Broncos Fantasy Football Preview: Will Bo Nix Start and Help Javonte Williams, Courtland Sutton and Others be Decent Fantasy Options?
Breaking down the Denver Broncos best fantasy football players for the upcoming season.
Let’s dive into another NFL team fantasy football preview.
Check back soon for more team previews. Of course, things will change between now and the start of the season, and FantasySP will cover any major changes when those happen.
Here’s all the team previews we’ve already covered:
AFC: Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts
NFC: San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, Seattle Seahawks, Washington Commanders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Let’s talk about the Denver Broncos now.
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Quarterback Fantasy Outlooks
There’s a quarterback battle in Denver, with first-round pick Bo Nix the heavy favorite to land the job. He’s battling Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson for the top spot.
Nix was the 12th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, which was a shock to many. He started for Auburn and Oregon during his five-year college career, throwing for 105 touchdowns and 25 picks, while also rushing for 38 scores. Nix also caught a touchdown pass for good measure.
Stidham was in Denver last season and went 1-1 across two starts and three games played. He completed 40 of his 66 passes for 496 yards, two touchdowns and a pick. Stidham rushed for just eight yards on nine attempts.
Wilson was the second overall pick in the 2021 draft, but fell out of favor with the Jets. In 12 games (11 starts) last season, the Jets went 4-7. Wilson completed 221 of his 368 passes for eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. He rushed for 211 yards and no scores on 36 attempts and fumbled 11 times.
I like Nix to serve as the starting quarterback, and fantasy owners agree. He’s QB31 and going around pick 204 right now.
I wouldn’t be surprised if that got a little bump if Nix was named the starter before the regular season, but it likely won’t be enough to make him a draftable option in standard leagues. I view him as a streaming option and someone you should add off the waiver wire, not one to draft and stash.
He’s a better option in deeper leagues, and of course dynasties. I think there’s enough offensive weapons around him to at least be a streaming option for a few weeks this season.
I think Nix starting also boosts the fantasy outlooks of his teammates more than if Stidham or Wilson were named the starter. FantasySP will cover that if Nix isn’t the starter to begin the season.
Running Back Fantasy Outlooks
The Denver running back room is kind of a mess. Javonte Williams is back, as are Jaleel McLaughlin and Samaje Perine, but rookie Audric Estime is now also in the RB room.
Williams was a popular fantasy draft pick last year, but underperformed and wasn’t really given a workhorse load. In 16 games, he rushed for 774 yards and three scores on 217 carries. Williams caught 47 of his 58 targets for 228 yards and two more scores.
McLaughlin appeared in 17 games as a rookie. He rushed for 410 yards and a touchdown on 76 attempts. McLaughlin had 160 yards and two scores on 31 receptions and 36 targets.
Perine also played in 17 games. He had 238 yards and a score on 53 rushing attempts, while grabbing 50 of his 56 targets for 455 yards and no touchdowns.
Estime was a fifth-round pick of the Broncos in the draft. In his final two collegiate seasons for Notre Dame, Estime rushed for 2,166 yards and 29 touchdowns, while adding 269 receiving yards and one score.
This is a messy RB room to consider drafting from, but Williams is still the top option as RB31 and around pick 92.
I too like Williams of the bunch, but am just not comfortable taking him this season. Having him go around pick 92 doesn’t have a ton of risk involved, but there’s a few running backs going after him that I feel much better about. I’d skip out on Williams unless he fell another round or two.
McLaughlin is RB50 and going around pick 155. That makes him a late draftable option in standard leagues. There’s not much risk involved, but there’s plenty of upside if he takes over as the lead back, so I’d definitely take a chance on McLaughlin with one of my last picks.
Estime is a better option in deeper leagues and dynasties. I think he could carve out a role as the season unwinds, but might not be a big part of things until late. That means he won’t be startable for a good chunk of the season. He’s more of a lottery ticket than a player you are drafting to get production out of all season.
Perine seems buried on the depth chart, but I expect him to still be the third-down back for Denver. In PPR leagues, he’s going to be a streaming option in all league types. I wouldn't waste a standard league pick on him, but he needs to be on your watch list.
This is probably the most convoluted RB room in the league right now, and I’m sure we’ll have new insight to provide before the season hits, so be sure to keep checking back to FantasySP.
Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlooks
Courtland Sutton is now the definite leader in the wideout room. Josh Reynolds and Marvin Mims Jr. are the likely starters around him, while Tim Patrick and rookies Troy Franklin and Devaughn Vele are backup options.
Sutton played in 16 games last season, catching 59 of his 90 targets for 772 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Mims appeared in 16 games as a rookie. He made 22 grabs on 33 targets for 377 yards and a score. He added 30 rushing yards on nine attempts.
Reynolds was with the Lions for the past two-plus seasons. In 17 games last year, Reynolds hauled in 40 of his 64 targets for 608 yards and five touchdowns.
Patrick hasn’t played since 2021 because of two major injuries. He had over 700 yards and 13 combined touchdowns between the 2020-21 seasons for Denver.
Franklin was with Nix at Oregon, so there was already a connection between the team. Franklin had 2,250 yards and 22 touchdowns between the final two years.
Vele had a couple solid seasons with Utah. He had over 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns in his last two seasons.
Sutton is the top Denver receiver off draft boards. He’s WR48 though, going around pick 116.
The QB situation isn’t great in Denver, but any time you could land a team’s probable No. 1 receiver after pick 100, I’d be all over it. There’s a ton of value in taking Sutton, with more upside than downside.
Everyone else is off the fantasy radar in standard leagues. Franklin and Mims are close to being draftable, but are more likely going to be streaming options to start the season. I too prefer them as waiver wire options instead of draft picks. I think Franklin could become the team’s No. 2 target because of his connection with Nix, so I’d take him over Mims. Both are really solid picks in deeper leagues and dynasties, and both could become draft steals by the end of the season.
Reynolds is a deep league option, and a pretty solid one if he can start and play a healthy amount of snaps all season. He might be startable early on, but then not be if Denver struggles and plays Franklin and Vele more.
Tight End Fantasy Outlooks
The Broncos are kind of a mess at tight end too, probably more so than running back. Greg Dulcich and Adam Trautman are the top two options right now.
Trautman started 12 of the 17 games he appeared in last season. He made 22 catches on 35 targets for 204 yards and three touchdowns.
Dulcich played in only two games. He had 25 yards and no scores on three receptions and four targets. Dulcich had 411 yards and two scores in his first NFL season in 2022.
I like Dulcich to serve as the top TE in Denver, but as the ADP list suggests, he’s only an option in deeper leagues. He’s a bench option at best, but probably best left on the waiver wire until he proves to be a somewhat consistent performer.
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