Strike 1: Today is a monumental day in the United States of America. At 2 p.m. Mountain Time, we reach the NFL Trade deadline.
Will the 5-4 Denver Broncos be buyers, sellers, or will they just “stand pat” after making a single trade the day before? What’s your vote?
The Broncos have already sent edge rusher Baron Browning to the Arizona Cardinals for a sixth-round draft pick. Other than that, the conventional thought is that Denver won’t do much else this year, more or less standing pat as the deadline passes. They’ll move forward with the roster they have, hoping to get 100% healthy, and to avoid any other major injuries as they continue to push for a postseason berth for the first time since 2015.
Is that the smartest thing to do?
At this point, the answer is yes, with an asterisk. They could and should trade third-string quarterback Zach Wilson and pick up another late round draft pick. The rumor mill says that’s possible. The clock ticks.
Other than that, the Broncos, who are still very much in the AFC playoff picture, don’t really have any other players to trade away (maybe tight end Greg Dulcich, but his trade value is uncertain) presumably to a contender who would give them draft picks in return. Denver isn’t looking to shed salary right now. Those are the kinds of moves that teams make when they’re out of the playoff picture. While the rebuilding Broncos could certainly use even more draft picks, being a contender at the moment should rule out any moves that cost them assets.
There are those who want them to be buyers at the deadline, to try to acquire a playmaking wide receiver to help out Bo Nix, but that would come at a cost Denver should not be willing to pay. They shouldn’t give up any more draft picks. And trade an active contributing player? Why would they ship out, say, Courtland Sutton for instance, and leave Nix with one fewer weapon for the stretch run?
Other than Dulcich, Wilson and a ton of Walmart money, Denver doesn’t really have anything they can afford to be without, stay in contention, and still keep the rebuilding process moving forward.
The Broncos are sitting right in the middle between buyer and seller. After what Broncos Country has been through the past nine seasons, that’s a big improvement. Next April Denver will have a first, second, third and fourth-round pick for the first time since way back in 2021. They should have a total of at least eight picks, including the seventh rounder they got back from the New York Jets in the Wilson trade. (Adding one more in exchange for Wilson would be a plus as well.)
After the season, the Broncos brain trust can evaluate if they want to keep players like Garett Boles and other would-be free agents. They can evaluate their salary cap situation again, and see if they can be players in that market too. The Russell Wilson financial handcuffs will have been loosened a bit. Mostly they can go back and evaluate the college players that will become available in the draft, and see how they can add to the roster without having to do very much subtraction.
That’s how you do a rebuild right.
Even after getting drilled by the Baltimore Ravens, this Broncos rebuild is ahead of schedule, and regardless of whether they end their postseason drought this year or not, things are on the right track. Trading away any assets at this point could only cause a derailment.
