Broncos' 2026 offense considered average under poor reasoning

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The Denver Broncos have had one of the league's best defenses over the last couple of seasons and there is nothing that has happened to suggest that will change in 2026. It seems that if the team can build an offense capable of putting up a lot of points, the team could be the frontrunner to win the Super Bowl.

The addition of wide receiver Jaylen Waddle is expected to provide the boost that the offense has needed, and the general consensus within Broncos Country is that the Broncos now have a team capable of competing with anyone. But those beliefs won't be shared by all.

Jared Dubin of CBS Sports has ranked each NFL offense heading into the season, and he puts the Broncos in a disappointing slot at No. 15, something most Broncos fans are likely to disagree with.

"The Broncos would rank higher here if it weren't for their insistence that it will actually be Davis Mills calling the plays and not Sean Payton. Again, we give all first-time play callers an average grade, no matter how sought after they were on the market the previous offseason. If Denver had Payton (a 4.5 or 5 on the grading scale) in place, the Broncos would jump up to somewhere between fourth and fifth in these rankings. That's how big a difference your play caller can make in our system, especially when you pair it with an elite offensive line that is arguably the best in the league", wrote Dubin.

Dubin clearly meant to mention the Broncos' new offensive coordinator, Davis Webb (not Mills), when building his argument, but to penalize the Broncos for this change is honestly pretty lazy.

It was arguably the best move the Broncos made this offseason to not only promote Webb to offensive coordinator, but also to put him in charge of the play calling. Sean Payton did not have to do that and he likely wasn't excited to do it, but he recognizes how impactful having a new mindset in that department can be.

Webb is not just anyone. He was on a short list of head coaching candidates despite not even being a coordinator in the league yet and that's not for no reason. The Broncos recognized this and promoted him, but a highly successful season for Webb in this new role will give him a huge chance of being hired as a head coach next season.

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Payton has been respected as one of the best offensive minds in the game for the past couple of decades. If anyone can see a star in the making, it's him. The Broncos could have a top-five offense this season to go with one of the best defenses in the league. Sure, they need to show that in action in order to earn that respect, but to write them off because of a switch in the way the calls are being made makes little sense.