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2025 Denver Broncos Fantasy Preview

Bo Nix Denver Broncos

2025 Denver Broncos Fantasy Preview The Denver Broncos were one of the league’s biggest surprises last year, making the playoffs after a 10-7 season that far surpassed the preseason over/under of 5.5 wins. Sean Payton did a tremendous job rebuilding both sides of the ball and hit a home run with first-year quarterback Bo Nix. Integral to Denver’s success is an offensive line that ranked first in pass protection. Nix jelled after a slow start. He averaged 165 passing yards with one touchdown and four interceptions in his first four starts. After that, Nix totaled 31 touchdowns and eight picks the rest of the way. With an improving cast of pass-catchers supporting him, Nix enters his second pro season firmly in fantasy QB1 territory. Payton has long preferred a committee backfield approach. However, with Javonte Williams in Dallas, Payton nabbed UCF RB RJ Harvey with the 60th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Harvey became just the fourth running back taken before Day 3 of a draft by Payton. The other three- Reggie Bush, Mark Ingram, and Alvin Kamara. Harvey is a tackle-breaking machine and offers a three-down skill set. One of the top sleeper RBs of 2025. Courtland Sutton returns as the top wideout in Denver. Sutton had the best season of his career with Nix, posting WR15 numbers that included five games with 95-plus yards in the second half of the season. Marvin Mims also excelled down the stretch and will be one of the top third-year breakout wide receivers to target. Third-round Illinois WR Pat Bryant has excellent hands and shows well in contested-catch situations. Payton compared the rookie to Michael Thomas. He’s the favorite to earn Denver’s WR3 role. Evan Engram signed a two-year, $23 million deal to stabilize Denver’s tight end position. Payton’s offense has an extensive history of utilizing the tight end heavily, and Engram will be a massive upgrade over Denver’s previous trio of unassuming veterans. Engram posted back-to-back top-5 fantasy finishes in 2022 and 2023 and has sneaky potential to contend for those lofty numbers again in 2025. Fantasy Grade: B- QB Nix, Bo, DEN [QB1]  One of the biggest surprises of last season, Bo Nix finishing as the QB9 overall. His 5.1 percent touchdown rate surpassed rookie-year marks of Joe Burrow and C.J. Stroud. Nix amassed 3,775 passing yards, 29 touchdowns, and 430 rushing yards with four scores, ranking fifth among quarterbacks in carries. Nix demonstrated deep-ball prowess, completing 31 of 73 passes over 20 air yards for 932 yards and eight touchdowns. His explosive play rating (EPX) of 103.2 ranked 14th league-wide. With Sean Payton’s system and Denver’s strong offensive line, Nix projects as a high-floor QB1 in 2025 drafts ADVICE: Value target in the second tier of fantasy quarterbacks. RB Harvey, RJ, DEN [RB1] Sleeper  Sean Payton has only selected three running backs before Day 3 of any NFL Draft. Those backs, Reggie Bush, Mark Ingram, and Alvin Kamara, turned out to be excellent fantasy bets. R.J. Harvey rushed for over 1,400 yards in back-to-back seasons at UCF and showed elite tackle-breaking ability. In 2024, Harvey ranked 2nd in FBS in breakaway runs (32), 7th in missed tackles forced (69), scored 22 touchdowns, and reeled in 20 catches. Harvey checks all the boxes to be a three-down weapon and landed with a coach who knows how to make that happen. ADVICE: One of the top sleepers to target, with top-15 upside in Sean Payton’s scheme. RB Dobbins, J.K., DEN [RB2]  The Broncos signed Dobbins to a one-year deal. This is good news for Dobbins, but bad for RJ Harvey and the Denver backfield from a fantasy perspective. It looks like the Broncos will stick with a frustrating committee, limiting the potential for each player. RB McLaughlin, Jaleel, DEN [RB3]  McLaughlin got an extended look down the stretch, surpassing double-digit carries in three of his final four outings. However, Sean Payton using Day Two draft capital on RJ Harvey ends any chance McLaughlin had of making a fantasy impact in his third season. Harvey will be given every opportunity to command a three-down workhorse role, which will reduce McLaughlin and Audric Estime to change-of-pace duties. McLaughlin is a decent receiver who caught 24 of his 27 targets in 2024. Expect him to see limited carries this season as Harvey’s understudy. ADVICE: Change-of-pace option with limited upside. RB Estime, Audric, DEN [RB4]  ADVICE: Estime is over two years younger than R.J. Harvey, who is expected to lead Denver’s backfield. Of course, Sean Payton isn’t adverse to trotting out a committee, so Estime makes sense as a late-round flier. WR Sutton, Courtland, DEN [WR1]  The ascension of Bo Nix led to a career-best 14.8 PPR points per game average for Courtland Sutton, who finished as the overall WR15. Sutton was a man-coverage killer, who ranked 2nd among all wideouts with 1,787 air yards and 3rd in contested catch rate. He ended the season on a heater, catching 45-of-77 targets for 582 yards and six touchdowns in Denver’s final eight regular-season contests. He’s indisputably Denver’s No. 1 wide receiver and could benefit from Sean Payton’s reinforcements that arrived in the draft. ADVICE: Locked-in No. 1 wideout on an offense that is trending up. Sutton is an excellent WR2 target for fantasy managers who attack RB early. WR Mims, Marvin, DEN [WR2]  Sleeper  If you’re looking for players who ended the year on a hot streak, then Marvin Mims is your guy. Over the final three games of the 2024 season, Mims had 16 receptions for 216 yards and four touchdowns. That average of 20.6 PPR points per game ranked 7th for Weeks 16-18. After a nearly invisible first half of the season, Mims became a factor in Denver’s offense beginning in Week 10. From that point on, he averaged 14.4 PPR points per game, which would have ranked as the WR24 for the full season. Mims excels at creating separation, and Sean Payton finally figured it out. ADVICE: Must-have mid-round sleeper with

