After hosting the AFC Championship Game without starting quarterback Bo Nix (and nearly pulling off a trip to the Super Bowl anyway), the Denver Broncos have proven they are this close to getting a fourth Lombardi in the trophy case.
The 2026 NFL Draft might have tipped the scales even further in favor of that happening.
The Broncos' draft equation obviously includes star wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, who was the team's biggest offseason acquisition and cost them their 1st- and 3rd-round picks. The Waddle trade, in combination with the way the Broncos attacked their needs with the rest of their picks, have created a number of fascinating fallout storylines that we're going to look at from the "winners and losers" lens. Who were the biggest winners and losers from this draft for the Broncos? The first winner is as obvious as it gets.
Bo Nix tops Denver Broncos winners from 2026 NFL Draft haul
Broncos Draft Winner: Bo Nix, Quarterback
Bo Nix is entering his third NFL season in 2026, and even coming off of an ankle injury, the expectation from everyone in and around Broncos Country is that he's going to take a massive leap forward in his game this season.
How can the Broncos help make that happen? Well, they needed to get more weapons around Nix, and that's exactly what they did. They obviously made the aforementioned trade to acquire Waddle, investing premium NFL Draft capital in a proven, established, star receiver. General manager George Paton acknowledged multiple times after the draft was over that the Broncos couldn't have gotten a player of Waddle's caliber at 30, and even alluded to the fact that he felt Waddle for the picks the Broncos gave up was a better investment than the Titans spending the 4th overall pick on Carnell Tate.
The Waddle trade was for Bo Nix, giving him a weapon that can actually separate on a consistent basis.
The Jonah Coleman pick (4th round) was with Bo Nix in mind. The decision to trade up for tight end Justin Joly in the 5th round was made with Nix in mind. The Kage Casey pick to land a future starter on the offensive line? You guessed it -- made with Bo Nix in mind.
This is really the first offseason where it feels like the Broncos went all-in to support Nix. Their actions reflect their belief that Nix is a true franchise quarterback.
Broncos Draft Losers: Tyler Badie, Jaleel McLaughlin
The Broncos drafting Jonah Coleman is a direct indictment on the running back depth already on the roster.
The Broncos desperately needed their running backs to step up late last season, but it just didn't happen. They couldn't trust anybody in their stable with a full workload after JK Dobbins went down with an injury in Week 10, and that ended up being a very slow, painful decline into almost nothing when it came to the playoffs.
Tyler Badie and Jaleel McLaughlin were the 3rd and 4th backs on the roster last year, but it wouldn't be shocking if the selection of Coleman in the 4th round (108th overall) ended up pushing both guys off the roster entirely.
The Broncos' draft strategy made Jonah Elliss a clear winner, and you could give honorary winner status to both Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad as well. But specifically for Elliss, this draft was a huge win because the Broncos didn't take another off-ball linebacker until the final pick of the entire draft (Red Murdock).
Although Elliss has been playing off the edge for the past two seasons, Sean Payton threw out names like Zack Baun and Kaden Elliss earlier this offseason when he was discussing his potential transition to inside linebacker. That, along with the Broncos not using any picks until 257 overall on the position, all adds up to good news for Elliss.
You can add in the fact that it was reported just before the draft that Drew Sanders would be moving back to the edge as well. Elliss has as clear of a path to competing for a starting job as you could ask for.
Broncos Draft Loser: Caleb Lohner, TE
The Broncos used a 7th-round pick on the former basketball player in the 2025 NFL Draft, but after spending all of last year on the practice squad, the 2026 NFL Draft put Caleb Lohner on notice. The Broncos obviously believe in his longer-term projection, but they drafted two tight ends who are probably a lot more ready to play in Justin Joly and Dallen Bentley, one of Lohner's teammates at Utah.
This is going to be a huge offseason for Lohner, who faces extremely long odds to make the roster at this point. The Broncos are loaded up at the offensive skill positions, and at tight end, it's hard to see where he will fit with two new draft picks plus Evan Engram, Adam Trautman, Nate Adkins, and Lucas Krull.
Broncos Draft Winner: Evan Engram, TE
Had the Broncos taken a tight end in the 2nd round, Engram might be on the other end of this kind of a post-draft list. But because the Broncos waited until the 5th round, he's a winner.
Even though the Broncos traded up for Justin Joly, the fact that their top investment in anyone new for the tight end group this offseason was a 5th-round draft pick really shows that they are putting faith behind Engram this season.
Engram's first year in Denver did not go how anyone -- including Engram -- wanted or hoped. He was sporadically involved in the passing game, and even though the Broncos led the NFL in passing attempts, his volume of targets and overall snap count were some of the lowest he's had.
The Broncos won't pressure Justin Joly to come in and start right away. This year is going to be Engram's to rebound with the Broncos, and it'll be exciting to see how much different the Broncos approach his usage with Davis Webb calling the plays.