrap your mind around it still: Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson own five of the league’s past seven MVPs (new/very old Pittsburgh QB Aaron Rodgers has the other two). Joe Burrow belongs with that first trio but hasn’t won an MVP… yet. Then there’s Justin Herbert, C.J. Stroud, Rodgers, etc. Nix did some pretty rare things as a rookie, but how strong is the argument to put him ahead of anybody on that list besides the 41-year-old right now?

That said, Nix and the Broncos are confident for good reason. He generated three touchdowns in his first four games as a rookie and then 30 (28 passing, two rushing) over Denver’s final 13 games. Nix turned the ball over just eight times and was sacked 20 times in those final 13 games. Plus, he, Payton and pretty much everyone else in the building express extreme confidence that, as you suggested, Nix is just getting started.

Final thought on this: It’s possible that if Nix is being under-hyped this offseason, it’s because the Broncos are a complete team. The defense gets a lot of love and rightfully so. The offensive line should be one of the best units in football. They’ve added playmaking and youth at running back and tight end. Nix shouldn’t have to do everything. That’s a good thing and it’s part of the reason the Broncos are widely expected to be right back in the playoff picture this fall.

Hello from Finland! I’m back! Last season, the Broncos had Donald Parham as a TE, a big guy. Caleb Lohner is quite big, too. Is there a continuum regarding the type of player they’re looking for? Maybe especially red zone in mind?

Jude, Lahti, Finland 

Jude! Thanks for writing and good question. There’s like a 21 out of 24 chance you’ll read this in the daylight, considering we’re just about to the summer solstice. Checked out of curiosity and Thursday’s sunrise and sunset times for Lahti are 3:40 a.m. and 10:56 p.m., respectively. That, of course, has nothing to do with Donald Parham, but it is cool.

It was sort of interesting last year that the Broncos never used Parham off the practice squad, even though he’s 6-foot-8 with some track record as a red zone guy in the NFL and given Denver’s overall lack of production at tight end. Seems like they just got in a pretty good rhythm with what they had offensively, and there was no real need to disrupt the flow.

Lohner, the rookie seventh-round pick and former hooper out of Utah, is tall but not Parham tall. And yeah, there’s definitely something to that conversation. It’s like anything: If you don’t have something on your roster, you’re going to look for it. And if you’re looking for it in lower-probability ways — late-round picks, the bargain free agent aisle, etc. — you’re going to be betting on traits rather than acquiring a sure thing.

Lohner is a traits-based bet. He’s big, athletic and has the basketball skillset that sometimes translates well to the NFL. The Broncos are betting they can help refine his football skills into a useful player, not just in the red zone. At the same time, though, you don’t necessarily have to have that physical prowess in order to be dynamic in the red zone. Evan Engram, for example, isn’t nearly as tall as Lohner, but he’s going to help the Broncos in that area. Brock Bowers in Las Vegas and Sam LaPorta in Detroit aren’t the biggest tight ends out there, but they’re dynamite. True “Jokers,” to use Payton’s parlance.

Several times since late March, this one quote from George Paton at the owners meetings in Florida has come to mind. It’s in the ballpark for this question, so here it is. He was asked about being patient with players as they develop and what he looks for in terms of when to bet that patience will pay off. He used Nik Bonitto as an example. Bonitto had 1.5 sacks as a rookie, 8.5 in Year 2 and then really broke out in Year 3 last fall.

“When you look at the day-to-day, you look at the practice and you look at the skillset, is there one trait? What’s the dominant trait? Nik Bonitto, man, we knew he had a dominant trait. When was it going to click? When was the light going to turn on? So, you can see it in practice. You can see it by how they are day-to-day and how they are in the weight room and in the conditioning drills.

“Nik, he always worked hard. You felt like it would come. He got his opportunity and shoot, we traded a good player away in Baron Browning because we could see Nik in practice with what he was doing. So you just look for those little traits. It’s hard to give up on a player like that.”

Do you think the Broncos have enough talent and depth on the roster to overcome injuries and still push for a Super Bowl victory? And which player(s) would derail their season outside of Bo Nix or Pat Surtain II?

Larry Emanuel, Savannah, Ga.

Hey Larry, great question and one we’ll have a better feel for by the end of training camp.

At this point, it’s fair to say that the Broncos look like they’ve got better overall roster depth than they’ve had in recent years. Now, there comes a point where nobody can withstand a big run of injuries. Look at San Francisco last year. If you get hit with that kind of wipeout injury bug, at some point your options for recourse dry up.

Denver, though, has what looks like pretty solid depth at a lot of positions. They’ve fortified at inside linebacker and safety, though an injury at either spot could still cause issues. They’ve got good rotational depth on the edge and defensive line, but major missed time from any of Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper, Zach Allen or John Franklin-Myers would still sting. Can you cover it for two weeks? Sure. Can you cover it for 10? Much tougher. Obviously, teams will happily live with that reality because it means you’ve got really good players.

Losing Allen or JFM for an extended period would really hurt. They’re not only terrific players in their own right, but they make each other better and they make life easier on D.J. Jones and on the edge rushers. Also, we saw Alex Palczewski hold up pretty well in Mike McGlinchey’s absence last fall, but then he got hurt, too. If either McGlinchey or left tackle Garett Bolles went down, Denver would have options with ‘Palcho,’ Matt Peart or Frank Crum, but it’s fair to call it an open question just how comfortable that would feel if it’s longer than a couple of games.

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As it stands so far, which Denver position groups get you warm and fuzzy, and which ones give you agita?

— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.

Hey Ed, thanks for writing in and getting us going this week. One more small step toward the season this week as Denver gets on the field for its first set of organized team activities.

That makes it as good a time as any during the offseason to tackle this question.

There’s no reason to feel anything but good about what the Broncos have going at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

They’ve stayed remarkably healthy in both groups over the past two years, but let’s give a slight edge to the defensive line.

For all the talk about the free-agent additions of safety Talanoa Hufanga, inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw and tight end Evan Engram, the Broncos got one of their most critical pieces of offseason business done the day before the free agency negotiating window opened in March. That, of course, was getting D.J. Jones re-signed on a three-year, $39 million deal.

