Have you ever looked up at the stars and wondered what the Broncos' offense would look like with a truly dangerous YAC threat and field stretcher? Or have you just started pondering how good Jeffery Simmons could be in a true one-gapping role?
I sure have. And in a few months, I won't have to wonder any longer.
Today's NFL has more offseason movement than ever, and with that movement comes an abundance of new coach-player pairings. Half of the league has a new offensive playcaller this year, which in turn puts many incumbent playmakers in reimagined roles.
Bigger names are traded more willingly as the salary cap balloons upward, which allows near-contenders to handpick the perfect missing players to push their teams over the edge. I highlighted eight new coach-player pairings across the league that I'm excited to see in 2026 .
There are truly hundreds to choose from, and many interesting duos didn't make this cut. (How will Sean Mannion use DeVonta Smith in A.J.
Brown 's absence? How will Kenneth Walker III change how Andy Reid calls the Chiefs' offense?) But these are the eight that I think have the most potential -- and also the most mystery.
Jump to: Payton-Waddle | Daboll-Ward O'Connell-Murray | Shanahan-Evans Shula-Garrett | McDaniel-Hampton Kubiak-Bowers | Saleh-Simmons Broncos coach Sean Payton and WR Jaylen Waddle No, Payton is no longer calling the plays in Denver. Yes, I'm still excited to see Waddle in what is largely still Payton's offense.
In Denver's two years with Bo Nix at quarterback, the Broncos had an acceptable receiver room. Veteran Courtland Sutton is an average WR1, and various rookie contract players ( Marvin Mims Jr ., Troy Franklin , Pat Bryant , Devaughn Vele ) have had their days in the sun.
Payton has always kept a deep receiver room with a variety of body types, not to mention a similarly deep tight end group that bites into the total receiver snaps available. With that deep room comes distributed production.
Payton has been the head coach of an NFL team for 17 seasons -- 14 in New Orleans and three more in Denver. Only once has he had a receiver account for more than 30% of the team's targets (something that happened on four teams last season), and only twice has a receiver accounted for more than 30% of the team's receiving yards (eight teams last season).
The league is increasingly moving toward more consolidated receiver rooms, as coaches become better at funneling high-quality looks to their star receivers. As an example, we could highlight the prime Mike McDaniel Dolphins, who were force-feeding their two star receivers: Tyreek Hill and Waddle.
Across 2022 and 2023, Hill led all receivers with 37.1% of the team's receiving yards -- an enormous number. But Waddle was 22nd at 25.0%, the highest that any teammate ranked.
That 25.0% is about the market share Sutton has had as the Broncos' WR1 in the past two seasons. With Sutton and Waddle sharing the field and bringing different skill sets, the Broncos can become a little more star-dependent with their distribution of receiver touches.
Payton's surprising surrender of playcalling to new offensive coordinator Davis Webb is another sign that the Broncos want to narrow their receiver rotation and target shares. But even if Waddle carries only 20% of that production, it's that different skill set he provides that is most exciting.
In Nix's career so far, Denver has had a bit of a zone-coverage issue. Among 35 qualified quarterbacks, Nix is 31st in dropback success rate against zone coverage and 11th against man coverage -- an enormous difference.
Every major quarterbacking metric takes a big hit when Nix faces zone defense. Against zone looks, Nix has generally been asked to throw to big-bodied receivers, as incumbent quicksters Mims and Franklin don't have the trustworthy hands and toughness necessary to earn routes over the middle of the field.
This isn't great for Nix, who much prefers to air out deep vertical throws than drive throws into rapidly closing windows on deep-breaking routes. Waddle gives the Broncos a far more legitimate threat to blow by a safety, which doesn't just give Nix his preferred answer against zone coverages but also stretches out those coverages, making the tight intermediate windows a little bigger for other WRs.
Waddle also has plenty of experience on quick-breaking routes over the middle of the field from his time in Miami. These routes were sight-adjusted and settled in voids, making them easy answers again