It’s not a surprise to anybody who has a working pair of eyes and a brain that Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix is the unquestioned franchise player for Sean Payton and general manager George Paton. Despite falling short in the AFC Championship, Paton highlighted Nix’s ‘it’ factor, how the team plans to approach the offseason when it comes to team needs, and more.

Denver Broncos GM George Paton’s end of the year press conference

After Sean Payton spoke on Tuesday, we had a chance to hear from Broncos general manager George Paton, who reflected on this past season.

One of the key things Paton outlined in his opening remarks was highlighting what type of team the 2025 Denver Broncos had.

“When you look back at this team, this is a special team,” Paton said. “I think I mentioned it in the preseason, they love the process, they love the grind. They love the work. This is the closest team I’ve ever been around. I think you guys can probably feel that, you could see that translate to the games. Never flinched, never say die, this team just fought. Remember this team for that.”

They rattled off a 14 win season which ties a franchise best, they won 11 straight games and fought through some tough stretches. Having been around this locker room all year, I can attest to what Paton said about how close this team has been.

Now, with the offseason here, it’s also a chance to get better.

Bo Nix’s ‘it’ factor

Bo Nix was the tide that raised all sails for the Broncos in 2025, combined with a hyperaggressive defense, it was the perfect formula for a winning season. Nix orchestrated seven game-winning drives and five fourth-quarter comebacks, which gave the Broncos an identity that never panicked.

“I just think you evaluate a quarterback by how much he wins, and there has been no quarterback in his first two years who has won more than [QB] Bo [Nix],” Paton said. “We can just start there. I think he had seven game-winning drives. It got to the point where we were behind, and Bo had the ball and we’re like, ‘OK, we’re going to win this.’ You can look at all the traits for quarterbacks, their arm strength, their accuracy and all that, but I don’t think you can—he has that ‘it’ factor. I don’t think you can teach that. Either you have it or you don’t, and he has it. So wow. Two years and we have a quarterback that can win and win at a high level. He’s best in the big moments. We’ve seen that. Does he have areas to improve? Yes like all quarterbacks, but if you have a quarterback that has that ‘it’ factor that’s best in the big moments, that’s pretty big.”

The Broncos felt the impact of not having Nix in the AFC Championship after he suffered a season-ending ankle injury against the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional round. Luckily, Nix’s ankle has no long-term concerns.

With Bo still on a rookie deal, Paton also acknowledged that the Broncos will push their chips in.

“In regards to the quarterback, I don’t think… I mean we’re always going to push it, and we’re going to push it this year,” Paton said. “All these other teams are pushing it. They’re hiring these coaches, so we have to be on our game. We have to make really good decisions. We’re going to be aggressive. Regardless of whose contract is what, I think it’s really important. Now we’re going to be sound and prudent with our decisions. The good news is we have some cap room, we have five picks in the first four rounds, and we could get two compensatory which would give us nine. So we just have, I always talk about flexibility. We’re going to have all sorts of flexibility.”

We’re about six weeks out from free agency beginning, so buckle up.

Broncos plan to attack needs aggressively

After a successful season like what the Broncos just had, everybody always asks how a team can build or push the envelope to improve. With the Broncos set to have 21 players set to be free agents in March, identifying the biggest needs for this team will be imperative as the front office, Paton, and Payton evaluate this current roster and what may be available in free agency or the draft.

“Obviously we move forward now,” Paton said. “We’re into the offseason. Our scouts are at the Senior Bowl. They’ve been at the East-West [Shrine Bowl]. We’ll do a deep dive on this team like we do every year, and we will determine our needs. We’ll be aggressive in filling those needs. We know that we start over. Nothing is guaranteed. This was a great season, and we move on. Just excited for that challenge.”

Just from my perspective, those needs could be linebacker with Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad set to hit unrestricted free agency. Wide receiver and running back are other ones, with Denver needing to add another key piece that can help take bracket coverage off of Courtland Sutton, and the pending free agency of J.K. Dobbins, who Payton and Paton described as being such an important piece for them this past season on and off the field.

“Again we’ll do a deep dive,” Paton said. “I like our young players, and I like our young receivers. I think we drafted three, and then you have ‘Court’ (WR Courtland Sutton) and [WR] Lil’Jordan [Humphrey] and a good mix of players. We are always looking to add. We’re always looking to improve at every position. Running back, we will do the same. I like the young backs that we have. [RB] J.K. [Dobbins] was a big hit here. That was a big loss for our team, and our offense and just his leadership that he showed. We’ll look at everything. I think we have some young talent, and if we can add, we will and if we can upgrade, we will certainly.”

Several names to eye early on at those positions could be George Pickens, Alec Pierce, Kenneth Walker III, and Travis Etienne. Denver could also inquire about trading for players as well, once the NFL Draft rolls around.

Regardless, an aggressive offseason approach is one that is exciting to think about.