Davis Webb’s offense should be electric for Broncos in 2026

The wait is almost over. The Denver Broncos open the 2026 season on Monday night against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead, and the anticipation surrounding what this team is going to look like has reached a fever pitch.

The defense is elite. The weapons are loaded. Bo Nix is healthy. But the storyline that may define the entire season more than any other, is the one calling plays from the sideline.

Davis Webb is making his debut as the Broncos’ offensive coordinator and play caller.

On a recent edition of “Stokley and Evans, with Mark Schlereth” on 104.3 The Fan, 9News Broncos insider Mike Klis joined the show to discuss what he has seen throughout training camp and what Broncos Country should expect when the lights come on Monday night.

Brandon Stokley posed the question that has been building all offseason.

“What are you expecting to see different from Davis Webb, compared to what we’ve seen from a Sean Payton led offense?” Stokley asked.

Klis didn’t need long to answer, and his response was music to the ears of every Broncos fan who spent the last two years begging for more aggression through the air.

“Less screen passes, I hope. And more passes downfield. That’s what I’ve seen in training camp anyway,” Klis said.

Sean Payton’s offense was methodical, calculated and, at times, conservative in its approach to the downfield passing game. Webb’s appears to be the opposite. The new coordinator, who played quarterback himself in the NFL, is bringing a perspective rooted in what quarterbacks see, and more importantly, where he wants them to look.

“He’s got all the quarterbacks looking in that, you know if there’s nine defensive zones, he’s got them looking in the back 7, 8 and 9 more than they did in the past,” Klis said.

That’s a schematic detail that changes everything. Pushing the quarterback’s eyes to the deepest zones of the field means the offense is being designed to attack vertically first, not as an occasional shot play, but as a foundational part of the game plan. With Jaylen Waddle’s speed stretching the field and Courtland Sutton’s ability to win contested catches on the outside, the Broncos have the personnel to make that approach dangerous.

Klis acknowledged that the aggression comes with a tradeoff, but one that is worth accepting.

“Now that might mean an extra interception or two thrown by Bo when you have that type of ‘open up the offense.’ But he’s wanting more explosive plays. They realize that, that’s why they got (Jaylen) Waddle,” Klis said.

A more aggressive passing attack will produce more big plays. It will also produce the occasional turnover that comes with pushing the ball into tighter windows and deeper zones. Webb and the coaching staff have clearly decided that the upside of explosive plays outweighs the risk of an additional interception or two across a full season, and the Waddle acquisition is the proof that the entire organization is aligned behind that philosophy.

Klis then connected the deep passing game to the rest of the offensive operation in a way that should excite every corner of Broncos Country.

“When you throw the ball deep, the middle portion of the field, and the running game should open up too. So I think the offense will be better this year,” Klis said.

That’s the ripple effect that makes vertical passing so valuable. When defenses have to respect the deep ball, safeties can’t cheat toward the line of scrimmage. When safeties stay deep, the underneath zones open up for tight ends and running backs. When the middle of the field opens up, the running lanes widen. The entire offense benefits from the threat of the deep pass, even on the plays where the ball never goes past twenty yards.

The Broncos have spent two years building toward this moment. The weapons are in place. The quarterback is entering his prime. And the man calling the plays has spent his entire coaching career preparing to unleash exactly this kind of attack. Monday night at Arrowhead isn’t just a season opener. It’s the debut of an offensive identity that could redefine what this franchise is capable of.

Mike Klis has seen it in training camp. Broncos Country is about to see it under the lights. And if Webb’s vision translates to the field the way the insider expects it to, the Broncos offense isn’t just going to be better this year. It is going to be the most exciting version of itself that Denver has seen in a very long time.

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