The Denver Broncos O-line is No. 1 in the NFL.
That’s been true for the last two seasons, and it’s expected to hold true in 2026, too.
With that great of a line up front, Bo Nix will be well-protected and will likely flourish as long as he heals from his ankle surgeries.
Denver Broncos O-line is No. 1
ESPN’s Mike Clay grades every positional group every year before the season.
His early grading list is out, and it bodes well for the Denver Broncos. Specifically on the offensive line.
Per Clay, the Broncos O-line is No. 1 in the NFL. They also have two of the three highest-graded offensive linemen in the NFL. Only Kansas City’s Creed Humphrey (8.8 out of 10) is higher than Garett Bolles and Quinn Meinerz (8.7).
Denver Broncos o-line is graded No. 1 by ESPN’s Mike Clay.
— Rich Kurtzman (@sportsballitics.bsky.social) 2026-05-19T21:13:26.015Z
The Broncos being graded this highly by Mike Clay is no surprise.
They’ve been the best group—or at least among the best—the last two regular seasons. Meinerz became the first Denver Broncos offensive lineman to earn back-to-back first-team All-Pro nods in the history of the team when he was placed on the list following 2025.
For Bolles, it was his first time on the first-team All-Pro list. We have to go all the way back to 2020 when he earned second-team All-Pro.
Those two are the stars on the line, and it’s rare for a team to have more than one known star on an offensive line. That’s because everyone else on the offense gets the ball, all they do is block.
Most of the time people only notice linemen when they miss a block. They don’t notice all the blocks they do end up making along the way.
A strong offensive line will help Denver go a long way in 2026
NFL football has evolved a ton since its inception in 1920.
The game was primarily run-first back in those days. Per Statmuse, rushing touchdowns outnumbered passing scores nearly 2-1 for that first decade of football. And teams averaged about 10 points per game.
Nowadays, it’s passing touchdowns that outnumber rushing scores 2-1, and scoring per game is up to 23 points per team.
But no matter how much the league has changed over the last century, winning the trenches is crucial to winning football.
And Denver’s offensive line being the best in the league is crucial for that continued success.
Winning the line of scrimmage, whether it be on a run or pass play, is needed for an offense to continually move the ball down the field.
And it’s all the more important when the quarterback is returning from injury.
Bo Nix’s ankle broke near the end of the Divisional Round win over the Buffalo Bills. That sank Denver’s hopes of winning the Super Bowl last year.
If they want to truly compete again—and many news outlets believe the Broncos are a top-3 team—they have to keep Nix healthy. That starts with the O-line protecting him well.
And it’s not just about keeping him healthy, but allowing the young quarterback to progress through his reads and make clean throws.
Nix was the least-sacked quarterback in 2025. Part of that was the line’s great play. And part of it is Nix’s innate ability to avoid getting sacked. He was best in college football his final two years at avoiding sacks and then carried that into the NFL.
Simply, if an offense wants to flourish, they must have a great offensive line. Denver’s set up for success, both in the regular season and the playoffs, if and when they get there.
ESPN’s Mike Clay grades Denver Broncos O-line No. 1 in NFL Mile High Sports.
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