ESPN’s way-too-early power rankings have Broncos in playoff contention in 2025

The Denver Broncos are in the playoff team mix in the AFC next season and that is nice to see so early into the offseason.

The Denver Broncos have finally clawed their way out of irrelevancy. This time last year, no one was ranking this franchise above the high 20s in their power rankings. Even after drafting Bo Nix there wasn’t much fanfare with their projected win total at just 5.5-points. Well they nearly doubled that expectation and made the playoffs for the first time since the 2015 season, so naturally, sentiment is shifting ahead of the 2025 season.

In ESPN’s ‘Way-Too-Early’ power rankings this week, the Broncos slid in as the AFC’s seventh seed and 14th overall in the NFL.

14. Denver Broncos
2024 record: 10-7
Describe this offseason in three words: Learn your lesson

Coach Sean Payton routinely fielded one of the oldest teams in the league with New Orleans, which led to a constant wrestle with dead money against the salary cap. In his two years with the Broncos, they have shown the same kick-the-can-down-the-road mentality with the cap. But on the field, their young, homegrown players have performed (four of the team’s five All-Pros were their own draft picks). And with quarterback Bo Nix on a rookie deal, the Broncos have a window to keep building through drafts. Their dilemma is that short-term fixes are more likely to stress their cap flexibility and lead to long-term frustrations. — Jeff Legwold

I’d consider this to be a good starting point going into this season. A return to the playoffs and some improvement there would have me marking this next season as a resounding success. While I do not believe the Kansas City Chiefs are poised to continue dominating the NFL moving forward, I have no doubts they will be the favorite in conference and in the AFC West. Denver must topple the champions to become the champions.

The ‘way-too-early’ thing is clear as we have not even had free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft is still months away. A lot can change between now and the start of the season, but any ranking that doesn’t have the benchmark for the 2025 Broncos as a playoff contender isn’t a ranking I care about.

Keep building, Denver.