In the latest NFL rankings, the Denver Broncos are again showed a mountain of disrespect ahead of the 2025 NFL Season. Some people are going to learn the hard way yet again about the Denver Broncos. A ton of people were proven wrong in 2024 and will surely again be proven wrong in 2025.
There are some very vocal 'haters' of the team like Nick Wright, who doesn't hide behind that, but there are others here and there who just don't seem to want to buy into this team. Now yes, the sophomore regression could be coming, but given what the Broncos have around them, it's likely that we see Bo Nix and the offense elevate.
And if you couple that with a strong defense, this team isn't missing anything. Well, in some latest NFL rankings, these ones from ESPN, the Denver Broncos are again counted out and disrespected.
Denver Broncos shown virtually no love in Mike Clay's rankings on ESPN
Where do we even begin here? Before we get into some of these disastrous rankings, Mike Clay has counted out the Denver Broncos once before. In his 2024 NFL Projection Guide, he predicted that then-rookie QB Bo Nix would throw for 17 touchdowns against 13 interceptions.
Other pieces of his prediction for Denver in 2024 included Courtland Sutton amassing just 896 receiving yards and five touchdowns, and pass-rushers Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper amassing 6.1 and 6.7 sacks, respectively. All in all, Clay had a win projection of just 5.2 for the 2024 Denver Broncos, which the team doubled.
Well, he's back with more rankings for the 2025 NFL Season. Two rankings in particular stick out to me, and you can see the whole thing right here. He ranked the Broncos' EDGE rushers just 23rd in the NFL and the cornerback room just 13th. Yes, you read that right.
Denver had the best EDGE duo in the NFL last year - Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper combined for 24 sacks, which was the highest total among a duo in the NFL. The EDGE room also featured a five-sack rookie in Jonah Elliss and Dondrea Tillman, another rotational player with five sacks.
There's really no argument out there to have the Broncos' EDGE group ranked this low, period. It's baffling in my eyes. And yes, he ranked the team's CB room just 13th for 2025. Teams like the Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, and Pittsburgh Steelers have a higher ranking in his model.
I guess having the defensive player of the year in Patrick Surtain II, a high-end CB2 in Riley Moss, and an above-average slot CB in Ja'Quan McMillian is only good enough for 13th. There are actually other rankings here that I don't agree with, either. The team's QB room is ranked 17th, which feels a bit low.
The running back room is ranked 29th, which may also be a few slots too low, and the wide receiver room is ranked 31st, which is outrageous in my eyes. Overall, these rankings are just the latest example of the Denver Broncos still being counted out and disrespected. Let's hope the Broncos prove Mike Clay's latest rankings wrong and keep ascending to the top of the NFL world.
