Denver Broncos could be 'the team to beat' predicts Steve Mariucci

As we head into the 2026 NFL season, Bo Nix is healthy, the league's best offensive line returns intact, and Jaylen Waddle arrives to upgrade the receiver room.

Throw in arguably the league's best defense and one of the league's best playcallers in Sean Payton, and Denver should be considered among the favourites to bring home the Super Bowl.

But bookmakers generally have the Broncos languishing around the 10th favourites to win the Lombardi, and former head coach Steve Mariucci thinks they're being underrated.

Mariucci tips Broncos as "team to beat"

Steve Mariucci served as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers between 1997 and 2002 and led them to the playoffs four times.

He also took charge of the Detroit Lions from 2003 to 2005, overseeing a difficult period of transition.

Having coached NFL royalty such as Jerry Rice, Steve Young, Brett Favre and Rod Woodson, 'Mooch' can recognise talent when he sees it.

In the 2026 Broncos, he sees a team he believes the NFL community has overlooked.

"The team that is going to be really good and scary, even though they have a tough schedule, is the Denver Broncos," he told DAZN News, courtesy of casino.org.

"I don't think we're talking enough about those guys. They were the number one seed in the AFC. They won that tough division," he continued.

"They played in the championship game without their darn quarterback, Bo Nix. They have the best defense in the National Football League, and they have a top-10 offense.

"And to top things off, their young quarterback Bo is only going to get better.

"Losing the championship game to New England was a hell of a surprise last year, let's face it, in Mike Vrabel's first season.

"They only just beat him 10-7, and Denver was without their main quarterback, and it was still a close game.

"Give them another year of experience with Bo Nix to improve that offense, and if they continue being the number one defense, then that's the team to beat."

Can Denver win it all in 2026?

DAZN NFL writer Jason Abbey

I'm a huge fan of defense, always have been, and this Denver group is as good as any I've seen in recent years.

They've lost a couple of pieces, but the core remains, comprising All-Pro corner Patrick Surtain, DT Zach Allen, and edge rusher Nik Bonitto.

Led by Vance Joseph, that unit ranked third in points allowed and first with 68 sacks, falling just four shy of toppling the single-season record set by the "Monsters of the Midway" Bears in 1984.

As mentioned earlier, the offensive line - led by Garrett Bolles and Quinn Meinerz - is arguably the best in football.

And that leaves us with the skill positions, where Waddle adds a dynamic field-stretcher who can, in Surtain's own words, "take a 5-yard catch and turn it into a 70-yard touchdown."

The biggest question mark remains Nix, who, with all the pieces around him, needs to find another gear in 2026 after finishing 19th in EPA per play.

But if his pass-catchers can avoid the multitude of dropped passes we saw in 2025, and Denver's ground game can hold it together for more than half the season this time around, this Denver team will be dangerous.

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