Denver made a couple of substantial changes last year that unleashed the group as a whole. They made Jamar Cain the defensive line coach and added Malcom Roach via free agency and John Franklin-Myers via trade.

This offseason was about retention in getting Jones back and also about future planning by drafting Sai’Vion Jones in the third round of the draft.

They’ve got enviable depth, with Zach Allen as a nearly every-down force, Roach and Jones as high-end run defenders, and Franklin-Myers as one of the most consistent (and probably underrated) pass-rushing big men in football.

Jordan Jackson took a nice step forward last year as the fifth guy in the rotation. Now the Broncos add an athletic, versatile guy in Sai’Vion Jones, who is built like Franklin-Myers. Big, long arms, powerful and with the potential to play a couple of different spots.

That’s before you get to guys like 2022 picks Eyioma Uwazurike and Matt Henningsen and a handful of others on the roster.

What the group looks like beyond this year remains to be seen with Allen, Roach and Franklin-Myers all entering contract years. Allen would seem like a safe bet for an extension, but it’s going to be tough to get all three back. That’s a problem for another day, however. This group’s got talent, balance, depth, chemistry and now a shot of youth.

Agita, good word. The Broncos have definitely spent the offseason attacking weaknesses and look at this point like they’ve got a balanced, relatively deep roster. It’d be easy to still say running back or tight end, but I’ll buck the trend here a bit and say outside linebacker — with an obvious caveat. They’re good as constructed. But if either Nik Bonitto or Jonathon Cooper misses time with an injury, how big would the drop be? Part of that question is about the fact that you’ve got two really good players at the top of the room. And perhaps Jonah Elliss or Dondrea Tillman would make a big jump if needed.

But if you’re going through the list and ranking where an injury would hurt depth the most, that’d be pretty high up there.

Parker, what can we expect out of Evan Engram in a Sean Payton offense?

— Vince, Westminster

Well, if he stays healthy, it’s hard to imagine him being anything other than the most productive receiving tight end the Broncos have had in more than a decade.

That might sound like hyperbole, but it’s really more a function of the fact that Denver hasn’t had many bountiful tight end seasons in the passing game in recent franchise history.

In fact, the last guy to crest 700 yards for the club was Julius Thomas (788) in 2013.

In Engram’s past two healthy seasons, he’s gone for 963 (2023) and 766 (2022) yards.

Even with a 2024 campaign limited to nine games by injury, Engram’s receiving totals his final two years in Jacksonville are 161 catches (207 targets) for 1,328 yards and five touchdowns.

The Broncos tight end totals under Payton the past two seasons: 90 catches for 817 yards and nine touchdowns.

Payton loves to use the tight end in any number of ways. He’ll try to get Engram free up the sideline and in good matchups to work vertically up the seam, but there are a lot of possibilities underneath, too.

Even with the limited production from the group over the past two years, you’ve seen Adam Trautman sit in the middle of the field against zone coverage or running the little underneath crosser. Add a little juice after the catch in those scenarios and maybe a 6-yard gain turns into 12.

You’d expect Engram to play detached from the formation a lot, basically like a big slot. That allows him to work a lot of different parts of the field.

Obviously, so many of the New Orleans highlights are Jimmy Graham Moss-ing somebody in the back of the end zone. And the Broncos are banking on Engram to be a red zone threat. But a lot of the benefit in having a guy like Engram and a running back who’s a threat in the passing game is the ability to work the first two levels of the defense in the middle of the field.

Here’s part of what Payton said earlier this spring: “We’ve talked about it for two years now. The interior triangle of your passing game is the tight end, the running back and the third receiver. When you’re seeing a lot of these coverage shell looks, those positions have to thrive.”

He added that, just geographically speaking, “The very logistical answer to your question is Engram is closer to Bo than the receivers sometimes. The matchups inside — it’s hard to play that position if you’re not able to attack the interior triangle of some of the looks we’re getting defensively.”

How does Audric Estime fit into the running backs room? RJ Harvey feels like the frontrunner for RB1. And Jaleel McLaughlin has been solid his first two years here. Is Estime the third guy on the depth chart?

— Mark, Arvada

Hey Mark, yeah, good question. That’ll be one of the foremost position battles to watch through the rest of the offseason program and training camp.

Obviously, each guy is going to have to produce in order to secure a role, but the thing Estime has going for him, at least from here, is play style. He’s a big, physical back. Harvey, McLaughlin, Tyler Badie and Blake Watson aren’t all the same kind of back, but Estime’s different physically.

It’s really too early to know, but on paper, you can see a natural pairing between Harvey and Estime and then one of McLaughlin or Badie as the change-of-pace guy.

When Estime was drafted last spring, Payton said the early vision for him was as an early down back and then they’d have to see how the receiving stuff came long. We didn’t see much of that last year, but it’s worth remembering that Estime was one of the youngest players in the NFL and certainly one of the youngest running backs. He’s got a lot of development still ahead of him.

Now, if McLaughlin, Badie or Watson is just more productive day in and day out during training camp, he could get passed up. He doesn’t have a spot just because he’s big and strong.

The Broncos, though, believe in his talent. They obviously liked what they saw from Badie before the Week 4 back injury, too. From here — again, with months before any actual games are played — it looks like McLaughlin’s got a big fight on his hands to stay in the mix as a regular in the game plan. But he’s overcome a lot and has proven people wrong time and again. Not only that, but last year he was their best bet on the goal line and in the red zone despite being the smallest of their backs.

Bottom line: It’s shaping up to be a fun training camp fight to watch.

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Caleb Lohner is such a fascinating pick to me. He’s like Julius Thomas with the basketball background but without as much football experience. Do you think he’ll get much playing time this year or will he be a project much like Thomas was his first few seasons in Denver?

— Mike, Denver

Hey Mike, thanks for writing in and getting us going this week. Lohner is definitely one of the most interesting incoming players for the Broncos this offseason. Take nothing away from first-round pick Jahdae Barron, but to me, running back RJ Harvey and Lohner are Denver’s most intriguing rookies as the group prepares to arrive in town to get their professional careers started.

I know Lohner didn’t start his last couple of years at Utah, but the guy is a legit Division I basketball player. You don’t play in 153 games and start 46, even with modest scoring production, if you can’t hoop.

