The last time Ryan O’Halloran covered a football game in Denver, the Broncos were a 27-point favorite against the Jacksonville Jaguars in October 2013.

Now, the Jaguars are winning and the Broncos are trying to return to their past glory. And O’Halloran will be there every step of the way to cover the Broncos for The Denver Post. O’Halloran comes to Denver from the Florida Times-Union, where he covered the Jaguars as the lead beat reporter for the paper since 2012.

He has won national Associated Press Sports Editor’s awards for his beat coverage two of the past three years.

This will be O’Halloran’s 15th season covering the NFL, including eight years on the Washington Redskins’ beat, most of that time with The Washington Times.

“What an opportunity the Post has offered me,” he said. “For as long as I have covered the NFL, its Broncos coverage has been one of the standards to follow.”

O’Halloran will be returning closer to his roots. He is a native of West Fargo, North Dakota and graduated from Kansas State University. Upon graduation, he worked for the Glens Falls Post-Star and Newport News Daily Press before joining the Washington Times staff.

“Sure, we’ll be on top of the news, but we’ll tell great stories and provide insight on a daily basis, too” O’Halloran said. “Some of my most well received stories included breaking down one play from the view of a half-dozen sources or telling about the life of a player who previously was unknown to readers and fans.”

As for the Broncos, he knows they have some work to do. “My first bold prediction? We won’t see that kind of point spread this year,” he said. (The Broncos won that 2013 game against Jacksonville, 35-19, by the way.)

His first day on the beat will be May 16. Follow him on Twitter at @ryanohalloran.