The Denver Broncos will be on Hard Knocks soon, despite making the playoffs last year.

Denver’s never been featured on the behind-the-scenes documentary series put on by HBO and NFL Films. But because of a change in criteria, and due to the new in-season divisional series, the Broncos will be in the spotlight soon.

It may even be this preseason.

Denver Broncos will be on Hard Knocks soon, one way or another

If you’re an NFL fan, Hard Knocks is an incredible look at what happens before, after, and between the games.

The dynamic documentary series debuted in 2001 and has been running yearly since 2008, with 19 total seasons featuring 18 different teams. But because of the appearance criteria, the Broncos haven’t had to consider being on for years.

Teams can be exempted if they’ve, 1. Appeared on the show in the last decade, 2. Have a new head coach, or 3. Made the playoffs in the last two years.

In four of their eight seasons of missing the playoffs, Denver had a new head coach. And in the other years they were eligible, the producers picked other teams.

But now, the league has eliminated the playoffs part of the eligibility. Meaning teams can be featured on the preseason version of the show if they made the postseason the last two years or not.

[Breer] NFL chief media/business officer Brian Rolapp mentioned on Monday how the league has liberalized its rules for Hard Knocks. Here is the full rule—the “non-playoff” requirement has been removed to compel a team.

This really opens up the NFL’s options this summer twitter.com/AlbertBreer/…

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— NFL News Poster (@nflnewsposter.bsky.social) April 2, 2025 at 2:13 PM

That means there are 20 eligible teams for the preseason version of Hard Knocks, and it should be noted there are now two different varieties of Hard Knocks.

There’s the preseason one which most people know and love. That goes from the beginning of the offseason through kickoff of the regular season. It documents the day-to-day life of a head coach, star players, and also up-and-coming players who are fighting to make the team. It gives fans a chance to connect to their favorite players and the “cut day” episode is always an emotionally-charged one.

The second version of Hard Knocks now features an entire division during the season.

Last year was the first time they produced such a series, with the AFC North being featured. The plan is for every division to be part of the show in an 8-year rotation. Which is why we know the Denver Broncos will be on Hard Knocks soon, or at least relatively soon.

Whichever division the producers pick to feature, those teams will not be eligible for the preseason version of the show.

The AFC West, with four likely Hall of Fame head coaches, and three playoff teams from 2024, would be a juicy choice.

Sean Payton and his team would make for must-see TV

Denver would make for interesting TV all by themselves even if the AFC West isn’t featured for the in-season version of the show.

Sean Payton is one of the biggest characters there is in the NFL today. He speaks his mind–at least to some national reporters, not the local ones–and he’s proven over the last two years he still has it.

Payton is one of the most successful offensive coaches in recent NFL history, he led the Saints to a Super Bowl victory, and it would be great to see how he runs the team in meetings and more.

Speaking of, watching how the grizzled veteran works with the young and fiery Bo Nix at quarterback would be fun to explore. Payton and Nix got into a yelling match on the sideline last year, and while they smoothed it over, that stuff is certainly entertaining.

There’s also Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain, along with other defensive stars like Zach Allen, Nik Bonitto and newcomer Dre Greenlaw. All of those guys–plus a handful on the offensive side–would be fun watches for fans.

And it’s likely NFL Films will find interest in the fact the Waltons and Greg Penner own and operate the team, that Denver’s an amazing city with die-hard fans, there’s the new training center being under construction, and the general evolution of the team. The Broncos have gone from one of the worst to at least competitive over the last two years thanks to Payton’s leadership.

The league announced the Chicago Bears would be the focal point of the preseason version last May, so look for more details on if the Broncos will be on Hard Knocks in six-ish weeks time.