It’s entirely too early to know if he’ll play much or at all for the Broncos this fall. He’s one of the guys I’m most interested to get eyes on this weekend at rookie minicamp, but even that’s only one small step toward Week 1 in September.

Denver has all of its tight ends back from last year and brought fullback Michael Burton back, too, so it’ll be interesting to see how the battle for roster spots shapes up. Sometimes developmental players like Lohner end up in an interesting spot as it pertains to the roster. The Broncos drafted him in the seventh round to ensure they didn’t have competition while trying to sign him as an undrafted free agent. And what teams perceive as a player’s market in the post-draft process sometimes influences decisions at the roster cutdown. For instance, undrafted running back Blake Watson made the roster last year and head coach Sean Payton indicated part of the reason was because Denver knew there were half a dozen teams or more that tried to sign him after the draft. That might impact the likelihood that a player clears waivers. Same thing could end up applying to Lohner this summer if he’s on the roster bubble.

It would obviously be a surprise if Lohner has the kind of polish and nuance to his game that allows him to play a big role right out of the gate. We’re talking about a guy who has played 52 snaps since middle school. At the same time, Utah thought enough of him to use him as a red zone threat last year, and his four catches each went for touchdowns. So, unlikely? Yeah. Impossible? Of course not.

Ideally, if you’re the Broncos, you’re able to let him learn and develop and then deploy him as he’s ready to roll. That may or may not take a little roster finagling this fall.

Do you think Denver will host the draft any time soon? I’d love it to come to our city. Maybe they’ll try and pair it with the opening of the new stadium?

— Ryan, Denver

Hey Ryan, yeah, good question. Never say never, but the impression I’ve got is that hosting a draft is not currently high on the Broncos’ priority list.

Contrary to some reporting that’s floated out there over the past year or so, the Broncos and city of Denver did not submit a bid to host the 2027 NFL draft, which was just awarded to Washington, D.C. Side note, that’s going to be awesome. Plus, 2027 could be when Arch Manning and Jeremiah Smith are available. Start your tanking preparations now.

Here’s what Broncos president Damani Leech told The Post just about a year ago as it pertained to 2027: “There’s been no official submission on our behalf for hosting the draft. Now, it’s a major NFL tentpole event and it’s really, really exciting, but it’s not something that we’re currently working on.”

My sense is that sentiment hasn’t changed regarding future years at this point, either. That doesn’t rule out the Broncos and Denver hosting one down the road, but they do have a lot of other irons in the fire currently with their current headquarters construction project, the decision-making process regarding their stadium and all the rest.

Any news about the Ring of Fame? I want to see Demaryius Thomas get his day.

— Tim M., Arvada

Hey Tim, thanks for writing. No news yet. Last year, the Broncos announced their class in late May, lining it up with one of the team’s OTA weeks. So it’s getting to be the part of the calendar where the selection committee usually does its work.

Thomas is obviously going to be elected at some point and it wouldn’t be a surprise for it to happen this year. There are other deserving candidates eligible for the first time, too, like cornerback Aqib Talib, along with a few others. So maybe the question is just about whether Thomas, the Super Bowl champion and five-time Pro Bowler who died in 2021, gets his own year or if he goes in as part of a small class.

Last year’s class of safety Steve Foley and tight end Riley Odoms marked the first players inducted into the Ring of Fame in the Walton Penner Family Ownership Group era. It also represented the first time multiple players had been part of the same class since 2016.

The Broncos’ Ring of Fame committee includes CEO and owner Greg Penner/the team’s ownership group, Hall of Fame safety Steve Atwater, former vice president of communications Jim Saccomano, play-by-play announcer Dave Logan and former head coach Mike Shanahan.

When is Mike Shanahan going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame? It seems like he keeps getting snubbed despite his impressive resume. Bill Belichick seems to be the odds-on favorite for 2026, so maybe 2027 for Shanny?

— Lewis K., Lakewood

Hey Lewis, think you’re on the right track with Belichick in 2026 and then somebody else — Shanahan potentially — in 2027. He’s clearly more than deserving.

Mike’s son and 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan put it pretty well this spring when asked about it at the NFL spring owners meetings in Florida.

“There’s a number of good coaches in line,” Kyle Shanahan said. “I think all of them will get in eventually. You could sit here and be upset about the order it goes or whatever, but I know he deserves it. I know other people do, too, and hopefully, he’ll be in sooner than later.”

The process itself for coaches and contributors has changed and is a tough one to really understand. The list of candidates gets whittled pretty far down and then a blue ribbon committee votes on a finalist to move to the full Pro Football Hall of Fame induction committee. Then the finalist has to get 80% of the vote. That’s a high bar, and in recent years, coaching candidates have not cleared it. Mike Holmgren was picked as the finalist over Shanahan and several others last year, but didn’t get to 80% of the full committee. The year before, the same thing happened to Buddy Parker.

It used to be that a coaching finalist put forth just had to get a ‘yes’ vote from the full committee. Now the coaches are grouped together with seniors and contributors and have to get 80%.

So, first you have to make it to finalist status and then you need the full group to vote you in. And likely everybody at the moment is waiting in line behind Belichick.

Hi Parker, what are your thoughts on Drew Sanders this year? It’s make or break for him, isn’t it? The draft gurus made it sound like he was a steal in the 2023 draft, but he hasn’t done a whole lot in Denver. And not a Broncos question, but who do you think will be the Browns’ starting quarterback in Week 1?

— Mark, Arvada

Hey Mark, thanks for the questions, as always.

I don’t know if I’d call it make-or-break, but it’s certainly an important summer and upcoming season for Sanders. He obviously didn’t have any control over rupturing his Achilles last spring, an injury that cost him a big chunk of his second year.

When he returned to practice, he did so originally as an outside linebacker. But the edge group blossomed into such a strength that the Broncos not only traded Baron Browning, they also moved Sanders back to the inside for the stretch run.

So Sanders started out as an ILB, moved during the season to OLB, thought he was going to settle there, got hurt, returned as an OLB, and then slid back to ILB.

Now the Broncos say he’s going to be an ILB going forward.

If there’s a silver lining to new free agent signee Dre Greenlaw missing a chunk of the offseason program going forward due to a quad strain, maybe it’s that Sanders will get a ton of reps. The inside linebacker group also features a rehabbing Alex Singleton, so Sanders will get all the work he can handle while the veterans try to get fully healthy.

