Previewing the Falcons' 2026 preseason opener with Broncos Wire

After a long offseason, the Atlanta Falcons will take the field this Friday night for their 2026 NFL preseason debut against the Denver Broncos. Friday's game kicks off at 7 p.m. ET inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. We know the Falcons are planning to play their starters, including quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, for about 10 snaps, but what about the Broncos? In order to find out, we've gone behind enemy lines with Broncos Wire editor Jon Heath for the inside scoop on Denver. 1. How have the Broncos improved since their brutal loss in the AFC Championship game? The biggest addition was obviously the Jaylen Waddle trade in March. Otherwise, Denver's mostly running it back with the 2025 roster. The defense remains one of the top in the league on paper, and Waddle will add speed and explosiveness to the offense. The Broncos also used a fourth-round draft pick to select running back Jonah Coleman, and he's been flashing at training camp. That's a big deal because Denver's run game took a big hit when J.K. Dobbins was injured last season. Waddle's the storyline, though. 2. What are some of the team's biggest concerns entering 2026? The Broncos' biggest loss this offseason was defensive end John Franklin-Myers, but they have plenty of candidates to rotate in, led by Malcolm Roach, Eyioma Uwazurike, Sai'vion Jones and third-round rookie Tyler Onyedim. I don't expect any of them to individually match JFM's production, so a dropoff on the defensive line might be a slight concern, but a rotation could still lead to strong results. On offense, Broncos fans will definitely be watching quarterback Bo Nix's ankles this season. He had past ankle injuries in high school and college and has had ankle surgeries after each of his first two seasons in the NFL. The good news is that he bounced back each time. The bad news is the ankle injuries have followed him throughout his football career. 3. Sean Payton fired OC Joe Lombardi and replaced him with Davis Webb. Do you feel Lombardi's firing was warranted and what should fans expect from Webb/Will he call plays?) With Payton calling plays, Lombardi probably didn't have as much influence as a typical offensive coordinator might. I think the switch to Davis Webb was motivated by a couple factors, and Denver couldn't promote him without Lombardi moving on. Payton started mentioning last season that he doesn't get play calls in as quickly as he did when he was younger. Meanwhile, Webb is a highly-regarded coach who was already getting head coach interviews with other clubs while serving as Denver's quarterbacks coach. Webb called plays in a preseason game last summer and Payton praised him for his fast, efficient play-calling (and the offense had a successful night). I believe Payton was already leaning toward stepping away from play-calling to handle big-picture head coach duties on game day, and Webb was drawing real interest from other clubs. The Broncos likely had to promote Webb to keep him, so handing over the OC job and play-calling duties made sense. If the offense does well in 2026, Webb could be a hot young HC candidate in 2027. 4. Is there any lingering tension between Bo Nix and Sean Payton after last year's injury controversy? I think that was more of a misunderstanding than a beef between the coach and QB, and I think Nix's frustration was directed more toward the narrative about his ankle than it was at Payton. After the season, Payton said Nix was "predisposed" to breaking his ankle. What the coach meant was that the broken ankle was a matter of when, not if, because the injury had already started before the clean break in the NFL playoffs. What some media members inferred from Payton's comment was that the coach meant Nix was prone to recurring ankle injuries, and that's seemingly what Nix wanted to quickly refute. Payton meant that specific break was building up before it happened, but the QB's bone has since healed. I'm not a doctor. Whether or not Nix is actually predisposed to recurring ankle injuries isn't my expertise, but Broncos fans will be holding their breath every time the QB runs this fall. 5. Are the Broncos planning to play starters on Friday night? Payton said after Wednesday's practice that most starters will play about 10-15 snaps in Atlanta, but quarterback Bo Nix won't. Jarrett Stidham and Sam Ehlinger will each play a half against the Falcons, and Nix will get some playing time in the team's two home preseason games on natural grass. Similar to the Falcons, the Broncos have some starters who are banged up or returning from injuries, so not every starter will travel to Atlanta, but the available starters will play on Friday night. This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Previewing the Falcons' 2026 preseason opener with Broncos Wire