2023 Denver Broncos Outlook

2023 Denver Broncos Outlook The 2023 NFL season is right around the corner and that means fantasy football drafts are underway. Before you assemble your championship dynasty, redraft, or high-stakes squad, FullTime Fantasy members will have an in-depth, player-by-player preview

2023 Denver Broncos Outlook

The 2023 NFL season is right around the corner and that means fantasy football drafts are underway. Before you assemble your championship dynasty, redraft, or high-stakes squad, FullTime Fantasy members will have an in-depth, player-by-player preview of all 32 teams from football legend Shawn Childs.

Also, check out Jody Smith’s NFL offensive line rankings and exclusive 2023 Strength of Schedule analysis.

Up next in our extensive NFL and fantasy football preview series is Shawn’s deep dive into the 2023 Denver Broncos Outlook.

— Offense —


Even with another losing season, the Broncos played well enough on defense to run the ball more than 26 times a game. They threw 56.3% of the time while ranking 20th in combined yards (5,942). Sean Payton has a history of having one of the best offenses in the league, giving Denver a chance to be much improved in all areas in 2023.

— Quarterback —

Russell Wilson

Over 10 seasons with the Seahawks, Wilson went 104-53-1 with eight trips to the postseason (9-7 with a Super Bowl win and loss). His completion rate (65.0) and yards per passing attempt (7.8) graded well, but he has never played behind a stellar offensive line (361 sacks from 2013 to 2020, with a low of 41 sacks in 2016).

From 2017 and 2020, Wilson delivered 150 passing touchdowns (eight on the ground) with 36 interceptions. In 2021, he missed games (3) for the first time in his career due to a broken right middle finger. Wilson finished with a career-low in rushing production (43/183/2) while being on pace to pass for 3,780 yards and 30 scores. 

Wilson finished his first season in Denver with a career-low in his completion rate (60.5) and passing touchdowns (16). Opposing defenses sacked him 55 times, earning him the league high for the season time in four years. He only passed for more than 300 yards in Week 1 (340/1). In 12 of his 15 starts, Wilson delivered one passing touchdown or fewer, ranking 15th in fantasy points (274.00) in four-point passing touchdown leagues. 