We’ve seen the glimpses of Sanders’ traits and ability. He made plays sideline to sideline during training camp his rookie season. He recorded a sack as a sub-package blitzer on his first defensive snap of the 2024 season after missing the first 13 games.

But there’s a difference, obviously, between showing flashes and becoming the kind of player who can be left in the middle of the field on all three downs. Sanders, it’s fair to say, hasn’t had a long or consistent runway to try to make that leap. Now he’s got it. Let’s see what he does with it.

On the Browns, the amazing thing is they’ve added four quarterbacks since March. They traded for Kenny Pickett in March, signed Joe Flacco in mid-April and then drafted Dillon Gabriel in the third round of the draft and Shedeur Sanders in the fifth. The only guy who definitely won’t start Week 1 is the one with the massive guaranteed contract in Deshaun Watson, who is rehabbing a torn Achilles. Let’s throw a dart against the wall and say Pickett Week 1 but at least two others over the course of the season — including Shedeur Sanders.

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How likely do you think the Broncos will trade out of the No. 20 spot? I’m in the best-player-available camp after the pickups this offseason. If someone wants to give us several picks to move down, I think we have to jump on it. I’d love to have another third-rounder if that means we drop down to the bottom of the first or into the second round. What do you think?

— Mike, Denver

Hey Mike, thanks for writing in and for getting us going this week. The draft is, at long last, almost here. Next week, we settle in for three days that promise to be fascinating. The Broncos are set at quarterback, but this is a critical draft nonetheless — really, they all are.

Denver’s got its first four picks still in hand, the first time that’s been the case since 2021, George Paton’s first draft as the general manager. You’ll remember that class started out with Pat Surtain II, Javonte Williams, Quinn Meinerz and Baron Browning and finished with Jonathon Cooper in the seventh round. Two All-Pros, a cornerstone edge rusher and two now-departed regular starters beset by injury. Not too shabby.

Put simply: Denver’s got capital to move around the board with.

Do I think they’ll move out of the No. 20 spot? Impossible to say from here — there are so many moving pieces ahead of the Broncos on draft night — but there’s an interesting set of conditions brewing.

First, this is a good time for the caveat that teams have substantially more information than we do and, of course, they’ve got an entire staff of scouts, coaches and executives tasked with putting together a plan independent of whatever consensus is out there. We talk to as many people as we can, think through scenarios and possibilities, rely on people we trust, etc., but we still, at the end of the day, are looking in from the outside.

All that being said, let’s look in.

The Broncos could just stick and pick at No. 20. That’s probably the most likely scenario.

There’s plenty of reason to go your direction, Mike, and trade down. Several talented draft analysts think this is a year light on elite, top-end guys but filled with quality players. So at 20, if you’re past the top of the bell curve and into a pool of players that are graded similarly, it makes sense to want to move back a few spots, get a player of similar caliber and also pick up picks.

But if other teams have the draft pegged along a similar track, then why would they want to move up? That’s the practical inhibitor to moving back. It takes two to tango. The best bets from here seem like a team that is either quarterback or tackle needy and gets itchy to move up (or back into the first round) to get their guy.

Denver’s situated just ahead of Pittsburgh in the draft order and the Steelers could be in the QB market. So perhaps if a team wants to jump ahead of them, they’d at least call the Broncos and see what it would take.

Here’s the other inhibitor to moving back: Sean Payton. He’s never traded back in the first round. Not in Denver. Not in all of those years in New Orleans. Nada. Zilch.

The Broncos also haven’t traded back, period, since he’s been here. They moved up for Marvin Mims Jr., Riley Moss and Troy Franklin, but they haven’t moved back.

Heck, general manager George Paton last year said he would have had a cake ready to celebrate the occasion if Denver had traded out of No. 76, a move they were considering if Jonah Elliss hadn’t been available.

Paton likes the darts. Payton prefers to focus almost solely on the target.

So, long story short, the conditions ahead of the draft look ripe for teams around Denver’s position to want to try to trade down. History tells us a Sean Payton-led organization is much more likely to trade up.

I’ve seen several mock drafts that have Quinshon Judkins going to Denver in the second round. If we go that route, who would you like to see us pick in the first round?

— Marvin R., Fort Collins

Hey Marvin, that’s an interesting way to look at it. Let’s assume no trades and Judkins is the pick at No. 51. Cool, he’s a good back. There are a ton of them in this class.

In that scenario, conventional wisdom would be that you’re talking about having drafted a tight end or a defensive lineman in the first round. Maybe a surprise like safety Nick Emmanwori out of South Carolina.

But if you’re asking for ideal scenarios, let’s say Michigan TE Colston Loveland or Oregon DT Derrick Harmon.

With Judkins going at No. 51, the Broncos won’t be able to bank on getting a TE like LSU’s Mason Taylor or even Littleton native and former Oregon standout Terrance Ferguson in the third round. Maybe, but no guarantee. Loveland’s more of a pass-catcher than a blocker and he dealt with a shoulder injury last fall. All the same, he’s widely considered one of the best players in the class. Putting him in the same room as 31-year-old Evan Engram gives you security long term, and in the short term, it turns a weakness last year into a potentially serious strength this fall.

Harmon’s just a high-quality, disruptive defensive lineman. Denver’s stacked there this year but will almost certainly have significant reps to replace after the 2025 season. There are other defensive linemen who could go in a similar range if the Broncos prefer a slightly different flavor.

Is there any shot we land Ashton Jeanty or Omarion Hampton without having to trade up? Their stocks have been rising like crazy!

— Ryan, Lakewood

It’s possible, though almost assuredly not with Jeanty. He’s likely to be long gone by the time the Broncos pick No. 20.

You’ll find consensus that Hampton is a really good prospect and less agreement on exactly whether he’s a bonafide first-round grade or whether he’s more in line with the second wave of backs. Remember, there might only be 15 players in a draft class who any given team grades as a true first-round talent. This year, there could be even slightly fewer than that.

All the same, Hampton could well be gone by 20. Or he could be there and then you’re weighing him against a defensive tackle, tight end or traditionally premium position that’s more of a current strength on the Broncos’ roster like edge or corner.

