Top Broncos of 2026 | No. 15: Riley Moss | The Contract-Year Challenge

Top Broncos of 2026 | No. 15: Riley Moss | The Contract-Year Challenge

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No cornerback in the NFL was targeted more than Riley Moss was last season. His 114 targets led all cornerbacks.

There were a couple of reasons for that. 1.) Moss starts on the boundary opposite the best cornerback in football, Patrick Surtain II, so quarterbacks look his way a lot. 2.) Quarterbacks went after Moss with a higher expectation of drawing a big penalty than a big play.

Moss's 12 penalties were tied with two others for the most among NFL cornerbacks last season. However, Moss resolved to clean up his 'grabiness' during the Broncos' Week 12 bye, and he eliminated the penalties down the stretch. That lasted through Denver's playoff run.

Moss now enters a contract year with a lot on the line. As we continue counting down the top 25 Broncos of 2026, we arrive at our No. 15 player.

Let's break down why Moss ranks so high by rewinding to get a glimpse of his background and looking ahead at what his 2026 outlook might be.

Background

Moss starred at the University of Iowa. The Broncos traded up to draft him in the third round in 2023, making him one of the first selections of the Sean Payton regime.

Moss dealt with the lingering effects of a college injury as a rookie, but he still appeared in 14 games. Entering Year 2, though, he made his major play for a starting job, and he succeeded.

The Broncos rolled out Surtain and Moss as their starting boundary corners in 2024, and it immediately paid dividends for the defense. Moss proved he could hang, even though his penchant for the flag was an early hallmark of his game.

Moss's reliable presence also helped Surtain take a huge leap forward, resulting in him winning the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2024. In Week 5 of that season, Moss picked off Gardner Minshew for his first career interception — something the NFL hadn't seen from a white cornerback since Jason Sehorn in 2002.

Moss did deal with an injury in 2024, missing three starts. All in, he started 14 of 17 games, finishing with 86 tackles (65 solo), a forced fumble, an interception, and eight passes defensed.

In 2025, Moss started all 17 games for the Broncos, again hitting the 80-tackle mark. His prolific production as a tackler showcases how present he is in run support. Moss handles his perimeter with authority.

Again, Moss was targeted 114 times, but he only allowed 65 receptions, according to Pro Football Focus. He was targeted a lot, but his completion percentage allowed was 57%, which was extremely low among NFL cornerbacks who saw high-volume action.

Moss broke up an eye-popping 19 passes in 2025. He also notched the second interception of his career.

In 2025, the Broncos' passing defense skyrocketed from its 19th ranking in the NFL the year prior to No. 7. Moss was a big reason for that. No NFL corner had a tougher remit than him, but he still answered the bell.

When Surtain was lost to a pectoral injury for three weeks, Moss rotated over to the No. 1 cornerback slot. The Broncos' defense didn't skip a beat; Moss is the real deal.

Outlook

The Broncos love Moss. He leads by example and his fiery attitude is infectious on that defense.

Moss is one of the NFL's best No. 2 cornerbacks. If he had hit the free-agent market this offseason, many projected he would have received offers in the $20 million-per-year range.

Considering the Broncos are paying Surtain top dollar at the position, it might be hard to justify another $20M-plus expenditure on Moss, but at the same time, this secondary has something special going on. It wouldn't be a surprise if the Broncos make short work of getting Moss extended not long after the veterans report for training camp on July 28.

Jahdae Barron is still waiting in the wings, though. And the Broncos drafted him in the first round for a reason. With Moss on the boundary and Ja'Quan McMillian in the slot, Barron struggled to get a snap in edgewise as a rookie.

During Surtain's aforementioned three-game absence, though, the Broncos split the No. 2 boundary corner role between Barron and Kris Abrams-Draine, with Moss at the No. 1 and McMillian in the slot, and the rookie more than held his own. The Broncos also used Barron as a tight end neutralizer at times, assigning him one-on-one coverage in critical situations to take away the position.

Moss enters Year 4 at 26 years old — just hitting his prime. The only fly in the ointment for him was the penalty issue, but after the bye last season, he significantly minimized that as a feature of his game.

The Broncos might want to wait and see whether the new leaf Moss turned over is permanent. Instead of extending him in August, perhaps the Broncos wait until their Week 10 bye to see what's what.

The Takeaway

Moss's heart is undeniable. In each of his two seasons as a starter, he's finished third on the team in tackles. It's rare for a boundary cornerback to have that much tackle production, but it comes from his selfless team-first attitude and his physical nose for football.

No cornerback can be perfect, but if Moss can prove that his penalty woes are a thing of the past and if he can also improve his ball production from a takeaway perspective, it'll be a no-brainer to re-sign him. It would mean that Barron would still have to bide his time, especially because McMillian is also entering a contract year, but the best players have to play — regardless of draft pedigree.

Bo Nix's extension is likely coming in 2027, and while the sticker-shock value of that projected deal would knock almost anyone's socks off, the bulk of the salary-cap ramifications would still be a couple of years out once he finishes his rookie contract, assuming the Broncos exercise the quarterback's fifth-year option next offseason.

That additional window could buy the Broncos time to continue investing around Nix, on both sides of the ball, and keep the championship window wide open. If that's the view from the top-level offices at Broncos HQ, Moss could be in store for an extension, especially if he's willing to approach negotiations from a team-friendly standpoint.

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Chad Jensen is the Publisher of Denver Broncos On SI, the Founder of Mile High Huddle, and creator of the popular Mile High Huddle Podcast. Chad has been on the Denver Broncos beat since 2012 and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.