INDIANAPOLIS — It was probably inevitable that the NFLPA’s grades of teams were going to leak publicly, even after the NFL won a grievance with the players union to prevent it from the public release of the team report cards that had become an annual rite of the NFL Scouting Combine.
This year’s report card — as posted by ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler — was more expansive than that of previous years, including rankings of home fields, general managers and assistant coaches for the first time.
The new categories and grades ended up flattering the dismissed Joe Lombardi, for example. George Paton also scored highly.
But the big winner?
It’s controlling owner Greg Penner.
There’s a pattern over the last four years of these rankings: Steady improvement in deficient areas, except for one: the locker room. And given the design of the building that the team will vacate later this year, there was nothing the team could do about it, except what it’s about to do: move into a sparkling new structure that towers over the Paul D. Bowlen Memorial Broncos Centre that the team has called home for the last 36 seasons.
For some owners, these grades were a source of embarrassment.
Penner used them to galvanize improvement.
No wonder he got one of four A-plus grades for ownership.
The full club breakdown follows:
TREATMENT OF FAMILIES
Broncos grade: B
Rank: T-12
The team built a room in the bowels of Empower Field at Mile High for family members to gather, improving the club’s grade in recent years. The Broncos rose from a C-minus last year and D-plus grades in the previous two years.
HOME-GAME FIELD
Broncos grade: A
Rank: T-1
Only three teams received As: Baltimore, Denver and Philadelphia. The Broncos play in the only division that has three fields at A-minus or better; Las Vegas and Kansas City received A-minus grades.
FOOD/DINING AREA
Broncos grade: A
Rank: T-1
Denver finished in a tie atop the league with Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Miami, Houston and San Francisco. The Broncos have steadily improved, going from a D grade in the 2023 report card — reflecting the 2022 season — to B and B-plus grades in the following two years.
NUTRITIONIST/DIETICIAN
Broncos grade: B-plus
Rank: T-17
Only two teams did not give at least a B-minus in this category: Cleveland (C-plus) and Cincinnati (F). The Broncos’ grade dropped slightly from last year’s A-minus.
LOCKER ROOM
Broncos grade: D
Rank: T-24
Long a category that has dragged the Broncos down, this is expected to change dramatically in the new building that is scheduled for a May completion. The team’s grade did rise from the F it posted last year. It received a D in 2024 and a D-plus in 2023.
TRAINING ROOM
Broncos grade: A-minus
Rank: T-7
This has been an area of steady improvement for the Broncos since the Walton-Penner group’s purchase of the team and Beau Lowery’s arrival early in 2013, as Denver has risen from a C-minus mark in the 2023 report card to a B-minus, a B and now to the A-minus. Fourteen of 32 teams received grades of A-minus or better.
TRAINING STAFF
Broncos grade: A
Rank: T-1
Denver was tied with nine other teams atop the league. Fifteen teams gave their training staff grades of A-minus or higher. The Broncos received grades of C, B and B-plus in 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively.
WEIGHT ROOM
Broncos grade: A
Rank: T-3
Two teams — Las Vegas and Miami — received the rare A-plus grade. Most players are happy with their weight rooms around the league; 21 teams received an A-minus grade or better; 12 received at least an A.
STRENGTH COACHES
Broncos grade: A
Rank: T-3
Nineteen of 32 sets strength coaches received grades of an A or higher, with 24 of 32 receiving at least an A-minus. None received lower than a B-minus. Denver’s coaches received that B-minus grade last year, meaning that they rose from 30th to a tie for third in one year. The group received a C grade in 2024.
POSITION COACHES
Broncos grade: B
Rank: T-15
No team ranked lower than a C in this category, which, along with the coordinators, was new for this year’s report card.
OFEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
Broncos grade: A-minus
Rank: T-5
Despite being dismissed two days after the season, Joe Lombardi received high marks. He was one of 13 offensive coordinators given a grade of A-minus or higher. The two lowest-graded offensive coordinators were in the AFC West: a D-minus for Greg Roman with the Chargers and an F for Chip Kelly in Las Vegas; both were dismissed. (During the time the survey was conducted, the Raiders fired Kelly and replaced him with Greg Olson.)
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
Broncos grade: A
Rank: T-4
Nearly half of the NFL — 15 of 32 teams — gave their defensive coordinators grades of A-minus or better.
SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR
Broncos grade: A-minus
Rank: T-8
Fourteen NFL teams gave their special-teams coordinator a grade of A-minus or better. Just four special-teams coordinators finished below a B grade.
TEAM TRAVEL
Broncos grade: A-minus
Rank: T-2
Denver travels with Atlas Air, a company with a specially-equipped fleet of 747s that now handles much of the league. Just three teams received an A-minus or higher. The team got an A last year after receiving marks of B-plus and B-minus the previous two seasons.
HEAD COACH
Broncos grade: B
Rank: T-23
Sean Payton ranked ahead of six other head coaches; four were dismissed (Green Bay’s Matt LaFleur and Jim Harbaugh of the Chargers were the two below Payton who retained their positions). Two of the three other coaches with B grades were also fired after the season: Baltimore’s John Harbaugh and Miami’s Mike McDaniel. Payton received an A-minus two years ago and a B last year; in 2025 that b placed him above just four coaches.
GENERAL MANAGER
Broncos grade: A
Rank: T-1
George Paton’s reputation around the league as a fair negotiator is well-known, and this ranking provides additional context. Eighteen of 32 general managers received a grade of A-minus or better. Only Giants general manager Joe Schoen failed to receive at least a C grade. Paton has successfully altered how the Broncos are perceived in contract negotiations during his years on the job.
TEAM OWNERSHIP
Broncos grade: A-plus
Rank: T-1
The Walton-Penner group and controlling owner Greg Penner sit in lofty company, joined by ownership in Baltimore, Minnesota and Washington. Twelve of 32 clubs received A or A-plus grades.
BRONCOS TOTAL GPA
With a total average of 3.55 if scored via a standard grade-point average system, the Broncos rank seventh in the NFL. Last year, its GPA was 2.88, but there were fewer categories, as the report card did not rank coordinators, general manager or the field quality.
But to show the potential impact of a new locker room, consider this: If the team maintains its grades in all other categories and improves to a B or an A in the locker-room metric, it would rank second, trailing only the Miami Dolphins.
Expect the Broncos to move up next year.