Predictably, there’s been a lot of buzz about quarterbacks as the draft gets closer. If Miami’s Cam Ward goes No. 1 and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders goes somewhere in the top 10, it will be interesting to see if teams decide they don’t want to risk waiting until Day 2 for Ole Miss’ Jaxon Dart, Alabama’s Jalen Milroe or even Louisville’s Tyler Shough.

Quarterbacks always go early. The fifth year of control is important. And the value is so outsized if you find your guy. The higher and higher second and third contracts go, the more incentivized teams are to keep swinging in the draft, even with an elevated rate of misses.

The ideal situation for the Broncos is a mini run on quarterbacks either early or in the middle of the round. If the Giants go position player at No. 3 and want to get back into the first round? Great. The Los Angeles Rams want to move up from No. 24? Terrific. New Orleans wants to go that route at No. 9? The more the merrier. Any of that would push talent down toward Denver at No. 20.

Jeff Schmedding was announced as the new Broncos inside linebackers coach by The Denver Post and others on May 21, 2025. As of this writing, they have yet to officially acknowledge him on the Broncos’ own website. Why is that, and do we actually have him as a coach?

— Areferee, Greeley

Hey, Ref, you’re right that the Broncos haven’t officially acknowledged Schmedding’s hire online as of Tuesday afternoon, but I’m told he’s on staff and working as expected.

Payton didn’t directly talk about Schmedding at the NFL owners meetings because he wasn’t asked about him, but he did in a way point to the hire when he said, “I think we’re full” on the staff.

There were a lot of moving pieces this offseason for Payton, who said last month, “I felt like every time I left town, when I came back there was another coach gone.” Now the group’s in place and working with the front office and scouting departments to finalize the draft board.

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Drew Sanders was a five-star recruit out of Texas, a Butkus Award winner and first-team All-American at Arkansas and a third-round draft pick of the Broncos. But through his first two NFL seasons he has barely seen the field. The Broncos have a great need at inside linebacker this offseason. Could he be the answer?

— Jeff Bear, Loveland

Hey Jeff, thanks for writing in. Indeed, Drew Sanders is one of the more interesting figures on the Broncos roster as he prepares for his third pro season. He played both inside and on the edge as a rookie — he moved outside when the Broncos needed some help there — and then had his second season impacted in a major way by a spring Achilles tear. When he returned, he first appeared to be set to return to outside linebacker. But by the time Sanders was ready to play, Denver’s edge group had become a strength and the inside linebacker group was struggling and had lost Alex Singleton for the season to a torn ACL.

This offseason, head coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton have committed Sanders to inside linebacker. That’s the opposite of this time last year.

Sanders is a terrific athlete, possessing the kind of size and range Denver has lacked in the middle of the field. Still, he hasn’t shown he can play inside full time. Heading into free agency, the three inside linebackers on the roster are Sanders, Singleton (still months away from being cleared to return) and 2024 undrafted rookie Levelle Bailey. Could Singleton and Sanders be the Broncos’ regular pairing in 2025? Definitely. But it’s far from a sure thing. That’s why it will be fascinating to see whether Denver aggressively pursues an inside linebacker in free agency. Payton was part of the group that drafted Philadelphia All-Pro Zach Baun to New Orleans back in 2020. Denver’s seen a whole lot of Nick Bolton the past four years in Kansas City. There are other quality options that will hit free agency next week, too. They could also address the position in the draft.

Regardless of who Denver adds over the next two months, though, Sanders will be one of the most closely watched players on the roster.

How come Bo Nix does not use a wrist bracelet with plays on it like most other quarterbacks? Does he know the plays that well that Sean Payton wants to run? Does he have a photographic memory? Whatever it is, it is impressive for a rookie.

— Mike, Omaha, Neb.

Hey Mike, thanks for the question. Nix certainly had good command of the offense by the end of the season, but he did have a band most of the time. Late in the year, he wore it on his belt rather than on his wrist. Payton has said, both with Nix and Russell Wilson before, that the main point of the band is to shorten some of the wordiest play calls. Payton’s got play names that could make an auctioneer blush. So instead of relaying a 19-word call to Nix and then having him relay that to the huddle, it’s easier to shorten the inbound call to the quarterback. It’s not really an indication of play-call command or anything like that.

To Denver’s credit, though, Nix, Payton and the offensive brain trust found a good rhythm as the season progressed of getting to more things that the rookie was comfortable with. The coaches’ job is to give Nix things he can succeed with. And Nix’s job is to make sure that list is always expanding. That’s part of what’s fascinating about this offseason. Nix and Payton will benefit from their first year together and can go much deeper into the bag. But the rest of the league will also be devising ways to make life more difficult on the quarterback in his second season. Is it September yet?

Sean Payton and the Broncos surprised the preseason pundits with this year’s success. With over a third of the Broncos’ 2025 opponents in this year’s playoffs, do you expect our boys to show everyone the 2024 season was no fluke and head to the postseason again?

— Curt Hanlen, Bosque Farms, N.M.

Hey Curt, good question. Way, way, way too early for those sorts of predictions, but you know the Broncos will say their standard has been set and they have no plans on back-sliding.

To your question, 43% of the NFL makes the postseason every year, so you’re going to have a good number of playoff teams on your schedule, even if you’re one of the 14 that makes it. The Broncos still play a third-place schedule this fall, so it’s not the gauntlet that division champions typically face. Though, to be fair, Green Bay and Cincinnati are no slouches as third-place finishers. They’re probably saying the same thing about the Broncos.

This part can’t be said enough: The AFC is going to be a beast for years to come. You know the quarterbacks in the conference: Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, C.J. Stroud and onward.

Chemistry: An overused or misunderstood term? How do you rate the Broncos team chemistry? You are around the team much more than fans, what do you see and hear in the locker room?

— David Brown, Silverthorne

Hey David, yeah, interesting question. Even from our positions, I’d caution against saying anything too categorical. But the 2024 Broncos certainly seemed like a group that had good chemistry and a good locker room. The defense was tight-knit and the addition of Malcolm Roach — a big personality among a group that has some business-like guys — really helped solidify the group’s culture. They kind of took to heart the idea that Pat Surtain II was the only first-round pick among them and that they were a group that had to fight, individually and collectively. Obviously the offensive line played a part in setting the tone offensively, but Nix’s addition and the way the unit bought into him became palpable quickly.

