For the last time until maybe September, we’ve got some power rankings around the web to assemble. The Denver Broncos didn’t have much in the way of draft capital, but the last time we had major power rankings updates was before their blockbuster trade for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. We’d have to assume that trade will factor into these rankings as will the actual 2026 NFL Draft picks.
Let’s see where these prognosticators have Denver ranked here after the draft.
The trade for Jaylen Waddle will be the biggest move for them in terms of taking a step forward. The draft added some pieces, but this is already a deep, talented team.
Since we last met in these here rankings, the Broncos flipped multiple picks for Jaylen Waddle, limiting their 2026 draft impact but adding a more proven weapon. What was their most interesting addition over draft weekend? Fourth-round RB Jonah Coleman, who joins RJ Harvey and J.K. Dobbins in the backfield mix. Coleman is an adept short-yardage runner and can give Denver more of what it missed with Javonte Williams gone last year. If the offense has made incremental improvements, it will take some of the pressure off the defense to play near-perfect ball every time out. There were a few instances last season that this strong D was not up for the heavy lifting. Improvement from Bo Nix and Co. would make this team a Super Bowl contender again.
Hard to argue the draft helped them when they had just one pick in the first two days. They didn’t need a lot, though. The offseason addition of WR Jaylen Waddle made them clearly the class of the AFC.
After coming within a game of Super Bowl LX last year, the Denver Broncos apparently aren’t playing around in 2026.
They made one of the biggest splash moves of the offseason, dealing their first-round pick to the Miami Dolphins for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.
Outside that, though, the Broncos appear pretty comfortable rolling it back with the same squad from a year ago. Denver traded back in this year’s draft and didn’t make a pick until Round 3, when the team selected defensive lineman Tyler Onyedim.
When your team sports arguably the best defense in the NFL, stability isn’t necessarily a bad thing. And pairing Waddle with Courtland Sutton gives Bo Nix a formidable duo of wide receivers.
The biggest question for the Broncos may be the ground game, but the Day 3 addition of Washington’s Jonah Coleman gives Denver some insurance behind JK Dobbins and RJ Harvey.
Denver didn’t make its first pick until No. 66, where it took defensive lineman Tyler Onyedim, a potential replacement for John Franklin-Myers. But there was good reason for the lack of early action: Sean Payton’s outfit sent its first-rounder to Miami in a March trade for standout receiver Jaylen Waddle. The Broncos boast one of the NFL’s most complete rosters and don’t have any glaring needs.
I came into this after seeing a FEED post from TonyisI noting the NFL.com ranking of third overall. I thought surely that would be the outlier, especially with perennial haters like Fox Sports last year who consistently put them in the bottom half of the Top 10. Instead, we seem to have a consensus even from them — the 2026 Denver Broncos look like a legit contender on paper.