Broncos Player Grades from Playoff-Clinching Win Over Chiefs

The Denver Broncos receive their final individual grades of the regular season.

Jan 5, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper (0) reacts ahead of teammates after a sack in the second quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Empower Field at Mile High. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The Denver Broncos got the job done and have ended their playoff drought. For the first time since I created this grading scale, the Broncos will be evaluated for a playoff game. Today's iteration isn't the final of the season.

With the Broncos being a young team, who knows what could happen in the playoffs? The Broncos did what they needed to put themselves in a position to continue to defy the odds and surprise the prognosticators.

The Broncos can’t control the Kansas City Chiefs' decisions, who they played and didn’t. But Denver controlled the Chiefs on the field and gave Andy Reid his first shutout loss since arriving in Kansas City.

How did the individual Broncos grade out? Let’s get into the final grades for the regular season, with the playoffs yet to come. 

Quarterback

• Bo Nix | Grade: 84.7

Outside of a handful of plays, Nix was darn close to perfection. The biggest knock on his grade was the mishandling of the final few seconds in the first half, which didn’t affect his grade much because of what he did before. 

Running Backs

• Javonte Williams | Grade: 60.5
• Michael Burton | Grade: 58.2
• Jaleel McLaughlin | Grade: 51.3

Williams was the hot hand in this game, while McLaughlin looked rough as he made some questionable decisions and had questionable vision. Williams took what the defense gave him and was not looking for more, while McLaughlin was always looking for the bigger run. 

Also, for the first time this season, Burton qualified for a grade. He did well as a blocker and should have had a touchdown.

Wide Receivers

• Courtland Sutton | Grade: 84.1
• Marvin Mims Jr. | Grade: 80.5
• Devaughn Vele | Grade: 69.4
• Lil’Jordan Humphrey | Grade: 64.5
• Troy Franklin | Grade: 57.6

Sutton got his bonus, and Mims continues to show his value as a playmaker for this offense. Vele has developed nicely this season and could be an ideal depth receiver, especially with his chemistry with Nix.

Humphrey had a good game in the finale despite some questionable moments as a blocker, which has been a regular occurrence in recent weeks. As for Franklin, there still seem to be issues in figuring out how to utilize him. 

Tight Ends

• Nate Adkins | Grade: 67.7
• Adam Trautman | Grade: 47.1
• Lucas Krull | Grade: 43.8

Adkins has become the top tight end because of his reliability as a blocker, and he consistently makes the second and third effort. Trautman was decent, but the Broncos should be looking to make him the third tight end this offseason. The Krull experiment should be ending, as he has gotten worse, mainly as a blocker, as the season continues. 

Offensive Tackles

• Mike McGlinchey | Grade: 74.8
• Garett Bolles | Grade: 70.3

Both tackles had a good game, which should have been expected with the Chiefs resting their starters. 

Interior O-Line

• Quinn Meinerz | Grade: 87.9
• Ben Powers | Grade: 73.7
• Luke Wattenberg | Grade: 59.3

Chris Jones did not play for the Chiefs, which made the job of the Broncos' interior offensive line far more manageable. Meinerz dominated, and Powers was excellent. Wattenberg was solid but had some issues as a run blocker, even against the Chiefs' backups. 

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Defensive Line

• Zach Allen | Grade: 81.6

The only interior defensive lineman to play over 20 snaps was Allen, and he was in control all game. While he didn’t pick up any sacks, he helped control the blocking to open up others and generated his fair share of pressure while dominating against the run.

Outside Linebackers

• N/A

None of the Broncos' rush linebackers played 20 snaps, so none qualified for a grade. Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto missed by one and two snaps, respectively. 

Linebackers

• Cody Barton | Grade: 58.2

Barton has been hit-or-miss for the Broncos this season, and in the season finale, he had more hits.

Cornerbacks

• Ja’Quan McMillian | Grade: 66.9
• Riley Moss | Grade: 65.9
• Patrick Surtain II | Grade: 63.7

All three corners played a good game against the Chiefs' backups. It was good to see Moss and McMillian bounce back after being picked in by the Cincinnati Bengals. Their confidence should be back for their playoff matchup against the Buffalo Bills. 

Safeties

• Brandon Jones | Grade: 63.1
• P.J. Locke | Grade: 61.7

This was probably one of the safety duo's best games of the season. Both played at a high level, but most of the season has been one of them playing more poorly. Like the cornerbacks, the safeties needed this for their confidence heading into the playoffs.

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Joseph isn't the only member of the playoff-bound Broncos staff to begin garnering outside attention;NFL Network'sJane Slaterreportedthat senior personnel executive David Shaw will interview for the New Orleans Saints HC position.