ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- As the Denver Broncos pour through their offseason work, from player evaluations in the draft and free agency to changes in Sean Payton's coaching staff, the search for more big plays is still a big-ticket item.
The desire for more explosiveness in the Broncos' offense was apparent in the immediate aftermath of the season. All-Pro offensive tackle Garett Bolles -- the longest-tenured player on the roster -- spoke on the issue mere hours after the Broncos fell to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.
"All we need is a couple more playmakers and the sky's the limit for this team," he said.
Despite tying for the league's best record (14-3) behind one of the NFL's best defenses, the Broncos' season ended with a single touchdown in a 10-7 loss to the Patriots -- though they did start backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham in that loss. Nevertheless, it was a fitting end, as the offense consistently struggled to create quick-strike plays and was often forced to play grind-it-out games. It was also a unit that finished near the top of the league in drives ending in three-and-outs.
The AFC's top seed was decidedly middle of the pack when it came to explosive plays. The Broncos were 15th in plays (run or pass) of at least 20 yards this past season, 15th in run plays of at least 10 yards and 16th in pass plays of at least 20 yards. The Patriots led the league with 85 plays of at least 20 yards, 37 more than the Broncos.
Things got worse when looking at even bigger plays. Denver had one pass play of 50 or more yards last season. For context, the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks led the league with seven passes of 50-plus yards. The desire for more big plays was a factor in Payton electing to surrender full-time playcalling duties to new offensive coordinator Davis Webb this offseason.
"I wouldn't do it if I didn't think it was going to help our team win," Payton said at last week's combine. "It's about improving your team any way you can."
Denver has the tools to fix this issue. The Broncos' decision-makers saw elite speed from skill-position players at the combine -- 11 wide receivers and three running backs ran the 40-yard dash in under 4.4 seconds -- and the team has the salary cap room to participate in free agency with fervor should it choose to do so.
The obvious place to start is wide receiver, where Courtland Sutton was the only Denver player who finished in the top 49 in receptions of 10 yards or more despite the Broncos lining up with three wide receivers in the formation a little more than 63% of the time (seventh most in the NFL).
Payton linked some of the lack of big-play production to dropped passes caused by errors in technique, especially down the stretch. He fired wide receivers coach Keary Colbert two days after the season concluded and replaced him with Ronald Curry.
"I think that there's a proper way to catch a football, and most of the time, it's with your thumbs together ... even the deep balls should be caught with your thumbs together," Payton said. "So, we have to be better at that."
But both Payton and general manager George Paton pointed more toward status quo at the position in '26, with each saying that they liked the make-up of the Broncos' wide receiver depth chart. Both also cited the recent draft investment at the position with players like Marvin Mims Jr. (second round, 2023), Troy Franklin (fourth round, 2024) and Pat Bryant (third round, 2025) and wanting to keep developing those players.
"The thing with the draft, man, we've invested," Payton said. "And I like the players in that room. We have speed, we have size, we have all the things I'm used to [and] you'd want to have in a good offense."
There might be more action in the backfield, though. Payton has called running back a "must" position to address on offense, especially with leading rusher J.K. Dobbins scheduled to be a free agent. He also expressed a desire to take a long look at tight end, a position group that contributed only three touchdowns last season.
Payton is also interested in increasing the pace of the Broncos' offense. He says that "being quicker" in how the Broncos moved from play to play during games was one of the main reasons he elected to make Webb the playcaller.
"You really have to go back [and look at the results]," Payton said. "It's painful, but ... from my lens, we won a lot of games by one score or less. I'm not naive enough to think those games couldn't have swung.
"Our meat on the bone [is] that we won despite maybe not being as good as others. I think that's the only way to look at it relative to this team writing its own chapter and getting us to where we want to go."