The Denver Broncos stood pat for two straight seasons at the NFL Trade Deadline, and there’s a good reason for it — Sean Payton is looking to build the Broncos roster and the foundation of a team he believes can compete.
Denver Broncos approach to trade deadline touches on where they are at
The NFL Trade Deadline was a hot topic surrounding the Denver Broncos over the course of the last two weeks, and with the deadline passing this past Tuesday, Denver stood pat for the second year in a row. Broncos head coach Sean Payton had every reason last year to sell, but he stood pat, seeing the forest through the trees when it came to some of the younger pieces on the roster.
This year, the Broncos are a much younger team and have several key veterans, but Denver’s most pressing need in-season, if we can analyze it, is the lack of playmakers on offense, particularly at the tight end position. Broncos fans threw out names like Evan Engram and David Njoku, but the reality is this — those teams weren’t interested in offsetting those players.
With Courtland Sutton contributing as the most consistent wide receiver for rookie quarterback Bo Nix, Broncos fans also wanted Denver to go out and trade for a wide receiver. But what options were available? Tee Higgins of the Cincinnati Bengals was mentioned as a player fans wanted, but let’s put things under the microscope. Higgins is ultra-talented, but he’s been injured. He’s also in the final year of his current deal and is set to hit free agency, where the Bengals are going to have to decide on him or Ja’Marr Chase for the franchise tag. Even if Denver wanted to trade for Higgins, they’d have to part with premier draft capital and would have also had to negotiate a long-term extension with him.
What teams made moves by the deadline? Mostly, it’s the teams that are in the conversation of being Super Bowl contenders. The Buffalo Bills added Amari Cooper, Kansas City added DeAndre Hopkins, the Steelers added Mike Williams, and another pass rusher in Preston Smith. Aside from that, nobody else made any big moves inside the AFC.
The Broncos are not one player away from being a Super Bowl contender, but they are in a position to become a playoff contender, and they’re currently one as it stands today. Payton’s approach is the smarter one for the short and long-term aspects of this team, especially with free agency approaching in March and having draft capital to add more young talent in April.
“I like this group and then it’s just a matter of who’s… We weren’t considering giving up a second or, in other words, I think a lot of it is ‘who.’ The NFL train, I talk about it all the time,” Payton said. “We don’t know who’s driving it yet, but we listen to it, that’s fine. When you really look at it closely. The phone rings, we pick up and yet we have to look at it in the eyes of what’s best for our team. We didn’t feel like… I don’t think we even got close to discussing someone seriously. Some teams will have a player that’s available—well that’s different—they’re available in their price range. But hey. We’re focused on this team.”
Payton loves the roster he has, and there are a lot of pieces he’s excited about seeing develop more, including rookie quarterback Bo Nix, wide receivers Troy Franklin and Devaughn Vele, running back Audric Estime, offensive tackle Alex Palczewski, tight end Lucas Krull and a handful of other players. In other words, Payton is focused on this roster and will continue to assemble it alongside general manager George Paton, which ensures a foundation to compete gets set going forward.
One of the only moves Denver made before the deadline was trading outside linebacker Baron Browning to the Arizona Cardinals, giving him a chance to go elsewhere.
“Well in fairness to [OLB] Baron [Browning] even, we had a long talk, and just the contract year, the amount of snaps—he can get more snaps,” Payton said. “It’s the puzzle of trying to look outwards too and certainly he’s been a part of what we’ve been doing. So it’s never easy to trade someone, and yet I thought just in our visit, [General Manger] George [Paton] and I and Baron sitting down he totally understood. He was looking forward to getting more snaps and certainly in the year for him it’s important.”
Denver moved forward with Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto as their starters off the edge, with depth pieces like Jonah Elliss, Dondrea Tillman, and Drew Sanders behind them. Payton and the front office rewarded Cooper with a four-year contract extension.
“I’m excited for him,” Payton said. “He’s tough, he’s competitive. I think he’s a really good teammate. We have a lot of these guys that are. You know exactly the physicality you’re getting with a player. Well, you guys know him, so he certainly deserved it.”
