Strike 1: Now is the time to go for it.
Ever since Sean Payton arrived at Dove Valley to revive the Denver Broncos franchise, we’ve heard two things. First, the goal was always going to be the Super Bowl. Just like the Mike Shanahan days. Super Bowl or bust. That’s the goal, and that’s the standard.
Second, we’ve heard – and have had no problem believing – that the rebuild wasn’t going to be immediate, but rather it was going to take a few drafts to get the roster up to championship level. That was fine too.
That was then, but not now.
Not after Denver’s improbable road win over the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. This win changes things. This is the NFL, where you can be building for tomorrow, but where today is all that really matters. And as of today, the way things stand at this moment, the Broncos have a shot.
It’s time to hit the accelerator. That means start exploring a way to improve the roster via the only real option you still have for the 2025 season: The trade market.
The NFL trade deadline is approaching. Tuesday Nov. 4 is the last day Denver can address two very important needs that still exist, even after they spent big money over the offseason. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw and tight end Evan Engram had extensive injury histories and lingering questions when the Broncos gave them a combined $72 plus million as free agents during the offseason. Greenlaw has yet to see the field after injuring a quad muscle before the regular season began, while Engram has been MIA much of the time before catching his first TD pass as a Broncos in the win in Philly. If both were healthy – and could stay that way, then Denver’s issues covering receivers with a linebacker, and being able to make the tight end position something other teams had to game plan for, would already have been answered. But that’s not the case. Clearly Greenlaw, who remains on short-term injured reserve and is supposed to be back for game seven at home against the New York Giants, and Engram, who has already missed two games and been limited in another, can’t be counted on for a deep playoff push. Not their fault, but that’s just the reality.
Even after the exciting come-from-behind win over the defending Super Bowl champs, most in Broncos Country who have watched every game will agree: The Broncos are not a finished product. And the Denver front office can’t sit on their hands for the rest of this season and wait until next spring to add valuable pieces to a roster that’s already this close.
The Broncos should be aggressively looking to make a trade, or even two, before the deadline, that could bolster these areas of continuing concern. Now is the time to be ‘buyers” at the deadline.
Denver does have good players at those positions, but certainly not enough depth. There was a time when linebacker Alex Singleton was a tackling machine. That was before a knee injury knocked him out for all of last season. History tells us that a player coming back from his kind of injury takes a full season to return to his previous form. And so far, that’s been the case, because Singleton’s issue in pass defense has been obvious, and he hasn’t been close to what he was before his injury. And regardless of the injury status of Engram, the Broncos are still thin at the tight end position.
Smart trades could bring back a linebacker who can cover pass catchers and a tight end who can block and catch, and stay on the field. One team that’s a potential “seller” at the deadline happens to be the place Payton coached for 15 years – New Orleans. If the Saints are looking at a long term rebuild, why not go after a couple of their veterans and invest in players that Payton already knows pretty well? Perhaps the Saints could be persuaded to part with tight end Juwan Johnson for example?
There will be other sellers, too. Denver needs to start kicking tires sooner rather than later. This is not a season to wait, or waste.
