It’s no secret that the Denver Broncos haven’t had much luck in the draft over the last few years.
Since John Elway took over the drafting duties in 2011, he’s picked several players that have gone on to have success in the NFL. The only problem is that he hasn’t been able to retain enough of them.
There are many blueprints for building a championship contender, and recently Elway’s has been to build through free agency. That eventually becomes a problem when that money becomes tied up in free agents who deserve the big payday, but there isn’t any young, drafted talent that they can immediately plug into the holes on their roster.
This is a similar situation to the ones that the Broncos are currently finding themselves in. They have a few sustainable pieces from their Super Bowl 50 team, but they are extremely weak at certain positions because they haven’t either been able to draft or sign a quality free agent with the money that they’ve been able to spend.
Case in point? The Broncos’ ongoing search for a third wide receiver. They selected wide receivers Carlos Henderson and Isaiah McKenzie in the 2017 NFL draft to hopefully take over that role, but after tough rookie seasons and an offseason that saw two of the players that filled that role last season — former second-round pick Cody Latimer and Bennie Fowler — hit the road, they’re rather weak at the position once again.
While either Jordan Taylor, McKenzie or Henderson could emerge as a potential option, signing a free agent might be one of the best moves they could make heading into the 2018 season.
One of the smartest moves they could make would be to bring back Eric Decker.
Decker is coming off a season with the Tennessee Titans in which he caught 54 passes for 563 yards and one touchdown in 16 games. While those are nowhere near the numbers he put up when he was a member of the Broncos or the New York Jets, a trusty set of hands from a veteran receiver that they know can produce wouldn’t be a bad guy to have in their back pocket.
After the season he just had, combined with the thought of him coming back ‘home’, it’s not a wild idea to think that the Broncos could nab him at a fair price.
Decker’s role would obviously be significantly different if he returned for a rendezvous in orange and blue. The Broncos already have a solid one-two punch in Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. After signing a guy they know can spin the football in Case Keenum, one of the few holes remaining in the passing game could be plugged by bringing Decker back to the Mile High City.
Both Sanders and Thomas have made it clear that they’re in favor of the idea as well.
https://twitter.com/DemaryiusT/status/982078865437745152
Decker would have to be available at the right price, of course — the Broncos have had to dump Pro Bowlers’ salaries in each of the last two seasons for salary cap purposes — but if the price is right, Decker would be a wise investment; a plug-and-play option for the Broncos with almost no risk.
Plus, Sanders is probably right; signing Decker would play well with the rowdy members of “Broncos Country”, to boot — a little good will never hurt anyone.