Hall of Fame cornerback Champ Bailey believes his two former teams, the Washington Commanders and Denver Broncos, are mirror images of each other.
Both franchises had surprising seasons led by standout rookie quarterbacks, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix. Both quarterbacks are the favorites to win Offensive Rookie of the Year and ended long droughts for their respective teams.
Daniels ended the Commanders’ 19-year drought of winning a playoff game while Nix ended the Broncos’ nine-year drought for making it to the playoffs.
“ I feel like these two franchises are kind of mirror images of each other at this point,” Bailey told The Sports Daily in an exclusive interview. “You have fresh ownership. You have a fresh head coach, so you have all these pieces that have come together very fast. But again, what’s the deciding factor on what winning and losing looks like? It’s that quarterback, man. You figure that part out, you’re great.”
Each franchise is clearly on the fast path to success, led by veteran head coaches in the Broncos’ Sean Payton and the Commanders’ Dan Quinn.
The Broncos achieved a 10-7 record despite lacking offensive star power outside of Nix and Courtland Sutton. In fact, the Broncos didn’t have a single offensive starter — Marvin Mims was voted in as a specialist — named to the Pro Bowl. Pro Football Focus graded Denver as having the least-talented roster in the NFL before the start of the season.
Meanwhile, the Commanders had an even better season, going 12-5 and advancing to the NFC Championship Game.
Bailey — who spent the final 10 years of his career in Denver and played in Super Bowl XLVIII — says the key difference between the Broncos and Commanders is that Denver has a better defense. He believes that the Broncos are built to win “faster and longer” than the Commanders due to their defensive unit.
”I think the difference between the Broncos and the Commanders is the Broncos have some stars on their defense,” says Bailey. “I think you have some emerging stars on the Commanders’ defense. But when you look at the Broncos, I feel like they’re more built to win faster and longer because they have the defense figured out, they have the quarterback figured out. Now it’s just adding more weapons around the quarterback, which is probably a little easier to do than it is to build a great defense.”
Bailey: Broncos Need More Offensive Explosiveness Beyond Courtland Sutton
The Broncos have an established young star on defense in three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro selection, Patrick Surtain. Surtain is arguably the best cornerback in the NFL at the age of 24. Meanwhile, Denver also has an emerging pass-rushing star in Nik Bonnito, who clinched a Pro Bowl berth and an All-Pro selection by posting 13.5 sacks in 2024, the third-highest total in the league.
Denver ranked third in points allowed per game while ranking 10th on offense in points scored per game. However, outside of Courtland Sutton, Nix really doesn’t have established offensive weapons. While Sutton posted over 1,000 yards receiving, Mims was his second-best weapon at 503 receiving yards.
”Yeah,” says Bailey when asked if the Broncos need to add more weapons. “Sean Payton’s always used multiple backs and I always felt like all season that he never tipped his hand on who his favorite was. It’s OK to have a bevy of backs but none of those guys were going to break a big one the way you see Saquon Barkley or some of those guys.”
The Broncos relied on a running back by committee approach, going through a carousel of backs in Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime.
Although Williams was technically the starter, McLaughlin rushed for 496 yards to the former’s 513 rushing yards. Estime also saw more carries as the season progressed, finishing the year with 310 rushing yards.
“You either have that on the outside in abundance or in the backfield or both,” explains Bailey. “You see that with the teams that are still left, they have some explosiveness across the board and that’s where they got to get better and just get some more explosive players on offense.”
Sutton has been the team’s leading receiver in four of the past six years, clinching a Pro Bowl berth in 2019. Bailey mentions giving Sutton some help at the receiver position could help the Broncos improve tremendously.
“ Sutton has been surprisingly great at this point in his career,” says Bailey. “That’s the No. 1 guy, but I know he’s dying for more help, give him a chance to win the championship. Just looking forward to seeing them add some more weapons around.”
Bringing in that extra playmaker could lift the Broncos to that next level where the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills are at.
”That’s what it takes,” says Bailey. “KC is back in the Super Bowl, and if you pay attention to those matchups against KC, they’re always giving them hell. It’s not like they’re not close. They’re very close. It’s just there’s a couple big plays here and there that they need to add to this offense.”
Bailey singles out Mims’ play at the end of the season and mentions he could be “the guy” next to Sutton.
“I loved what Mims did later in the season,” says Bailey. “They finally got him going. I think they need to feature him more. He could be the guy. I do think from a running back perspective, they have to get more production out of that position.”
Champ Bailey Speaks on Trulieve Partnership and Cannabis Use
The 46-year-old is speaking on behalf of his partnership with Trulieve, the world’s largest Cannabis retailer.
Bailey serves as a Community Outreach Liaison at Trulieve and has been with the company since 2021. The Broncos and Commanders great aims to create more awareness about the benefits of cannabis, especially in regions such as Georgia — Bailey attended high school and college in the state — where there are still strict policies in place when it comes to using cannabis.
Bailey says he started using cannabis for the first time during his NFL career as an adult.
”It helped me calm my mind, my body,” says Bailey. “It kept me from going down the road of addiction if it was any other substance. It was perfect for me. It fit my lifestyle and I saw it work for others. I was a pro before I ever took part in it. Where I’m from, you just don’t do that if you want to go on to achieve your dreams. That’s just what was ingrained in us. For me, it was just once I got to it, it was like, ‘Oh, this is what’s been missing.'”
Bailey credits cannabis for prolonging his playing career. The seven-time All-Pro and 12-time Pro Bowl selection played 15 years in the NFL.
”I got to give it a lot of credit for prolonging my career,” says Bailey. “It really did keep my mind fresh and keep my mind calm and keep me focused on what was important. It’s really that simple. That’s how it worked for me. I saw it work for others and I never saw anything negative come from it unless it was somebody getting punished for it.”
The Hall of Fame cornerback is proud to see the strides made in pro leagues embracing the use of cannabis, with the NFL reducing fines and now increasing the THC limit for drug tests.
“We all know that was a waste of waste of resources to punish people for using it back then,” says Bailey. “Here we are now — we’ve gained some ground. The league has kind of changed a lot since then and they’re not trying to test people positive anymore. And I agree with that.”
