When the Broncos coaching staff and front office went through their 2024 postmortem in late January and early February, they arrived at a logical conclusion.

“I think our highest-graded position groups were probably offensive line and defensive line, the way they played,” general manager George Paton said last month at the NFL combine. “That really dictated the success we had this season.”

Those same position groups are the foundation from which much of the optimism around Denver’s 2025 outlook is built, too. There’s, of course, promising quarterback Bo Nix and the new free-agent additions on defense and at tight end and a talented edge group and many other factors, too.

At the root, though, this team is built from the line of scrimmage out and it’s set up to have remarkable continuity from 2024 to 2025.

In fact, with defensive tackle D.J. Jones retained on a three-year deal and swing tackle Matt Peart back on a two-year pact, the Broncos have one of the rarest retention rates in the NFL: 100%.

Every offensive and defensive lineman who played a single offensive or defensive snap in 2024 is on the roster currently.

“It’s one of the rarest things I’ve ever been a part of,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said after the season at the prospect of having his whole starting group plus key reserves back in 2025.

Paton, though, also gave a quick nod to the next part of Denver’s reality in touting the team’s sack differential.

“We were one of the best in the last 30 years. That’s pretty unique,” he said. “We went from 27th in sacks allowed to third, and then set the team record and (finished) first in the league in sacks. That’s what it’s all about.

“That’s why you just keep feeding those lines.”

Keep feeding those lines.

The Broncos did that by retaining their own in free agency.

They’d do well to continue trying to add fresh blood on draft weekend, too, perhaps as early as the first round.

For all the clarity going into 2025, there is cloudiness beyond. Denver’s in the top eight in the NFL in cap spending on the offensive and defensive lines for 2025. An extension for defensive lineman Zach Allen would drop the 2025 number some, but commit major cap resources for future years.

On the defensive line, John Franklin-Myers and Malcolm Roach are each entering the final years of their contracts. Same for center Luke Wattenberg on offense. Left guard Ben Powers has no guaranteed money left on his deal and McGlinchey’s got none beyond this year, according to OvertheCap data.

Of seven projected frontline starters besides Wattenberg (four offense, three defense), only Franklin-Myers, who signed a sweetheart two-year deal after getting traded from the New York Jets last spring, has an average annual value of less than $13 million. The four offensive lineman average $17.25 million per season and the defensive linemen $11.9 million — a number that will grow substantially if Allen signs an extension.

So while the Broncos have 2025 needs they’d love to address in the draft — running back and tight end among them — they’re also reaching the point where they can get back to doing what the teams with the healthiest rosters do: Attack the areas that are going to become needs a year or two in the future.

Picking at No. 20 is a crapshoot. The board could fall any number of ways. Denver could try to nip some of that by moving up if there’s a player who they feel strongly about who gets within striking distance.

But taking a defensive lineman there should be squarely on the table. A couple will probably be off the board. Michigan’s Mason Graham will be long gone. Perhaps it’s a stretch to think Texas A&M’s Shermar Stewart might still be available. But if he, Oregon’s Derrick Harmon or another disruptive player Denver likes — Ole Miss’ Walter Nolen, Michigan’s Kenneth Grant, Texas’ Alfred Collins and Ohio State’s Tyleik Williams are among the options — is still there, that’s a perfectly good route to go.

If they spend mid-round capital looking for young, athletic offensive linemen, that might not pay off immediately but is a good investment for the future.

Offensive skill players are fun and the Broncos need more. It’s a focus of the offseason and of the draft for good reason. Outside of upper-level quarterback play, however, perhaps the best way for good teams to remain good consistently is Paton’s advice: Keep feeding the lines.