Ian Hartitz goes mile high in examining the team needs for the Denver Broncos going into the NFL Draft and 2025 season.

The Broncos were widely expected to be one of the worst teams in football last season due to an expected rocky debut from rookie QB Bo Nix. That largely came to fruition during a 3-3 start, but then something funny happened: Denver won seven of its final 11 games behind a more-than-competent offense and positively stifling defense led by Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain II.

While a blowout 31-7 loss to the Bills in the Wild Card round prevented Sean Payton's club from making any serious noise, the season certainly gave the organization and fanbase plenty of reason for optimism in 2025 and beyond.

Today we'll recap some of the good and bad of 2024 before getting into potential offseason injuries to monitor as well as team needs ahead of the 2025 offseason.

As always: It's a great day to be great.

DENVER BRONCOS 2024 RECAP

  • Record: 10-7 (5.5 preseason win total)
  • Points per game: 25 (10th)
  • EPA per dropback: +0.061 (17th)
  • EPA per rush: -0.075 (17th)
  • Points per game allowed: 18.3 (3rd)
  • Leading passer: Bo Nix (3,775 pass yards, 29 TD, 12 INT)
  • Leading rusher: Javonte Williams (139 carries, 513 yards, 4 TD)
  • Leading receiver: Courtland Sutton (81 receptions, 1,081 yards, 8 TD)

Biggest surprise: QB Bo Nix

Nix's 18.6 fantasy points per game as a rookie is good for the fifth-highest mark in the Super Bowl era behind only Cam Newton, Justin Herbert, Robert Griffin, and Jayden Daniels. Pretty, pretty, pretty good stuff, especially considering Nix only seemed to get better as the season went on.

Now, the passing numbers weren't necessarily elite. Nix was the QB16 and QB21 in EPA per dropback (+0.09) and completion percentage over expected (+0.6%) among 32 qualified signal-callers. Still, the 24-year-old was a rookie after all, and it's not like there were many great avenues to go with the football other than Courtland Sutton and (to a lesser extent) Marvin Mims.

Work to do indeed, but at the end of the day: One helluva debut for the 2024 NFL Draft's No. 12 overall pick. Wild but true: Justin Herbert (36) and Cam Newton (35) are the only rookie QBs to total more combined passing and rushing TDs than Nix (33) in NFL history. Pretty, pretty, pretty good!

Biggest disappointment: RB Javonte Williams

Williams was electric before his brutal 2022 knee injury, but sadly it's been a while since we've seen that version of the former 35th overall pick. Times were particularly tough in 2024 despite running behind PFF's second-ranked offensive line.

Williams among 36 RBs with 125-plus carries in 2024:

  • Yards per carry: 3.7 (tied for No. 32)
  • Yards over expected per carry: -0.6 (No. 35)
  • Yards after contact per carry: 2.4 (No. 35)
  • Tackles avoided per carry: 15.1% (No. 29)
  • Explosive rush rate: 7.2% (No. 26)
  • PFF rush grade: 60.5 (No. 36)

There was no real rhyme or reason to the backfield by the end of the season, as Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin, and Audric Estime largely took turns as the offense's lead back. The latter two RBs pretty easily outperformed Williams in terms of yards per carry and currently profile as Denver's lead options at the position ahead of 2025 with Williams set to hit free agency.

Key injuries

The Broncos are tentatively not believed to be dealing with any fantasy-relevant injuries ahead of the 2025 offseason. Hell yeah!

What Are The Biggest Needs of the Broncos Ahead Of 2025?

Team Need No. 1: Wide Receiver

This would be especially true if the Broncos and Sutton fail to end this offseason on good terms. The No. 1 WR skipped practices during OTAs last year before eventually reporting for mandatory minicamp; it'd make sense if the 29-year-old veteran looks to really cash in after a career-best 2024 campaign.

Either way: More help beyond Sutton is necessary. Marvin Mims flashed as a gadget option capable of making plays in the screen game and downfield, but even then the Broncos never trusted him as a true full-time starter. Maybe youngsters like Devaughn Vele and Troy Franklin are poised to make serious leaps in 2025; just realize Mims still represents the team's only top-100 pick at the position since drafting Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler back in 2020—neither of whom remain on the roster.

Then again, Sean Payton had some different thoughts on this, noting that gaining a veteran WR is “a need” rather than “must have.” Payton also noted that the Broncos need a "joker" at RB or TE. Speaking of …

Team Need No. 2: Running Back

Williams' aforementioned difficulties didn't help the Broncos' cause, but it's not like his teammates were exactly balling out with their opportunities.

The Broncos join the Cowboys, Steelers, and Chiefs as the only four teams with under $4 million devoted to their RB room in 2025. Maybe the answer is a free agent like Aaron Jones or Najee Harris. Or perhaps Payton will look to draft his next Mark Ingram or Alvin Kamara inside what is perceived to be a loaded draft class.

Either way: Whoever is tabbed as Payton's next featured back has a LOT of potential to rise up fantasy draft boards in a hurry come next August.

Team Need No. 3: Tight End

Broncos TEs did a whole lot of nothing throughout the 2024 season when it came to producing as receivers.

Broncos TEs in 2024:

  • Receptions: 51 (tied for No. 29)
  • Receiving yards: 483 (No. 30)
  • Receiving TD: 5 (tied for No. 13)

The Greg Dulcich experiment never quite worked out, and now the Broncos have the league's seventh-fewest 2025 dollars devoted to the position group. Considering Dulcich joins current Seahawks TE Noah Fant as the team's only top-100 picks at the position since 2015, it's safe to say that it might be time for some fresh blood in the TE room.

And guess what: Fantasy Life's Thor Nystrom agrees! From his latest mock draft:

20. Denver Broncos (10-7)—Colston Loveland | TE | Michigan

Thanks to the extension to LT Garett Bolles, the Broncos have crossed OT off the needs list. The offseason priority will boil down to adding more weapons for Bo Nix. With Loveland, the Broncos add the most natural pass-catching tight end in the draft. Loveland has some Zach Ertz to his game. He is what Denver fans thought Greg Dulcich would be.