It’s no secret that the secondary is one of the biggest issues the Broncos will have to address this offseason. Chris Harris Jr. is almost certainly gone and Denver has very little depth behind him. Also, with Davontae Harris and De’Vante Bausby becoming free agents as well, the Broncos could lose what little depth they do have.
One option the Broncos could consider to fill their need at the position is veteran Lions cornerback Darius Slay, who is on the trade block, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. However, Denver shouldn’t trade for Slay as Harris Jr. was better in 2019 and he’ll be cheaper in 2020, despite only being about two years older. If the Broncos don’t want to pay Harris Jr., it doesn’t really make sense to pay Slay.
Harris Jr.’s next contract should earn him somewhere between $10 million and $13 million a year for the next two or three years. Slay, on the other hand, is entering the final year of a five-year contract that will cost $13.37 million dollars in 2020 before entering free agency.
Also, the Broncos would have to give something to the Lions in order to get Slay. That should be a fairly cheap trade that shouldn’t cost more than a pick or two after the fourth round, but spending those picks on Slay limits Denver’s mobility and flexibility in regards to the draft. Right now the Broncos have the ammunition to trade up multiple times throughout the draft if they wanted to, but giving up a pick or two in return for Slay could prevent the Broncos from trading when they want to.
So, the Broncos could pay Harris Jr. approximately $12 million a year for his age 31, 32 and 33 seasons, they could trade draft capital to Detroit and pay Slay over $13 million for his age 29 season or they could do neither and save money at the position.
Now, whether or not you want to pay Harris Jr. is a fair debate, but why would you pay that premium for one year of Slay? It would only make sense if Denver feels so desperate at cornerback they need to add someone, but don’t want to make a long-term commitment, or if Slay was a drastically better player.
The problem with that is, Slay was arguably a worse player last season. According to Pro Football Focus, Harris Jr. (69.9 overall grade, 66.8 coverage grade) had the worst year of his career last season but he still outplayed Slay (56.4 overall grade, 56.9 coverage grade). Slay did allow a lower reception percentage (58.3% to Harris Jr.’s 69.1%) and passer rating (86.9 to Harris Jr.’s 109.4). Either way, at this point in their career, the two players are fairly comparable.
That leaves just one question unanswered. Just how desperate are the Broncos? Do they feel confident enough in Bryce Callahan, Isaac Yiadom and Duke Dawson that they can bank on addressing the position through cheaper free agents or the draft? They should, considering the depth at the position in both phases of the 2020 offseason and the amount of capital the Broncos have to address the holes on their roster.
