Broncos' Skill-Position Group Rises in ESPN's 2025 Rankings

Last season, the NFL world at large was skeptical of the Denver Broncos' skill positions, if not downright derisive. As an example, ESPN's Bill Barnwell ranked the Broncos' skill-position players as the 30th-best in the NFL in 2024, which includes the running backs, tight ends, and wide receivers.

Fast forward to summer of 2025, and Barnwell might not exactly be impressed by the Broncos' arsenal, but they jumped seven spots, despite still being in the bottom third of the league, at No. 23 overall. Let's examine Barnwell's analysis section by section.

"Sean Payton is excited about his new charges in Denver, but unless RJ Harvey, Evan Engram and Pat Bryant become the new Alvin Kamara, Jimmy Graham and Michael Thomas overnight, I might chalk that up to idle spring and summer optimism," Barnwell wrote. "I wouldn't be surprised if one of those guys breaks out and lives up to lofty expectations, but asking everybody on the roster to have a 95th percentile season versus their prior production or draft status just by virtue of playing under Payton is a tall order."

When you set the bar for Denver's new offensive trio at an All-Pro level like Kamara, Graham, and Thomas, yeah, it makes it a tad unlikely and unrealistic for them to meet it. The odds of Harvey, Engram, and Bryant reaching that level overnight are exceedingly slim.

However, Engram is a known quantity. If he stays healthy, it's absolutely within the realm of the plausible that he could produce Graham-type numbers in Payton's offense, especially with an ascending quarterback throwing him the ball.

Harvey is being plugged in as half of the Broncos' one-two-punch equation at running back, which means he's going to get a lot of touches. If he's even half of the player the Broncos think he is, it wouldn't be a shock to see him breakout in Year 1.

Bryant, on the other hand, has a longer row to hoe in order to see the field, let alone become the next 'Slant God.' But the early returns have been encouraging.

Courtland Sutton

Barnwell continues.

"Payton (and quarterback Bo Nix) got the best season out of top wideout Courtland Sutton that we've seen in years, with a boot-heavy attack allowing the 2018 second-round pick to separate from defenders while running across the field as opposed to relying on what had been inconsistent physicality at the top of routes," Barnwell wrote. "Sutton topped 2.0 yards per route run and had only three drops all season, although one cost the Broncos a shot at three points in a two-point loss to the rival Chiefs."

Sutton was a rock for Nix as a rookie. It was great to see Sutton eclipse the 1,000-yard mark again for the first time since his Pro Bowl 2019 campaign.

Sutton is one of the better X-receivers in the game, but as he enters his age-30 season, he's not as explosive as he was in 2019, and Father Time isn't the only culprit. Sutton tore his ACL in 2020, and while he returned to a level close to what he was pre-injury, he hasn't been quite as explosive.

However, Sutton is reliable, a legit red-zone threat, and one of the best 50/50-ball artists in the game. There's a reason he became Nix's security blanket so quickly.

Dobbins, Mims & Franklin

Barnwell sums up his ranking with this final blurb.

"I raved about Marvin Mims Jr. as the league's best gadget player last month, and though Troy Franklin never seemed to land on the same page with Nix, the rookie receiver was able to get open for potential big plays more often than his eventual numbers suggested (28 catches, two TDs)," Barnwell wrote. "Summer addition J.K. Dobbins slowed down quickly after a hot start with the Chargers and has a significant injury history, but he offers the Broncos much-needed experience in the backfield as they work Harvey into the lineup. I would not be surprised to see Payton get the most out of this group given his acumen, but this wouldn't be an imposing unit in league-average hands."

The Broncos are hoping that Mims can translate his late-season performance into 2025 and become more than a gadget weapon. There are encouraging signs pointing in that direction, but we won't know until and unless he fully turns that corner.

Mims' speed and burst are sure to make an appearance in opponent's scouting report, even if it's not keeping defensive coordinators up at night per se. Payton knows what he's doing, though, and it wouldn't surprise me to see Mims truly break out in 2025 and take the league by storm.

Meanwhile, Dobbins is an excellent veteran fail-safe, joining Harvey in the one-two-punch equation. His arrival doesn't bode well for the likes of Audric Estime and Jaleel McLaughlin, but Dobbins has the second-highest rushing average of all NFL running backs (with at least 452 carries) since he entered the league in 2020.

With a top-two offensive line, Payton will be able to make a lot of hay with Harvey and Dobbins on the ground. Through the air, the Broncos lead the league in running back receptions since Payton arrived in 2023, so we know that's going to be a big part of the offensive tapestry.

Franklin is interesting. He has that Oregon experience with Nix, serving as his top target for two years before they both got drafted by the Broncos. That chemistry didn't show itself much last season, but it very well could this year now that both former Ducks have some experience with NFL game speed.

Franklin is another speedster who can take the top off of a defense. He's added five pounds to his frame this offseason, bulking up his NFL body, and if he manages to get a bead on his issues in tracking the ball over his shoulder, we could see Nix-to-Franklin deep shots — much like the Wildcard game in Buffalo — become a regular occurence.

The Takeaway

Despite the improvements the Broncos made last year, and the upgrades acquired during this offseason, the NFL still isn't impressed with Nix's supporting cast at the skill positions. A No. 23 ranking may seem unfair to Broncos Country, but here's the bottom line: Denver is young and while the skill-position players have tremendous potential, as a group, the unit is lacking in proven production, outside of Sutton and Engram, both whom are long in the tooth.

Let the NFL sleep a bit on the Broncos. Payton is betting on the youth of his roster, trusting that the development that he and his coaches have wrought will continue to provide increasingly explosive dividends.

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