It’s safe to say the Denver Broncos wide receivers room won’t be the most pleasant place in the world this offseason.
That’s what happens when, after losing in the AFC Championship Game, your head coach tells the entire universe you can’t do the most basic thing your job requires — catch the ball — and fires the offensive coordinator along with your position coach to underline his point.
For the Broncos wide receivers, that’s their reality headed into 2026 after their group failed to show any signs of being elite in 2025.
The result will likely be a pretty incredible run on free agents and some pretty incredible opportunities for younger players on the roster — most notably 2025 third round pick Pat Bryant.
While Bryant struggled with injuries down the stretch of the regular season and, more notably, in the playoffs, he also showed enough upside that he could end up a viable WR2 or WR3 for the Broncos.
Bryant Might Have Breakout Season in 2026
PFF’s Dalton Wasserman called Bryant an “Early Breakout Candidate” for the Broncos next season after he had 35 receptions for 412 yards and 1 touchdown as a rookie.
“Bryant didn’t get many opportunities in the first half of his rookie season, but he became a reliable contributor to Denver’s offense down the stretch,” Wasserman wrote. “Since Week 8, he produced a solid 73.0 PFF receiving grade while placing third on the team with 364 receiving yards. He should continue to garner further opportunities alongside Courtland Sutton and Troy Franklin in 2026.”
With a month left in the regular season, Bryant very much seemed like he was becoming Denver’s top WR2 option, but suffered a nasty concussion in a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 16.
From Locked on Broncos on December 10: “Pat Bryant has now seemingly, over the last three weeks become the second wide receiver … he is taking over an increased snap count over some other wide receivers that have been heavily in the rotation. We’re seeing the trust factor increase. It feels like the coaching staff trusts Bryant and that trust between he and Bo Nix is also growing and evolving week after week. But it’s not like he buys into his own hype. He just goes out there and works.”
Time for Broncos to Sign Free Agent WRs
While there might be some solutions on the roster, the Broncos need to approach free agency with an eye to signing the very best players they can at wide receiver and possibly at tight end.
Payton and the Broncos had a chance to make a massive deal at the NFL trade deadline for a superstar wide receiver but determined the price was too high, and balked at giving up a first round pick for superstar Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle ahead of the NFL trade deadline.
After the Broncos wide receivers seemed almost completely lost in the AFC Championship Game loss to the New England Patriots, don’t count on Payton taking another chance on this group as its currently constructed.
“I’m going to look at it and be critical of myself, and I think there were a number of things that we just had to do better,” Payton said after the 10-7 loss to the Patriots. “We didn’t finish some runs, and we dropped some passes. Again, felt like that was a problem all year.”
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