Denver Broncos Fantasy Football Team Preview For 2026

The 2025 Broncos saw their season end in heartbreak like 30 other teams, but there were plenty of good times along the way. After all, Sean Payton's squad snapped the Chiefs' longtime reign over the division to capture their first AFC West title since 2015, and Bo Nix even managed to outduel that Josh Allen guy to capture a Divisional Round W.

This was and very much remains one of the league's more complete rosters.

2026 Fantasy Football Team Preview For The Denver Broncos

New year, new Broncos, and this (again) looks like a team very capable of playing meaningful football in January. Of course, there were some fairly big fantasy-relevant moves this offseason…

Denver traded its 2026 first-round pick to the Dolphins for speedy 27-year-old WR Jaylen Waddle. One of just four receivers to average double-digit yards per target across the past four seasons, Waddle's high-end field-stretching ability adds a much-needed new dimension to this passing game
Two of the team's top-4 draft picks went to the offensive side of the ball: Washington RB Jonah Coleman (4.108) looks capable of working as part of a multi-back committee, while North Carolina State TE Justin Joly could be leaned on sooner rather than later, depending on how much longer Evan Engram is around.
Payton will still undoubtedly play a major role in deciding the Broncos' offensive game plan, but he has officially turned over primary playcalling duties to newly promoted OC Davis Webb.

An above-average offense led by a young ascending quarterback, coupled with a game-breaking defense that has a case as the best unit in football. Is that something you might be interested in?

What follows is a fantasy-focused team preview of the Denver Broncos ahead of the 2026 season. Make sure to check out Fantasy Life's rankings hub for updated player ranks all year long.

As always: It's a great day to be great.

Is the football community as a whole disrespecting Bo Nix?

QB1: Bo Nix (QB14)
QB2: Jarrett Stidham

Bo Nix's season ended with a broken ankle that kept him from competing in the team's AFC Championship loss to the Patriots. Of course, he made plenty of big plays beforehand to help get the squad there in the first place, namely taking the lead with under a minute left in regulation against the Bills in the Divisional Round thanks to a b-e-a-utiful dot to Marvin Mims.

Here's the thing with Nix: It's still tough to find a passing efficiency metric that paints him as anything more than an average-to-below-average quarterback. Have there been flashes of elite play? Absolutely. His performance against the Packers last December featured one gorgeous dime after another and showcased some of his underrated improvisational skillz.

How high can a healthy Bo Nix climb?

Do any Broncos running backs have a true high-end path to upside?

RB1: J.K. Dobbins (RB34)
RB2: RJ Harvey (RB31)
RB3: Jonah Coleman (RB52)
RB4: Jaleel McLaughlin
RB5: Tyler Badie

J.K. Dobbins is back to presumably again lead this backfield, although I'm the only Fantasy Life ranker willing to actually anoint him as RB1 over RJ Harvey. Sure, his two-year, $16 million extension ($8 million guaranteed) isn't exactly Saquon Barkley-level money, but it's also not like Harvey (60th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft) or Jonah Coleman (108th in 2026) have absurdly high draft capital to write home about.

Will one RB rise up out of this committee?

How does Jaylen Waddle change things in this wide receiver room?

WR1: Jaylen Waddle (WR21)
WR2: Courtland Sutton (WR33)
WR3: Pat Bryant (WR82)
WR4: Troy Franklin (WR98)
WR5: Marvin Mims
WR6: Lil'Jordan Humphrey

The need for a WR upgrade was certainly there this offseason, so failure to secure any of the bigger-name free agents perhaps led to Denver’s decision to spend big on Waddle, who, oh yeah, is pretty f*cking good at football. The five-year veteran averaged a crisp 75 receptions, 1,008 yards and 5.4 touchdowns in five seasons in South Beach despite sharing the passing game with Tyreek Hill, and having to deal with some rough play from Tua Tagovailoa in recent years.

Is Denver's 1-2 WR punch worthy of Mile High expectations?

Is Evan Engram a post-hype sleeper candidate?

TE1: Evan Engram (TE32)
TE2: Adam Trautman
TE3: Justin Joly

Evan Engram is seemingly back to resume his role as TE1 despite being a popular cut candidate throughout the offseason. Maybe they eventually feel good enough about their younger options to part ways with the 32-year-old veteran, but for now Engram participated in OTAs and is seemingly in line to (again) be the team's top option at the position. Note that the Broncos would inherit more dead money ($7.6 million) than cap savings ($6.5 million) by releasing Engram (per Over The Cap).

Maybe not a Joker, but can Engram be a fantasy-viable TE?

Predictions for the 2026 Denver Broncos

Win total prediction: The Broncos' win total sits at a rather shocking 9.5 wins just one year removed from eating 14 Ws. How could that be?! Well, it's almost entirely due to the notion that it's VERY unlikely Denver matches its league-best 11-2 record in one-score games from last season. A win is a win is a win, and the Broncos had some big ones against tough opponents last season; just realize they also had five wins over the Jets, Giants, Commanders and Raiders (x2) by a total of … 14 points. Throw in the reality that they have to handle a first-place schedule and got matched up with the NFC West … and I'm still going OVER 9.5 wins! This is a damn good football team! The regression gods can f*ck off!

Bold fantasy call: The offense is perfectly average, but heavily leans into committees at each and every position, ultimately producing *zero* top fantasy players. We'll define this as top-12 QB/TE and top-24 RB/WR in PPR points per game.

Last season predictions: OVER 9.5 wins (hell yeah, brother), and Evan Engram leads all Broncos pass catchers in PPR points on his way to a top-6 finish at the position (hopefully you stopped reading by now).