Broncos OTAs: Bo Nix's familiarity, position battles and more to watch

The Denver Broncos will hit the field Tuesday as a full team and coaching staff for the first time this offseason as they open the organized team activity (OTAs) portion of their offseason schedule.

Denver is scheduled for two weeks of OTA practices (three sessions each week) followed by a mandatory three-day minicamp in June.

Then comes a roughly five-week break until training camp begins.

Advertisement Here are four things to watch as OTAs begin for the Broncos: What does continuity look like for Bo Nix? Bo Nix began job interviews with NFL teams last year describing his history of adapting to different schemes and coaching styles like a football chameleon.

He had two head coaches and three play callers at Auburn.

He had two more offensive coordinators at Oregon.

Never in five years of college did he have the same quarterbacks coach in back-to-back seasons.

That experience created confidence that another transition at the pro level would not be too much for Nix to handle as a rookie.

Five offenses in five years, Nix said at the Senior Bowl in 2024.

Five different play callers.

Ive been around the block and been able to learn from a lot of different people who have had a lot of different success.

...

I think along the way I learned a lot from each individual and grew.

In my time, Ive had a lot of experience and growth.

That adaptability is part of the reason the Broncos drafted Nix with the 12th pick in 2024.

His synergy with coach and play caller Sean Payton, after a rocky first month, helped Nix smash every franchise record for rookie quarterbacks .

Now, though, Nix gets to settle in.

For the first time since high school, he has the same head coach and play caller in place in back-to-back seasons.

The same quarterbacks coach, too, in Davis Webb.

He is likely to have the same starting offensive line in front of him.

His top target, Courtland Sutton, is back, as well.

The idea of walking into a season with that kind of familiarity already had Nix excited when his debut campaign ended in January.

I enjoy the film study and the self-scouting and the things that I can jump ahead on for next year and just kind of be a little bit more ahead after knowing a little bit more of what to expect, the quarterback said at the time.

There is no quarterback competition now.

All of the first-team reps from the spring through the end of training camp in August will belong to Nix.

It will also be the first time Payton has worked with the same starting quarterback in consecutive offseasons since 2020, when Drew Brees was entering his final season with the New Orleans Saints.

The duo still has to battle one of the NFLs best defenses in practices every day, but the continuity should be especially helpful as the offense begins working through third-down and red zone scenarios, two areas Nix pointed to as necessary areas of improvement after his rookie season.

Advertisement For all that is the same, though, its a new addition who could help shape Nixs offseason.

Evan Engram, the tight end the Broncos signed in free agency, will be a focal point of Denvers offense this season, and OTAs offer an important early chance for Nix and him to develop chemistry.

Where do the position battles emerge? The Broncos entered last offseason with depth-chart questions across the roster coming off an 8-9 season.

There were battles for jobs at quarterback, center, inside linebacker, wide receiver, cornerback and even punter.

It all created a competitive environment Payton has tried to cultivate since taking the job in 2023.

The picture is clearer one year later as the Broncos come off their first playoff appearance in nine years, but there are still positional questions to be answered as the offseason begins.

It starts at running back, where second-round pick RJ Harvey will have a significant role in the offense in Year 1 and can use the offseason to prove hes capable of handling a heavy workload.

The battle for roles alongside the rookie should be intense throughout the offseason program.

Audric Estime, who is still the youngest player on Denvers roster at 21, had an up-and-down rookie season that included a stint on injured reserve, early ball-security issues, promising flashes near the seasons midway point and an inactive designation for the teams playoff game.

The Broncos remain high on Estimes potential as a bruising, north-south runner, but he needs a good offseason to solidify his role.

Can Jaleel McLaughlin, entering his third season, maintain his role as a change-of-pace back in Paytons offense? Could Tyler Badie or Blake Watson be healthy and consistent enough to earn bigger roles? This group will be fascinating to watch beyond Harveys critical early development.

Advertisement Other questions come in the defensive backfield.

