Broncos Have a Surprisingly Wide Super Bowl Window, Analyst Claims

The Denver Broncos have a playoff window but a Super Bowl window?

Nov 10, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) talks with head coach Sean Payton against the Kansas City Chiefs prior to a game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The 2024 Denver Broncos have defied expectations this season. With meaningful January football within striking distance, it's still important to consider the future with a longer-term outlook. 

In a recent thought-provoking article, Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon gave his assessment of the Super Bowl window for each team in playoff contention this late in the season. He gave a floor, ceiling, and a prediction of how long said Super Bowl window stretches, separating the contenders based on teams with a veteran quarterback and those with signal-callers still on a rookie deal.

What did Gagnon say about the Broncos? Denver falls in the category of teams with a quarterback playing on his rookie contract. We have to start with Gagnon's Houston Texans take, a team to whom he ascribed a one to 12-year Super Bowl window, to understand the full context of his Broncos prediction.

“Houston Texans: 1-12 more years — This has to be a wide range because they've come back to earth after C.J. Stroud and DeMeco Ryans stormed the league as rookies. This whole thing could blow up within a year if those guys don't get it right between now and the end of 2025, or the 23-year-old Stroud could help them contend annually for another decade or longer," Gagnon wrote.

Now for what B/R wrote about Denver's Super Bowl window.

"Denver Broncos: 1-12 more years — Bo Nix looks to be the real deal and should have at least a decade in him as he is still 24. That said, we have to stick with the same floor as Houston using the logic from that breakdown, even if Sean Payton is more accomplished than Ryans on the sideline. Prediction: 10 years," Gagnon wrote.

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The Texans are highlighted to show how quickly it can change in the second year, but Gagnon gives the same floor, ceiling, and prediction to the Broncos despite having to contend with the combinations of Andy Reid/Patrick Mahomes and Jm Harbaugh/Justin Herbert in the AFC West for the foreseeable. 

The Broncos should be rightly considered playoff contenders for the next few years, but given the limited sample size of Nix and the elite QBs around the AFC who are under contract for at least the duration of his rookie contract, it would be premature to say the Broncos’ Super Bowl window is open. 

This is a Broncos roster constructed quite differently compared to the rest of the AFC contenders, with a lot more dead money to navigate, a dearth of premium picks in recent years that still impacts the roster, poor coaching hires, and subsequently, stunted player development. The roster still needs considerable work regarding its depth and impact starters, all of which we've discussed at length before. 

Although the Broncos have a low floor and high ceiling, Gagnon really believes in the Payton/Nix combination with his prediction. Nix has flashed plenty, and his recent showing against the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday is highly promising for the future.

The Broncos can take inspiration from the San Francisco 49ers in building the nest around their rookie-contract QB with difference-making pass-catchers to accentuate Nix’s strengths and improve weaknesses of working the middle of the field and consistently moving the chains. 

The right moves may turn that playoff contention into Super Bowl contention soon enough, though. Gagnon may be on to something. Read his B/R article if you're interested in the Super Bowl window he ascribed to other AFC juggernauts, including the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers.

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