Since Super Bowl 50, the Broncos have been staring up at the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West, stamped as a team that would settle for used cars, eat leftovers, fly coach and serve as a warmup band.
Second-hand. Second-place (Or worse). They were a password. Easily forgotten.
On second thought, those days are over.
The Broncos are going for it. There are different degrees of being all in. The Avs are doing it with a cruise ship-grade horn. The Broncos have signaled their ambition in capital letters.
Wednesday, they agreed to terms on a two-year deal with tight end Evan Engram. Sean Payton landed his Joker. The search for the Loch Ness Monster is over.
Earlier in the week, they added safety Talanoa Hufanga and inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw. “Those two fit our style of play,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph told The Post. “That’s so important in free agency, to find the right fit.”
They did what Broncos Country has wanted since the free agent haul of DeMarcus Ware, Aqib Talib, T.J. Ward and Emmanuel Sanders. The Broncos landed three players talented enough – if they don’t max the out-of-pocket limit on health insurance – to make them a Super Bowl contender this season, not in 2026 when we all figured the window would open.
So what’s next? Remain bold. Swing in the draft like you are sitting on a heater in a 3-1 count.
A dynamic running back is needed. No excuses. You want to trade up for Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty if he’s available in the top 10? Go for it. His ceiling could be LaDanian Tomlinson or Dalvin Cook. Or wait and use the 20th pick on North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton, who has been compared favorably to Deuce McAllister, one of only two running backs to eclipse 1,000 yards in a season under Payton in his 17-year head coaching career.
Don’t look for a back to motivate Jaleel McLaughlin, Audric Estime and Tyler Badie. Find one to replace them. Want quarterback Bo Nix to shine in his sophomore season? Payton must end his 35-game streak without a 100-yard rusher in the opener. Or soon thereafter.
Next up is tight end. The Broncos signing Engram allows for patience. Terrance Ferguson or Gunnar Helm, both local kids, should be available in the third round. Or at least one will be. Engram, remember, is coming off a shoulder injury that limited him to 47 catches last season. The Broncos cannot assume he will be fine. Denver targeted their tight ends at the third-lowest rate in the NFL last season. Want to flip that stat on its head? Follow the Noah’s Ark strategy – two of everything. Working in a rookie with Engram is ideal, and easily accomplished since Engram is a slot receiver in disguise.
If there is no run on tight ends, then the Broncos can nab a defensive tackle in the second round, someone like Florida State’s Joshua Farmer or Toldeo’s Darius Alexander, both with 300 pound-plus bodies that look like were built in a lab. The Broncos view their best positional groups as their lines. There is never a bad time to supplement up front, especially if they are unable to secure long-term deals with Zach Allen and John Franklin-Myers.
It is hard to believe given this team’s recent history, but the Broncos got more physical at safety with Hufanga, convinced Greenlaw, their first sideline-to-sideline linebacker since Danny Trevathan in 2015, to leave San Francisco and outmuscled the Chargers for Engram.
Great week. And it’s not even Friday.
It was absolutely time to pay Engram. Payton has finally given up the notion that three spare parts — Adam Trautman, Lucas Krull and Nate Adkins — equal one pass-catching V-8.
There are clear mile markers in a team’s ascension. When former starters become reserves (P.J. Locke) or are no longer good enough to be on the team (Javonte Williams), that screams progress. Williams, who signed with the Cowboys, is a great guy, but was a bad fit other than as a third-down option.
Moving forward requires moving on from players who helped along the way, to players who are better. Payton gets it. He has the patience of a ferret on an espresso. Everything he did this week makes sense, save for the injury risk.
Payton has a standard. And it’s not going 10-8. That was a necessary step to make the Broncos relevant, showing that new ownership and a winning-obsessed coach are not yanking on the udders of the franchise’s last championship like their predecessors.
Denver has been intentional this week and sent a loud message. The Broncos are acting like the Broncos again. Chiefs, you’ve been warned.
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