The Broncos showed resilience on multiple occasions — after the 0-2 start, after the crushing loss to Kansas City and after losing in Weeks 16 and 17 in frustrating fashion. That’s usually a telltale sign of good chemistry. Now the task is to build off of that with what will be a 2025 team built on a similar foundation but, like every year in the NFL, featuring many new faces, too.

I’ve heard and read references to teams wanting Zach Wilson next season. Should the Broncos sign him, play him in the preseason and try to trade him, or just allow him to walk as a free agent? Also, which looks more likely: Denver selecting a tight end or a running back early in the draft?

— Fred Waiss, Prairie du Chien, Wis.

Hey Fred, thanks as always for the note. More on this later in the week, but yes, the Broncos need a backup quarterback to Bo Nix and it’s not likely they’ll get both Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson back.

Wilson clearly has more upside and you could just tell from the way that Payton and quarterbacks coach Davis Webb talked about him that they liked the trajectory he was on. Another season working with him — or the chance to sign him, let him play extensively in the preseason and then trade him — would be an exciting prospect. One of the highlights of getting to the stadium 3.5 hours before kickoff each weekend was watching Webb take Wilson through an early workout on the field before Stidham and Nix warmed up.  The talent is obvious.

But when free agency starts next week Wilson will undoubtedly be looking for a place where he can compete for a starting job. Not that there’s nobody else who could be a suitable backup, but the worst-case scenario for Denver would probably be trying to get Wilson back, failing and in the meantime losing Stidham to another team. We’ll see how quickly they address the position in the coming days.

Not a question, but a suggestion. Troy Renck asked for a new name for the hybrid position in the Broncos offense, out of respect for Denver’s only true Joker. My vote is for Mustang. It hints at the wildcard nature of the position, and it also happens to stick with the Ford equestrian theme. Let’s make Mustang happen!

— Patrick, Denver

Mustang, Joker, call it what you want. If the Broncos find that guy in the draft this spring, it’s got the potential to make a world of difference for Nix in Year 2.

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A couple of weeks ago, Bo Nix had a game where he couldn’t hit the side of the proverbial barn. (Against Kansas City in Week 18) he couldn’t miss. What was the reason for the difference?

— Roger Brisnehan, Westminster

Hey Roger, thanks for writing in and getting us started on this postseason week. Without a doubt, the defense has something to do with the differences. Kansas City was playing without several of its top guys. Next Gen Stats put Steve Spagnuolo’s group at about half its normal blitz rate, which led to a minuscule 9.4% pressure rate against Nix. That and throwing to your guys against mostly backups is going to make any quarterback much more comfortable.

Certainly, there was a stretch of three games — all wins, incidentally — where Nix got a little bit sideways down the stretch. During that stretch against Las Vegas, Cleveland and Indianapolis, Nix threw six touchdowns but also five interceptions (add in four over the first two weeks, and his turnovers have come in bunches). In those games, he completed 57.2% of his passes and had a passer rating of 75.5. Not great.

Over the final three games, Nix threw nine touchdowns and one pick, had a passer rating of 126 and, of course, the Broncos lost twice before knocking off the far-from-motivated Chiefs.

Another element here is just that Nix, for as much good as he’s done for the Broncos this year, is still a rookie. There are going to be ups and downs. He has done a good job of smoothing a lot of that stuff out and I’m sure he’d say that the others in the Broncos’ quarterback room and the coaching staff overall have played roles in that. It’s what quarterbacks coach Davis Webb set out to do from the start.

Overall, Nix’s completion percentage is 66.3%, which is No. 15 in the NFL. Starting Week 5, he’s been at 68.3%, which would check in at No. 9. Some of the advanced metrics aren’t quite as rosy. Per Next Gen Stats, his completion percentage over expected is No. 32 in the NFL and his expected points added per dropback is 17th.

To your point, Roger, the three games referenced earlier are all in Nix’s bottom eight CPOE performances of the year, while his two highest marks have come the past two weeks.

It seems like Bo Nix plays better when Sean Payton simplifies the offense. After the bye week, Nix looked like he did early in the season. Is Payton simply giving Nix too much to process, or have defenses figured out how to stifle the intermediate passing game?

— Keep it Simple Sam, Clarksville, Tenn.

Tennessee KISS, thanks for writing. I’m not sure if it’s as simple — heh — as you make it out to be and I’m also not sure if it’s Payton at the center of this conversation. His game plans and his approach have a major influence week to week, but I wonder if it’s more about Nix himself keeping it simple.

Obviously, it’s not possible from the outside to know for sure what the intention, thought process, execution and grade for every play of every game is. But watching Nix play all season, I thought that there were times against Cleveland and Indianapolis, in particular, when he just pushed the aggressive stick a little too far.

It’s a fine line because Nix also takes criticism for how often he throws short and all of that. We’ve seen that he’s got the ability to push the ball down the field. When he threw those three interceptions against the Colts, the thing that jumped out was that they were all on ill-advised passes. Nix has definitely put the ball in harm’s way at times this year — his 12 picks are tied for fourth-most in the league and they’ve come in clumps — but overall I think you’d have to say that he’s done a pretty darn good job for a rookie. His overall interception percentage of 2.1% is right at the league average and he hasn’t lost a fumble all season, so he’s not a turnover-prone player.

Defenses are going to make Nix do things that aren’t at the top of his comfort list — well, except for Kansas City on Sunday. They’ll want to make him push the ball out to the sideline and down the field. We’ve seen him do those things well at times and also make some mistakes.

Then, once the offseason hits and teams get a longer stretch to study the 2024 tape, they’ll come back with an updated plan for trying to make Nix uncomfortable. It’ll be up to him to find ways to counter-punch in Year 2 and beyond.

In your opinion, how do the Broncos match up against Buffalo? And what advantages might the Broncos have?

— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.

Good question, Ed. Obviously, the Broncos are underdogs for a reason. Buffalo is 13-4, looked like potentially the best team in football for a while, and is rolling out one of the great quarterbacks of this era in Josh Allen.

