Denver Broncos: Possible trade targets in action on Friday

The Denver Broncos will be scouting the rest of the league during Friday night’s preseason action. Which players might be trade targets?

Whether they’re scouring the waiver wire, free agency, or the trade block, the Denver Broncos and general manager John Elway are always looking for ways to improve the team.

The Broncos’ potential needs are slowly coming to light as the season approaches, but are any of them major enough to address via trade?

Might the Broncos simply be interested in taking a shot on a player they once scouted and liked?

Is there someone coming off of an injury whose team might be sleeping on them?

There are so many reasons why you might trade for a player at this juncture of the preseason, and sometimes you can find real bargains by buying low when players are maybe struggling in camp or something like that.

It’s not that you want to pick up guys off of the trash heap, but the Broncos — like any team — understand they won’t get every single player they want via waivers, and if the opportunity comes up to make a trade and snatch a player for a low price before players are subject to the waiver process, they might just take it.

With a bunch of preseason action on Friday, it’s a good opportunity to scout talent across the league and see which players might be a fit for Denver.

Here are some free agent options the Broncos could take a look at as well.

We also wrote about some players on the Broncos’ roster that might be of interest to other teams (or that the Broncos would be interested in getting rid of…)

Here are some players in action on Friday night that might interest the Broncos.

Tony Lippett, CB, Miami Dolphins

In 2016, Tony Lippett had a pair of interceptions in two different games, and while Vance Joseph’s lone season as the team’s defensive coordinator wasn’t wildly successful, Lippett had some success under Joseph before he became the head coach of the Denver Broncos.

Lippett is a former wide receiver from Michigan State coming off of an Achilles injury who has excellent height at 6-foot-3, but so far, he’s been slow to get back from that injury and up to full speed.

This would be a bit of a risky move for Denver, but an intriguing shot on a guy in a contract year.

Vernon Butler, DL, Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers took Butler in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft, and he’s stuck behind Dontari Poe and Kawann Short on the depth chart right now.

They might not be in a hurry to get rid of him, but Butler has been injury prone and the Broncos seem to love collecting defensive linemen. He could thrive under Bill Kollar.

The Broncos’ defensive line depth is ridiculous right now, so Butler is a far off option, but if an injury or two happens, he could be a player to watch.

Nate Orchard, DE/OLB, Cleveland Browns

The Broncos have an affinity for former Utah Utes players, and Orchard is perhaps set to be an odd man out in Cleveland on their defensive line.

He also might be miscast as a defensive end. He should probably be playing outside linebacker.

Again, this one might be a ‘break glass in case of emergency’ type of move, as the Broncos’ depth at outside linebacker is phenomenal.

P.J. Williams, CB, New Orleans Saints

The Saints are pretty deep at cornerback, and while giving up on Williams might be tough for them, they could possibly find some common ground on a deal with the Broncos if there’s a player on Denver’s roster they’re interested in.

The Broncos could be looking for some depth in the secondary and he was a really talented prospect coming out of Florida State.