Matt Bowen’s take: Broncos could become the NFL’s best 22-personnel team

The Denver Broncos may have a clearer offseason target than most NFL teams: not a single roster move, but a formation identity. In an analysis by ESPN’s Matt Bowen, Denver is singled out as the team to watch if the league’s growing emphasis on 22 personnel turns into a true edge in 2026. The premise is simple. If an offense can make 22 a repeatable mismatch tool, it can control down-and-distance and force defenses into predictable run fits, while still keeping enough pass action attached to the concept.

22 personnel is an alignment built around power and short-yardage thinking, with two running backs (one as a fullback), two tight ends, and one wide receiver on the field. Bowen frames it as an “old school” idea that has survived because it is still effective when offenses are more versatile at the edges than they were decades ago. With today’s personnel and motion packages, the same base look can be used to generate play-side matchups in the running game, while also opening routes for the tight ends and motioning threats to stress coverage responsibility.

Bowen’s evaluation connects Denver’s possible rise to how the formation has been used around the league. He points to the Buffalo Bills as the team that ran 22 the most last season, doing so with the volume and run-blocking traits needed to make it work. He also points to the Miami Dolphins as the team that ran it the best, citing their ability to produce explosive rushing outcomes when the front dictates a box-based mindset. The overall logic is that success in 22 is not only about philosophical intent. It depends on having the personnel to run downhill and the matchup planning to keep the defense from settling into comfortable leverage.

In Bowen’s view, Denver is positioned to separate itself because it can run the base version of 22 while also adding wrinkles from the fullback and tight end group. The Broncos are discussed as using traditional 22 personnel to run the ball, with Bowen noting Denver’s use of a fullback element through Adam Prentice as part of the concept. Bowen’s argument is less about returning to a strict, one-dimensional goal-line set and more about how Denver could use the formation to create matchup advantages, then carry those advantages into other parts of the playbook.

The Broncos’ connection to this trend matters because it ties directly to how teams build offensive tempo and identity in today’s NFL. If Denver is able to make 22 a high-frequency package, it can improve the “surface area” of the run game, keeping linebackers and safeties aligned in ways that can be exploited. A team that controls that alignment rhythm also has a natural pathway to play-action and play-action derivatives, especially when defenses are forced to account for two tight ends and a backfield run threat at once.

There is, of course, a caveat to Bowen’s projection. Personnel usage is not only a coaching preference. It is also the product of practice execution, game-plan adjustment, and opponent-specific answers. 22 can look dominant in a matchup window, but defenses can also counter with sub-package tactics or leverage adjustments. So the “could” in Bowen’s headline is doing real work here.

For Denver, the offseason question becomes measurable: how often the Broncos choose the 22 front, how consistently they can secure the run on early downs, and whether they can attach credible passing concepts to the same package without losing efficiency. If those pieces line up, Denver’s formation choice could become more than a trend. It could become a reliable tool that shapes the team’s late-down decisions and helps set the tone at home and on the road.

Bowen’s broader point also reflects where the NFL’s offseason messaging is heading. Even as offenses chase speed and spacing, the most stable advantages often come from repeatable looks that produce predictable defensive responsibilities. If 22 is becoming a leaguewide language for controlling the box, the Broncos’ willingness and ability to speak it fluently could define how they compete in close games and how they manage long stretches without losing their identity.