Mile High Report
In just a little over a week, the Denver Broncos will kick off their 2025 regular season when they host the Tennessee Titans. But for fans of college football, the collegiate season is already upon us. You know that that means—the return of Future Broncos. Last year, I started off the series providing an outline of the team’s draft selections and their early draft needs. This year it makes sense to do the same.
The Broncos’ 2026 Slate of Draft Selections
After the Devaughn Vele trade, the Broncos now have seven selections in the 2026 NFL Draft. They have an additional fourth round pick via New Orleans Saints. If the Saints play as bad as most people think, that selection could wind up being one of the earliest at the start of Day 3. They have all of their original picks with one exception: the New York Jets have Denver’s sixth round pick due to the Jonathan Franklin-Myers trade.
What are the Broncos’ biggest future needs on the roster?
Offensive Line
Ironically, this is a position group I had listed last year at the beginning of the series. It may come as a surprise to some this season considering the Broncos’ offensive line performed quite well in ‘24. All starters are scheduled to come back for this season. However, the makeup of the top five beyond this year seems quite ambiguous.
Center Luke Wattenberg is in the final year of his rookie contract. Whether or not he will get a second contract from the Broncos remains to be seen. Additionally, veteran left guard Ben Powers may not be in the team’s future plans. That’s pure speculation, but one that may have some merit. Powers’ ‘26 cap number is $18.425 million. I don’t believe there is any way the Broncos bring him back at that cap number. A post-June 1st cut next offseason seems likely with the Broncos saving $13 million against the ’26 salary cap by doing so.
Do the Broncos think they can find upgrades at either of those positions whilst saving a lot of salary cap space? I’d wager they would. With their recent contract extensions, they are going to need a little bit more cap cushion to retain their best players.
Oh, and at some point, it would be nice to finally see Denver use a draft selection on finding a tackle. While I doubt the Broncos move on from Mike McGlinchey, it’s important to note he turns 32 next season and will account for nearly $24 million (roughly 8-percent) of the team’s salary cap.
Defensive Line
The Broncos enter the ‘25 season with one of the deepest defensive lines they’ve had in quite some time. Headlined by Zach Allen, Denver boasts a formidable and battle-tested four-man rotation with...