Fantasy Outlook: The new coaching staff for the Broncos is going to air out the ball in 2023. From 2006 to 2020, Drew Brees averaged 38.3 passes per game, with a low 32.5 in 2020 at age 41. Their offense featured the running back position in the passing game, pointing much more completion by Wilson. I expect a career-best in completions and passing yards, leading to a minimum of 4,700 combined yards and 30 touchdowns. In the early draft season in the high-stakes market, Wilson is the 17th-ranked quarterback. His price point has removed his risk, painting a high-reward QB2 in fantasy leagues. 

Other Options: Jarrett Stidham, Jarrett Guarantano, Ben DiNucci

— Running Backs —


The switch to Russell Wilson and a dismal pass-blocking offensive line led to the Broncos setting three-year highs in catches (96), receiving yards (751), targets (132), and yards per catch (7.8). Their running backs combined for 2,402 yards with 10 touchdowns and 96 catches (23.32 FPPG in PPR formats).

Javonte Williams

Coming into the NFL, Williams has a chain-mover feel while relying on his power and fight to finish off carries. He runs with a smooth rhythm while waiting for a hole to open. Once Williams sees daylight, his acceleration pushes into the second level of the defense. He won’t hit on many long touchdowns, but his short-area quickness plays well. Williams shows plenty of grit, and his style should wear defenses down. Despite a limited role as a receiver, he projects well in the passing game while having the smarts to pick up an NFL offense on all downs.

The Tarheels used Williams in a split role over the last two seasons, leading to 2,554 combined yards with 28 touchdowns and 42 catches. He played at the highest level in 2020 (1,445 combined yards with 22 touchdowns and 25 catches).

I sense some of Frank Gore’s traits in his game. Williams has a winning feel, and I expect him to do the dirty work in the run game. He’ll bring punch after punch on his runs, leading to productive showings on most days.

In his first season with Denver, Williams gained 1,219 combined yards with seven touchdowns and 43 catches. He finished 17th in running back scoring (206.30) in PPR leagues. His best value came from Week 12 to Week 14 (372 combined yards with four touchdowns and 10 catches). Williams gained more than 100 yards in one other matchup (17/111). On the downside, he scored fewer than 10.00 fantasy points in eight games (5.50, 8.40, 8.90, 9.80, 6.80, 6.80, 6.80, 6.90, 4.20, and 8.40).

Williams left Week 4 last season after 23 snaps due to torn ACL in his right knee. He gained 280 yards with 16 catches on 63 touches over his four starts. 

Fantasy Outlook: With 11 months to recover, Williams should be ready for Week 1, but that news will trickle in over the summer. In May, he ranked as the 27th running back drafted in the high-stakes market, with one drafter willing to take him late in the second round. Players coming off significant injuries tend to disappoint, highlighted by JK Dobbins year in 2022. Williams should be the Broncos’ top running back choice for touchdowns and catches, making him a value based on his current price point. I’ll set his bar at 1,400 combined yards (58% of their 2022 RB stats) with double-digit scores and 50+ catches, as long as there isn’t any negative news about his health over the summer. 

Samaje Perine

After kicking around the NFL for three seasons with minimal chances, Perine played well off the bench for Cincinnati over the past three seasons. He gained 1,409 combined yards with 11 touchdowns and 76 catches on 289 touches. Last year, the Bengals gave him a career-high 133 touches, leading to 681 yards with six touchdowns and 38 catches (RB36).

He proved more than worthy over three-game stretch midseason with starting snaps (30.20, 19.30, and 21.50 fantasy points in PPR formats). With Joe Mixon on the field, Perine only had two other games with more than 10 touches.

Fantasy Outlook: Perine’s growth and value in pass-catching should carve out…

 

 

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT OUT OF THE BRONCOS IN 2023?

To finish reading Shawn’s in-depth 2023 team outlook, with in-depth offseason reports, projections, and fantasy outlooks for all players

 

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