One thing that jumps out is that Buffalo’s balance — again, in large part because of Allen and because of an offensive line that’s playing at a high level.

Allen’s put up terrific numbers. His 12 rushing touchdowns are critical and help power a group that has an NFL-best 32 rushing scores overall.

Combine that with an NFL-low 14 sacks allowed, and you’ve got the kind of high-floor, low-mistake operation that is antithetical to the way Allen played early in his career. Except you’ve still got the explosiveness and big play ability intact.

Then defensively, Buffalo’s got the best turnover rate in the NFL at 17.5% of drives.

So, they don’t give the ball away, they’re balanced offensively, they’ve got a high-grade MVP candidate at quarterback and their defense takes the football away.

It actually does make for some interesting good-on-good matchups based on what the Broncos do well. They get after the quarterback as well or better than any team in football. They’ve been good defensively against the run and the pass. They don’t turn it over much offensively.

Allen, then, is the big differentiator. The Broncos have, like a lot of teams, struggled against the very best quarterbacks in the game this year. Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow tortured them in losses and Justin Herbert led a big-time comeback in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago. They played Patrick Mahomes better than most and still came up short at Arrowhead Stadium because of the blocked field goal.

Bottom line: It’s a compelling matchup in a lot of ways, but it is a monumental challenge for Denver to go on the road and get a win.

Hey Parker, the Broncos have shown over the long run that running backs can be had deeper into a draft. Although I agree that we need a much-improved running game in the future to be able to control how games go, I would argue for maintaining strength along the line and in the middle passing game. Michigan’s tight end (Colston Loveland) is a versatile blocker and receiver and a great middle option in the passing game. After that, an inside linebacker is needed to help control the run on the other side of the ball and keep teams from owning the middle of our defense in the passing game as well. I think that should be round one and round two if available. What do you think of that idea?

— Scott Sharpe, Apple Valley, Calif.

I know it’s a little early to be talking about it, but what should the Broncos do with their running back situation next year? It didn’t seem like we ever had one guy we could rely on this year as our RB1. Javonte Williams doesn’t look like the beast he was in the past. Jaleel McLaughlin has moments but they’re fleeting. Same with Audric Estime. Are we looking for someone in the draft? Are we looking at free agency? What do you think?

— Mark, Arvada

Scott and Mark had related questions and thoughts about the running back position in general and some interesting ideas all around, so let’s take the questions together. The running back conversation is more than just about getting four yards on first down. It’s about finding a player who’s a matchup problem for defenses. This is what Payton refers to all the time as a “Joker.” The high-end guys are easy to pinpoint, right? Jahmyr Gibbs in Detroit. Christian McCaffrey in San Francisco. Bijan Robinson in Atlanta rushed for 1,400-plus yards and also caught 61 passes. Those guys were also all high draft picks, but there are players across the league who make a real impact out of the backfield.

Even Chase Brown, the second-year Cincinnati player from the University of Illinois, did a lot of productive things against the Broncos. He hurt his ankle against Denver but finished the year with 990 rushing yards and 54 catches despite playing in an offense that has elite talent at receiver and a good tight end.

It’s too early to say exactly what the Broncos will do at running back, but McLaughlin’s been the starter for a few weeks now, so that tells us at least something about how he stacks up compared to the other guys in the room. They’ve clearly got plans for the future with Estime.

Williams is in the final year of his rookie contract and is a free agent this spring.

Draft, free agency and trade are likely all on the table, but finding somebody in the draft — folks that know a lot more about the draft class than I do say it’s shaping up to be a really good group of running backs — seems most likely.

As for Scott’s other points, totally agree on Loveland. Whether it’s him, Penn State’s Tyler Warren or somebody else later in the draft, it’s a key offseason position to address. Oh, and Cincinnati tight end Mike Gesicki is a free agent, too. If the Bengals spend big to keep Tee Higgins at receiver, perhaps he hits the market. I’d wager he made an impression on the Broncos with his 10-catch day late last month.

Inside linebacker, yes absolutely. It’s the one position on the Broncos’ defense that’s been anything resembling a weak spot. Alex Singleton’s injury hurt there, but they need more athleticism and more speed in the middle of the field.

In the upcoming 2025 NFL draft, what positions do the Broncos need to draft?

— Douglas Lancaster, Goshen, Ind.

The three positions referenced above, for sure, in running back, tight end and inside linebacker. You can never have too much defensive front-seven talent and perhaps the Broncos will look toward some future planning on the defensive interior. Teams always swear they don’t draft for need, but it will be interesting to see what the Broncos think of the defensive line talent in this draft class. There are some guys who will be really good players who could be sitting there in the first couple of rounds, but it might not be Denver’s foremost need.

The Broncos could use more depth at safety and it would be interesting to see them take a mid-round (or maybe even earlier) swing at receiver, too.

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Parker, our backs are to the wall now. Win and we’re in. With that, I have a couple of questions. Can we trust Riley Moss after his rough game against the Bengals? He did not look 100% out there. And what’s going on with the defense? We gave up over 30 points in three of the last four games.

— Reggie L., Denver

Hey Reggie, thanks for writing in and getting us going this week. Hard to believe we’ve reached the end of the regular season already. Seems like we just were fielding questions about Riley Moss and whether he’d win the starting job in training camp, what the 53-man roster would look like, etc.

The Broncos, of course, are very much hoping it’s not the last game on the docket for them. In order to keep playing — and certainly to upset Buffalo in the Wild Card round if they make it — they’ll need Moss and the defense.

Sean Payton made what I thought was a pretty fair point on his conference call Monday: It’s one thing to criticize some of the way the defense has played in recent weeks but quite another when talking about the Bengals on Saturday night. Against the Los Angeles Chargers, guys were running wide-open. Obviously, they had a bad night at the office even in a Week 13 win against Cleveland. The Bengals, though, are among the most dangerous offenses in football and playing as well as anybody on that side right now. As good as Joe Burrow and those receivers are, it didn’t feel like a bad defensive outing. The early fourth-down stops, the two overtime stops — one aided by the short missed field goal — the seven sacks despite Burrow’s career-low 2.23 seconds average time-to-throw. Cincinnati’s just really good offensively. Tee Higgins is a huge part of that and he got the best of Moss, no doubt about it.

