2025 Denver Broncos Training Camp: 3 storylines to watch on offense

After a long wait, the Denver Broncos have kicked off their 2025 training camp sessions. Mile High Report’s Christopher Hart gives you three major storylines to watch for with respect to the team’s offense.

The dearth of the offseason is finally over. After a long wait, the Denver Broncos have their rookies reporting today for training camp, with veterans following suit in a little over a week.

For some early training camp content, I thought I’d write about three storylines to watch for the Broncos on the offensive side of the ball over the next few weeks.

With key additions made in free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft, Denver provided quarterback Bo Nix with more weapons to play with. After an impressive rookie campaign, the second-year pro is hoping to take his game to the next level. With several new additions on offense and one of the best offensive lines in the National Football League, Nix is poised to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump.

Without further ado, here are three storylines I’m looking forward to watching over the course of training camp. Feel free to give some of your own in the comments section.

Evan Engram’s utilization and role as a ‘joker’ in Sean Payton’s offense

All offseason, Head Coach Sean Payton and General Manager George Paton talked about how it was mission critical for the Broncos to find themselves a ‘joker’ to help take their offense to the next level. In free agency, Denver made an early splash and inked veteran tight end Evan Engram to a two-year deal worth $26 million dollars with $16,5 million guaranteed.

In his eight-year career, Engram has only notched more than four touchdowns once and has just three seasons with more than 700 receiving yards. A two-time Pro-Bowler, he has proven to be a sure handed safety valve and chain mover. His performance last year waned in comparison to his ‘23 campaign, but Denver is banking on him being healthy this season and being a major contributor for the squad.

As a move tight end or flexed out big slot, Engram has the potential to be a high-volume receiving threat for the Broncos this season. In fact, a season with over 100 targets wouldn’t be a surprise. That’s happened three times in his career. If their vision for him is truly ‘joker’ in nature, garnering the second most looks of any skill position player in the passing game seems likely.

In particular, the Broncos struggled immensely in medium yards to go situations (4-to-6) last season. Engram’s ability to beat man coverage should be a huge benefit for the offense’s endeavors in 2025 and improve their efficiency in those situations. Over the course of training camp, I’m intrigued to see how versatile his utilization in Payton’s offense. If it’s as diverse as I’m expecting, the ninth-year pro might be poised to have his best season to date.

How the Broncos’ revamped running back stable performs

The Broncos struggled to have a consistent running game last season. It was easily the least efficient part of their offense. In order to make Nix’s life easier, the team added R.J. Harvey and J.K. Dobbins to their stable. If all goes as planned, they should become a formidable 1-2 punch for the 2025 season and prove to be much more effective than last year’s group of running backs.

Injuries have derailed Dobbins’ potential and career, but he is coming off his best season to date in ‘24. Appearing in 13 games with 11 starts, the veteran rushed for 905 yards and 9 touchdowns with the Los Angeles Chargers. That would have easily been the top mark for the Broncos last season. In a youthful room, Dobbins’ experience and pass protection skills should help him get a lot of touches early on in the season.

Though at some point in time, Harvey will enter the equation for the Broncos. An electric runner known for busting off big plays, the former UCF standout excels in zone concepts and was one of the most productive runners in his class. It might take some time to pick up the playbook, but I have no doubt Payton will craft a unique vision that will help him hit the ground running as a rookie. His big-play ability will be a huge positive for the team’s ground game in ‘25.

On the outside looking in are a handful of other players. Of note, second year running back Audric Estime and veteran Jaleel McLaughlin. With Dobbins and Harvey in the fold, it’s hard to expect more than reserve roles for either of them. But in the event of an injury, both will have a chance to showcase their skills this coming season.

Which wide receiver steps up the most next to Courtland Sutton

Longtime veteran Courtland Sutton tops the list of the Broncos’ wide receiver corps. Barring some sort of surprise, he will be the team’s primary target in their aerial attack. Behind him are a handful of young and talented players hoping for an increased role with the team in ‘25. Devaughn Vele, Marvin Mims Jr., and Troy Franklin all flashed in their own way last season. Though nobody really stuck out head-and-shoulders above the rest relative to target share.

As I wrote in my wide receiver position group review, I think Vele has a pretty good chance to receive the second most targets at the position. He and Nix developed a good chemistry last year and I expect that to get even better this season. I thought he was very effective on generating first downs and had a tremendously high catch percentage for a rookie.

But in the second half of the season, we all witnessed Mims embark on a significant turnaround. He had a handful of amazing touchdown grabs and game-changing plays. The two-time All-Pro and Pro-Bowl returner was deployed in various fashions and became a menace for opposing defenses to combat. Entering his third season, I believe he will experience a leap in production and have his best season as a receiver.

Everyone else, including the aforementioned Franklin and third round pick Pat Bryant are on the outside looking in. With the addition of Engram to the team’s passing game and the fact a running back gets a lot of targets in Payton’s offense, there are only so many targets to go around. With respect to the two above, I’m just hoping for efficiency when their name is called to make a play. But who knows, maybe one of them surprises and outperforms my expectations.