The Denver Broncos will host their voluntary minicamp on Tuesday. The rookies and veterans will descend on Broncos Park powered by CommonSpirit and we'll begin to get a snapshot of how the 2025 squad is shaping up.
The Broncos will host two voluntary minicamps and a mandatory one in June, with just six total practices (instead of 10) in what remains of the offseason training program. The team will hold voluntary minicamps on May 27-29 and June 3-5, followed by mandatory minicamp June 10-12, then we hit the dreaded six-week NFL desert before training camp kicks off at the end of July.
On the doorstep of Broncos minicamp, here are seven burning questions that we'll soon have answers for.
1. Who Gets Paid? And When?
The Broncos have several key starters entering a contract year, including All-Pro defenders Zach Allen and Nik Bonitto, as well as No. 1 wideout Courtland Sutton and center Luke Wattenberg. There are a number of other players, including starters like linebacker Alex Singleton and defensive end John Franklin-Myers, entering a contract year.
The Broncos have some decisions to make, most of which won't happen until after the 2025 season. However, the Allen, Bonitto, Sutton, and Wattenberg situations might require some more timely action by the team.
The Broncos could wait a while to decide on Bonitto to see if the fourth-year player can translate his Pro Bowl campaign into 2025. Then again, he was quite spectacular last season, and the Broncos might want to lock him up before his price tag climbs further.
The same can be said for Allen, who notched 8.5 sacks on the interior last year, and was a big reason why Denver finished third against the run. Meanwhile, Sutton and Wattenberg are two offensive starters with direct links to second-year quarterback Bo Nix.
In Sutton's case, it might be best to get an extension done before the season to not only make him happy, but give Nix assurances that his core arsenal will remain in tact beyond 2025. Wattenberg is a bit more of an enigma because the Broncos already have so much money invested in the offensive line.
2. Can Nix Do it Again?
The Broncos are supremely confident in their burgeoning franchise quarterback, but the wider league remains rather skeptical. Perhaps those questions from outside the building are due to all the pre-draft shade Nix got and the criticism Denver garnered for 'reaching' on him in the draft.
Whatever the case may be, such concerns are mostly unfounded due to the scale at which Nix achieved as a rookie. He wasn't just a 17-game starter who led his team to the playoffs as a rookie; he set multiple franchise and league records along the way.
The presence of Sean Payton, you'd think, would assuage the concerns of even the staunchest skeptics. Still, the onus is on Payton and Nix to prove that 2024 was no fluke, that the young quarterback is for real, and that the Broncos are here to stay as a competitive force in the AFC playoff picture.
3. How Will the New OC Pecking Order Play Out?
Joe Lombardi returns as the Broncos' offensive coordinator. But with the departure of multiple coaches in the NFL hiring cycle this offseason, the Broncos made a couple of bold moves, promoting two position coaches from within.
Davis Webb will remain the quarterbacks coach while also shouldering the pass game coordinator job. Just three years removed from his playing days as a backup quarterback, Webb now has the responsibility of not only shepherding Nix and company, but also working with Payton and Lombardi to coordinate Denver's passing offense.
The Broncos also promoted offensive line coach Zach Strief to run game coordinator. He'll remain the O-line position coach, while working alongside Webb under Payton and Lombardi.
How this new coordinator pecking order plays out will have a big part to play in Nix taking the next step as a quarterback, and the Broncos' rushing offense climbing out of the doldrums.
4. Is RJ Harvey Ready for the RB1 Duties?
The Broncos let starting running back Javonte Williams depart in free agency, ostensibly replacing him with Harvey as a second-round draft pick. Harvey is a 5-foot-8, 205-pound ball of explosive energy whom the Broncos are obviously relying on to carry the lion's share of the running back load.
Is the rookie ready? And can Harvey clearly separate from incumbents like Audric Estime, Jaleel McLaughlin, and Tyler Badie?
I believe so. But time will tell.
5. How is the New-Look WR Depth Chart Reshaped?
Sutton is locked in as the No. 1 receiver, but beyond him, the pecking order is up for grabs. Devaughn Vele and Troy Franklin return as second-year players, as does the third-year Marvin Mims Jr., who garnered Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors again as a returner. However, the Broncos need Mims to translate his late-season success as a receiver into 2025.
Into the fray comes third-round rookie Pat Bryant, a Sutton clone, as well as Trent Sherfield Jr., the team's free-agent acquisition signed primarily for his special teams acumen. While he's not a receiver, tight end Evan Engram will often be used as a 'big slot,' and he has an outsized role to play in the development of the Broncos' passing offense.
Who will the top three receivers be? For now, I'd project it to be Sutton as the X, Vele as the Z, and Mims as the slot, but that pecking order is completely up for grabs, and Bryant will have a say in it.
6. Will There be LB Stability?
On paper, it's hard to find a weakness in the Broncos defense. But if the Broncos had to go to war tomorrow, who would the starting linebackers be?
Probably not Dre Greenlaw and Alex Singleton, the top two linebackers, both of whom are recovering from an injury. Singleton's was more severe, but the injury is also now eight months in the rearview, and while he's thankfully not suffered any setbacks in his recovery, he's still not quite ready to jump back into the fray.
Greenlaw suffered a quad injury during offseason workouts and while the team has offered assurances that it won't impact his regular-season availability, his resume leaves that particular question unanswered. The Broncos re-signed Justin Strnad and have starter hopes in Drew Sanders, but in order for this defense to reach its potential, the team will need Singleton and Greenlaw on the field.
7. Will the Jersey Numbers Change?
Far less crucial to the destiny of the 2025 Broncos though it may be, it'll be interesting to see if first-round cornerback Jahdae Barron and Harvey keep their initial jersey numbers. Both have said or posting things on social media that hint at a number change.