As long as Moss is feeling good physically, though, the Broncos should trust him going forward. He’s got real ability and, just as important in this case, he seems to have the right mentality for handling failure and bouncing back.

It’s time to get the tarot cards, crystal ball or Ouija board out to get some insight about the Chiefs game.  What vibes are you getting?

— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.

Hey Ed, thanks for all the great questions this year. The vibes weren’t great after the game, to be sure. But that’s also natural after a tough loss and the sense of missed opportunity in letting two clinching chances get by. If — and it’s still a big if — Denver misses the playoffs, I think the Chargers loss will rank higher on the frustration scale than Cincinnati. But no doubt the Broncos had many chances to win Saturday night.

Payton said this week he likes this team’s grit and toughness and all year the group’s thought of itself as resilient. At the same time, it’ll be a different level of pressure on Sunday, especially if the Bengals beat Pittsburgh on Saturday night.

The bet here is that they handle it well and have a good week of preparation. They’re substantial favorites at home against a Kansas City team that has no incentive to play its best players. They should win and get in. A slow start or something fluky early in the game, though, and Empower Field’s going to get tight in a hurry.

Denver’s O-line is suspect as the running game never does well. Maybe it’s not the running backs? And just curious, who would the Broncos have picked if Bo Nix was not available? Maybe they would have stuck with the other two quarterbacks they have.

— Andy Banta, Bismarck, N.D.

Hey Andy, thanks for the questions. The offensive line hasn’t been perfect, but I’d push back against the notion that it’s suspect. All kinds of numbers and the eye test suggest it’s one of the best pass-blocking units in football. They’re not quite as good in the run game, but overall if you ask players and coaches or look at analytics, overall you won’t get much criticism with the way the front line’s played this year.

As for the draft, look at the way Payton’s talked about Brock Bowers before each of the games Denver played against Las Vegas this year. He’s a special talent, he was a known special talent all the way through the draft process and he never would have lasted until No. 13 had it not been what’s already shaping up to be a terrific quarterback class. Heck, redraft tomorrow and he probably wouldn’t last until No. 13. Denver also could have taken an edge rusher — remember, every defensive player was still on the board when they picked at No. 12 — like Jared Verse or Laiatu Latu.

A general observation here: It’s been a really good year for rookies. You can’t say enough about the quarterback class already, which now features five starters and three in playoff contention, four pass-catchers that have gone over 1,000 yards — highlighted by a record-setting debut for Bowers, who has a ridiculous 108 catches for 1,144 going into Week 18 — a terrific corner duo in Philadelphia in Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, a terrific front-seven duo for the Los Angeles Rams in Verse and Braden Fiske, a Day 3 1,000-yard rusher in Tampa Bay’s Bucky Irving. On and on. The class is already littered with real contributors.

Hey Parker, do you think Bo Nix and Troy Franklin will ever connect on that deep throw?

— Mark, Arvada

Hey Mark, you’d have to think eventually right? Franklin’s got legitimate speed and has shown the ability to separate. He’s dropped a couple and Nix has missed him a couple of times — including in overtime against the Bengals.

Franklin’s never going to be a physically imposing receiver, but continuing to add strength will help him get off the line of scrimmage smoother and, thus, perhaps improve timing and rhythm. The natural wonder here is why the chemistry hasn’t come along more considering the production between the two in 2022-23 at Oregon, but the NFL is a whole different ball of wax. Payton pointed that out when they drafted Franklin and it’s proven to be true.

I do not have the NFL Network and had to listen to the Broncos-Bengals game on the radio.  I know the NFL makes an exception for the Denver area, but I would argue that Bronco fans in Colorado Springs and Pueblo are just as ardent Bronco fans as the people in Denver.  We deserve better.

— Mike, Pueblo

You’ll get no argument from me, Mike. The more the league expands to streaming services and other platforms for broadcasting games, the tougher it gets for a considerable slice of fans to find games regularly.

There’s no going back, though. Look at the price tags Netflix and Amazon are willing to put on games and what the streaming numbers look like, and it’s all dollar signs for the league.

What area should the Broncos concentrate on in the 2025 draft?

— Max Clark, Beavercreek, Ohio

Hey, alright, a couple of 2025 questions to commemorate the turning of the calendar and close out the mailbag this week. Thanks, Max.

Some of the eventual draft needs are going to depend on the decisions Denver makes after the season and in free agency. Defensive tackle is a great example. They could re-sign D.J. Jones and run back the really solid group from this year. They could let him walk and bank on Malcolm Roach, Eyioma Uwazurike and young players to step up. They could address the position in free agency if they like some of the veteran options.

But also, look at the draft and you’ll see guys like Michigan’s Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant along with a bunch of others dotting early draft rankings. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler and ESPN’s Jordan Reid each had six interior defensive linemen in their most recent top 50s. Payton and general manager George Paton use the way they see the draft — strengths, weaknesses, their needs, other teams’ needs — to plot their course for free agency and the draft. In terms of premium positions like disruptive interior players, edge rushers, quarterbacks, etc., good players don’t last long in the draft.

Though defensive tackle is a good example and one the Broncos certainly could address early, the still-early prevailing sentiment is that they’ll try to load up around Nix. Not at the expense of everything else, of course, but Nix is cheap, Denver’s showed promise this year and they’ve got an obvious lack of difference-making talent at the offensive skill positions.

Penn State tight end Tyler Warren seems like he’d be a great pickup for us in the draft. We’ve always had success when we have a strong tight end with good hands, like Shannon Sharpe and Julius Thomas. Bo Nix needs another weapon and this is who I think it should be. What say you?

— Adam, Aurora

Agreed, Adam. I haven’t done a ton of homework on particular players yet, but Warren’s got obvious production and when you watch him, he looks like the kind of guy Payton’s made a ton of hay with in the past. Same goes for Michigan’s Colston Loveland, who’s considered a bit more of an all-around guy but still has pass-catching ability.

It’s an admittedly silly thing to do with a whole lot of time between now and the draft, but what the heck, let’s throw in an early 2025 prediction to celebrate the new year: The Broncos will get a tight end and a running back in the first three rounds of the draft and it won’t be a surprise if they use their first two picks to do it.

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