Will first-round pick Jahdae Barron unseat JaQuan McMillian as the teams nickel corner? Or will he find his way into an outside corner role, pushing Riley Moss? At wide receiver, can rookie Pat Bryant turn himself into Denvers No.

2 target at the position behind Sutton? Second-year players Devaughn Vele and Troy Franklin will be part of the equation, too, and the menu figures to expand even more for speedy asset Marvin Mims Jr.

Will linebacker depth emerge as strength while Dre Greenlaw recovers? Payton erased any doubt about the status of free-agent acquisition Dre Greenlaw earlier this month when he announced the veteran linebacker would be a full participant in training camp after recovering from a quad injury .

It was a reassuring update for a defense that is depending on Greenlaw to add some bite up the middle.

Still, Greenlaw will miss at least some, if not all, of the offseason program.

Alex Singleton, meanwhile, is still in the final stages of his recovery from the ACL injury he suffered in September.

The upshot for the Broncos will be more time during OTAs and minicamp to evaluate depth at the position behind the veteran duo.

Drew Sanders is one of Denvers more intriguing figures this offseason.

The 2023 third-round pick has struggled to find a consistent role through position changes and an offseason injury last year.

But hes healthy and firmly slotted into the inside linebackers group, and he has the athletic talent to be an impactful player at the position for Vance Joseph.

He could be in line for his most consistent string of reps since arriving in Denver.

The Broncos also brought back Justin Strnad on a one-year deal after he admirably filled in for the injured Singleton last season.

Levelle Bailey made the initial 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent last year and will be in the mix for a spot once again.

But three undrafted rookies will be pushing at his heels: JB Brown, Karene Reid and Jordan Turner, who parlayed a rookie tryout invitation earlier this month into a spot on the 90-man roster.

The Broncos are trying to uncover a gem at this spot, and there will be ample opportunity to take a close look at the group with the veterans in it sidelined.

When will contract extensions start being signed? The Broncos signed four players to massive contract extensions last year and spread those deals out over several months.

Right guard Quinn Meinerz was up first, signing a four-year, $80 million deal in July.

Pat Surtain II signed what was then a record-setting contract for a cornerback four years, $96 million in September.

Outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper agreed to a four-year, $60 million extension in early November.

Finally, veteran left tackle Garett Bolles signed his third multiyear contract with the team since being drafted as a first-round pick in 2017, this one a four-year extension that came with $40 million in guarantees and a max value of $82 million.

Advertisement We could see a similar trickling of deals this year as the Broncos enter the offseason with four key players in line for possible extensions: Sutton, outside linebacker Nik Bonitto and defensive ends Zach Allen and John Franklin-Myers.

The most likely leadoff hitter in that lineup is Sutton , who received an adjustment to his contract just before the start of training camp last year but did not receive the multiyear extension he was initially seeking.

Now, Sutton is in the final year of that contract and coming off a career-best season in which he caught 81 passes for 1,081 yards and eight touchdowns.

He did not participate in any of Denvers offseason program last year except for a mandatory minicamp in June.

This year, though, he has been a presence at team headquarters since Phase I of the program began in April, and he and the Broncos have struck an optimistic tone about getting an extension done.

It would not be a surprise to see that happen before training camp begins.

The question then becomes whether the Broncos can reach offseason or in-season agreements with the three aforementioned defensive players and keep them from reaching free agency in 2026.

Bonitto, coming off a second-team All-Pro season in which he recorded 13.5 sacks, is set to benefit from an exploding pass-rusher market, but do the Broncos want to see another year of that kind of production risking a rise in Bonittos value in the process before signing up for a long-term agreement? Allen played more snaps than any defensive lineman in football last season while setting a career high with 8.5 sacks, also earning second-team All-Pro honors.

He has been a cornerstone of the Broncos defense since joining Joseph in Denver in 2023 and figures to be a priority.

Does that leave enough room to also bring back Franklin-Myers, who had an impressive first season in Denver with a career-best seven sacks? For the second offseason in a row, the Broncos have some important, big-money decisions to make with four of the teams best players.

(Photo: Justin Edmonds / Getty Images).

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