ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos began the 2026 offseason by removing playcalling from head coach Sean Payton and making a high-profile addition at wide receiver with the trade for Jaylen Waddle. Payton acknowledged there is still work to do, saying at the NFL combine that the team must “start from the beginning” and that “the meat on the bone exists with our takeaways. That has to improve. Our run game [consistency].”
Denver’s 2025 offense finished 14th in scoring (23.6 points per game), quarterback Bo Nix ranked 15th in OBR (58.3) and Courtland Sutton was the only Bronco among the league’s top 62 in yards per game, finishing 19th, according to team figures. The ground game also lacked consistency: J.K. Dobbins led the team by 232 yards despite missing the final seven regular-season games with a foot injury. Still, Denver tied New England for the NFL’s best regular-season record, with 11 one-score wins.
Payton promoted quarterbacks coach Davis Webb to offensive coordinator and primary playcaller. Webb said the offense will remain a Sean Payton system with “little tweaks here and there,” and that offseason work emphasized pacing and the down-to-down process to give Nix the best opportunity, particularly as Nix’s on-field repetitions were limited while he recovers from a second right-ankle surgery in April.
Waddle’s speed and explosiveness are expected to add an element Denver lacked. The team already ran three-wide sets 63% of the time last season (11th-highest in the NFL), and Waddle’s arrival will redistribute targets: Sutton and Troy Franklin were the only Broncos with more than 51 targets in 2025 (124 and 104, respectively). Tight ends must contribute more; Evan Engram had 50 catches but only one touchdown, and the rest of the tight end room combined for two regular-season touchdowns.
Denver also reinforced the tight end group, re-signing Adam Trautman and Nate Adkins and adding rookie options — Justin Joly (fifth round), Dallen Bentley (seventh round) and Caleb Lohner (seventh round of the 2025 draft). Payton praised Lohner’s offseason progress before a lower-body injury, and Sutton publicly defended the tight end room’s work. J.K. Dobbins said during minicamp that the run game’s improvement could be helped quickly, underscoring that takeaways and a steadier rush attack remain central to the offense’s planned upgrades.
