ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Few NFL teams defied offseason conventional wisdom more than the Denver Broncos have the past few months.
After they ended an eight-year playoff drought last season thanks to a top defense, many in the league believed Denver would focus on reeling in more offensive impact players to surround emerging second-year quarterback Bo Nix. But the Broncos came to a different conclusion.
"We're trying to put together the best team we can," Broncos coach Sean Payton said. "And I hear what's said and I understand the questions, but there are a lot of ways to help a young quarterback -- any quarterback. ... A good defense helps a quarterback."
The Broncos certainly entered the offseason with a "good" defense, one with a long list of accolades. Denver led the league in sacks in 2024 -- setting a franchise record with 63 -- and was first in defensive EPA (expected points added) by a significant margin. It also had cornerback Pat Surtain II named the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year. Add in edge rusher Nik Bonitto (13.5 sacks, good for third in the NFL), defensive tackle Zach Allen (8.5 sacks and 61 tackles while playing 89% of Denver's defensive snaps) and edge rusher Jonathon Cooper (career-best 10.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss), and the Broncos' defense qualified as top-tier.
But the Broncos' two biggest deals of free agency were still given to safety Talanoa Hufanga (three years, $39 million) and linebacker Dre Greenlaw (three years, $31.5 million). They then used their first-round pick on Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron, a selection defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has called a "no-brainer."
"We had a great defense, [but] that was last year," Joseph said. "My entire offseason [thought] is that's over, let's keep improving. Last year counts, but it doesn't matter moving forward, we added some more pieces, we keep improving ... the challenges are ahead."
After seeing a preview of what things could look like at their mandatory minicamp earlier this month, the Broncos concluded that their very good defense of 2024 could be better in 2025 -- if all involved do their part.
"You get in trouble as soon as you get complacent," Broncos safety Brandon Jones said. "I think we are going to be as good as we want to be, and the sky is the limit. We know what we did last year and that feeds us going into this year with super big goals for us individually and as a unit. We just have to make the most of it."
The defense will be tested by a quarterback-loaded 2025 schedule that features two meetings each with two-time league MVP Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs) and Justin Herbert (Chargers). It'll also face reigning Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts (Eagles), reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels (Commanders), Joe Burrow (Bengals), Jordan Love (Packers), C.J. Stroud (Texans) and Dak Prescott (Cowboys).
So while the Broncos believe that Nix's 29-touchdown rookie season is the sign of greater things to come, their quick 31-7 bow-out from the playoffs against the Bills, along with other defensive red-flag moments, prompted offseason soul searching.
Even though the Broncos were in the mix, down 13-7 late in the third quarter of the wild-card loss, the Bills wore Denver down with 210 rushing yards -- 94 coming in the first quarter. The Broncos also had some wobbles down the stretch in the regular season, giving up 552 yards to the Browns (including 497 passing by Jameis Winston) in early December and 412 yards and three touchdown passes to Burrow in a late December loss to the Bengals.
Denver hopes Hufanga and Greenlaw will help remedy that. When healthy, both players add quickness and experience, and they consistently made impactful plays for a 49ers franchise that went to three NFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl the previous four seasons.
"It's always great to add Pro Bowl-type of players," Joseph said. "I think both guys bring an attitude of being on great defenses. ... Both guys bring experience of being in big games and being on dominant defenses. That's practice, that's meetings, that's every day. ... To add those kind of guys have been tremendous for us."
In picking Barron, the Broncos feel like they got a top 10-caliber player with the No. 20 pick. Payton said the rookie will concentrate on cornerback duties during his first season, but Barron also played safety and even a bit of dime linebacker during his college career at Texas.
"These are premium positions, and this type of player [Barron] is less available than so many other positions," Payton said. "It's harder to find these traits and what he does than at other positions, not only in the draft. So he provides great flexibility if you want to play a third-down snap and put Surtain on a certain receiver, travel [Barron] to one, travel [cornerback] Riley [Moss], there's a lot of flexibility.
"It's real difficult if you're light there."
The arrivals move into a scheme in which everything starts with Surtain. The DPOY, who had four interceptions and eight pass breakups last season, anchors a secondary that should be deeper with the additions of Hufanga and Barron.
That could allow Joseph to throw more coverages at quarterbacks. It also makes it more difficult for opposing offenses to avoid Surtain, which teams were able to do with some success last season, especially when cornerback Riley Moss was sidelined for three games in December with a knee injury. That could help prevent some of the pass defense issues the Broncos had down the stretch and make a "good" defense even greater.
"This defense is incredible. You look from top to bottom, it's just players," Hufanga said. "So for me, I just wanted to humbly come in, earn their respect and join a crew that already did really well last year, for sure."