In order to create a consensus 1–32 list of teams before Week 1, ESPN analyzed the power rankings submitted by more than 80 writers, editors, and TV personalities. With zero expectations and zero hope, the Denver Broncos are exactly where they should be, considering how little the national media pays attention to each team’s day-to-day operations.
Coach Sean Payton mentioned Dulcich as a potential for the “joker” position, where Reggie Bush and Alvin Kamara excelled during Payton’s lengthy career as New Orleans coach, at the start of Dulcich’s 2023 campaign. However, due to hamstring ailments, Dulcich’s season ended with just 32 plays over two games. Although Dulcich had no influence over that, Denver’s tight ends caught a combined 39 catches for four touchdowns in 2023, so the Broncos need him to remain healthy this season. The Broncos need Dulcich to continue being healthy and productive for as long as possible since he has shown both during training camp. — Jeff Legwold
After watching this squad play, I believe that this ranking is both absurd and reasonable given where it comes from.
The Broncos appear to have fulfilled the expectation of being the “worst team in the NFL” by releasing Russell Wilson and swallowing the excess dead money of over $80 million to do so. That would appear to support the notion that they can’t field a competitive team with that much dead money, but I would counter that they could if they had a standout quarterback on a rookie contract. They might have all they need to survive the Wilson fiasco if Bo Nix becomes a star in the NFL.
