2024 Denver Broncos Schedule

 Here is the Broncos 2024 schedule with analysis on the bottom......

Week 1-Sunday 9/8/2024: @ Seattle-4:05pm EST (CBS)

Week 2-Sunday 9/15/2024: Pittsburgh-4:25pm EST (CBS)

Week 3-Sunday 9/22/2024: @ Tampa Bay-1:00pm EST (FOX)

Week 4-Sunday 9/29/2024: @NY Jets-1:00pm EST (CBS)

Week 5-Sunday 10/6/2024: Las Vegas-4:05pm EST (FOX)

Week 6-Sunday 10/13/2024: LA Chargers-4:05pm EST (CBS)

Week 7-Thursday 10/17/2024: @New Orleans-8:15pm EST (Amazon Prime)

Week 8-Sunday 10/27/2024: Carolina-4:25pm EST (CBS)

Week 9-Sunday 11/3/2024: @Baltimore-1:00pm EST (CBS)

Week 10-Sunday 11/10/2024: @Kansas City-1:00pm EST (CBS)

Week 11-Sunday 11/17/2024: Atlanta-4:05pm EST (FOX)

Week 12-Sunday 11/24/2024: @Las Vegas-4:05pm EST (CBS)

Week 13-Monday 12/2/2024: Cleveland-8:15pm EST (ESPN)

Week 14- BYE WEEK

Week 15-Sunday 12/15/2024: Indianapolis-4:25pm EST (CBS)

Week 16-Sunday 12/22/2024: @LA Chargers-4:05pm EST (FOX)

Week 17-Saturday 12/28 or Sunday 12/29: @Cincinnati- TBD

Week 18-Saturday 1/4/2025 or Sunday 1/5/2025: Kansas City-TBD

-The Broncos first four games are very challenging to me. They have to go to Seattle in Week 1 to face a solid team with a new head coach in one of the toughest places to play in the NFL, and the Broncos will probably do it with rookie QB Bo Nix making his first NFL start. Then, they come home to take on a tough Steelers team in the Russell Wilson revenge game. Weeks 3 and 4 are tough because they feature back-to-back road games on the East coast (Tampa Bay and the Jets) and both are early window start times. You have to hope to somehow be 2-2 after that start.

-The next four weeks are favorable from Weeks 5-8. Three home games (Raiders, Chargers, and Panthers) mixed in with a TNF game at New Orleans in the Sean Payton Bowl. You have to think Denver can come out of that stretch 3-1.  

-Weeks 9 and 10 are brutal as Denver heads to Baltimore and Kansas City in back-to-back weeks. That's about a rough of a back-to-back as you can get in the AFC.

-Weeks 11-15 are again favorable. Denver has three home games, one road game and a bye in those weeks. It features their second primetime game of the year with a Monday Night Football game hosting the Browns. 

-The Broncos bye week is as late of a bye for them that I can remember. Week 14 for a bye week in December is late.

-The Broncos last three games are tough. They head to the Chargers in Week 16 and then have a rough back to back with at the Bengals in Week 17 and hosting the Chiefs in Week 18. Maybe the Chiefs would have clinched the division by then and they will be resting starters and the Broncos can take advantage of that.

-The Broncos have three sets of back-to-back road games, so that will be a challenge throughout the year. Two of those sets have early starts on Sunday afternoon.

-Denver hasn't gotten off to good starts the last few years to start the year, so the key is coming out of those first four games at 2-2 and then going from there. 

-You never know what is going to happen when you look at a schedule. Last year, everyone had Denver beating the Raiders and Washington to start the year at home to be 2-0. They lost both at home to start 0-2, but beat Kansas City and Buffalo in back-to-back weeks in November. 

Broncos 2024 Draft Class

 Here is the Denver Broncos 2024 NFL Draft class with my thoughts on each selection....

Round 1 Pick #12: Bo Nix, QB, Oregon: The Broncos had to come away with one of the six QBs that were projected to go in the 1st round of the draft. In my opinion, it really didn't matter which one they got, they just needed to get one. They didn't have the draft capital to trade up for the top 3 QB picks (Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, or Drake Maye), so they stayed at #12 and grabbed Nix, who they had graded as the third QB on their board (behind Williams and Daniels). Sean Payton really zeroed in on Nix as the guy as the draft process played out, and if Payton is sold on Nix, then that is good for me. I was happy that the Broncos were decisive and used conviction in picking Nix at 12. A lot of experts had him going late Round 1 and even in Round 2, but none of that matters at this point. I think Nix can be a really good fit for Sean Payton and his offense, and I think that Payton will maximize Nix's strengths and ability. I'm looking forward to watching Nix play this year and develop, and it works out, then the Broncos have finally found their QB.

Round 3 Pick #76: Jonah Elliss, Edge, Utah: The Broncos didn't have a 2nd round pick, so they had to wait until the 3rd round to pick again, and they went with a pass rusher in Elliss. He is the son of former NFL defensive lineman Luther Elliss. He was very productive at Utah as a pass rusher, but didn't participate in the Combine or Pro Day because of an injury. He is fully healed, and the Broncos believe they got a steal with him in the 3rd round. He will join the pass rushing rotation of Baron Browning, Jonathan Cooper, and Nik Bonitto. 

Round 4 Pick #102: Troy Franklin, WR, Oregon: The Broncos traded up to near the top of Round 4 to grab Franklin. Most mock drafts had him going late in the 1st round or in the 2nd round, so to see him drop to the 4th round was surprising. Franklin was a teammate of Bo Nix at Oregon, so that should really help both of them adjust the Broncos and the NFL in general. Franklin could make an immediate impact in the WR room, and could be a factor in his rookie year. It will be fun to see how Payton utilizes him in the offense. 

Round 5 Pick #145: Kris Abrams-Draine, CB, Missouri: I didn't know much about Abrams-Draine, but the more I studied him over the weekend, the more I like this pick. You can never have enough CBs on your roster in today's NFL, so grabbing him here is a good value pick. He will compete with Levi Wallace and Damari Mathis for the second CB spot to complement Pat Surtain on the other side. 

Round 5 Pick #147: Audric Estime, RB, Notre Dame: The Broncos added to their RB room with the selection of Estime. He had a very good career at Notre Dame, and he is a big physical presence. I think he will make the roster and add to the RB group alongside Javonte Williams, Samaje Perine, and Jaleel McLaughlin. He could be a factor his rookie year in the run game.

Round 7 Pick #235: Devaughn Vele, WR, Utah: The Broncos added Vele in the 7th round to a pretty crowded WR group. It is hard to see a scenario where Vele makes the 53 man roster with the depth at that group, so he is probably fighting for a practice squad spot.

Round 7 Pick #256: Nick Gargiulo, Guard, South Carolina: Gargiulo figures to add depth to the interior of the offensive line, but realistically he is looking to grab a practice squad spot as well. 

Defensive Lineman John Franklin-Myers acquired in a trade with the New York Jets for a 2026 6th round pick: This was a surprise and came on Day Three of the NFL Draft on Saturday. This was a really good move for Denver and it only netted a 6th round pick in 2026 to acquire Franklin-Myers. He can play all down the defensive line, and this was very positive move for the Broncos defense.