Denver Broncos: Five potential trade options to improve Denver’s secondary

The Denver Broncos are 2-0, but they are not without issues. Historically a strength, the secondary is struggling. Here are five guys Denver could trade for…

It pains me to say this, but the Denver Broncos miss Aqib Talib. So far through two games, the Broncos secondary appears to be the weak spot on the defense, even after signing Adam “Pacman” Jones late in the preseason.

While Chris Harris has performed up to his always high expectations, Bradley Roby is struggling in his first season as a full-time starter and reserve corner Tremaine Brock Jr has been a big liability anytime he is on the field.

According to Pro Football Focus, Roby is the 85th ranked corner through two weeks with a 54.2 rating. Brock Jr hasn’t played enough snaps to be ranked, but his rating is even worse coming in at 49.5.

Moreover, the defensive strategy by Joe Woods has been suspect at best. There is a reason why Derek Carr set the completion percentage record for anyone attempting over 27 throws in a single game. More often than I would like to count, the Denver Broncos defensive backs were playing 10 or more yards off the ball.

Fortunately, the defense was able to hold the Raiders when it mattered most and was helped by a dropped pass on a fourth down attempt late in the game. Otherwise, the storyline would have been about how bad Denver’s pass defense actually was. Carr was taking what he was given and dropping 5-7 yard passes consistently while taking his shots where he found them.

This strategy by the Denver Broncos defense not only hurt the secondary but it allowed Carr to remain relatively unscathed throughout the game. The lone sack came from Von Miller, but otherwise, Carr was perfectly content throwing quick passes that gave the Broncos defensive line little to no time to get a good pass rush.

I was a big proponent of letting go of Talib at the time. I thought it was important to let Roby step up and start, but hindsight is always 20/20 and through two weeks, I’m worried. For reference, Talib is the 11th ranked corner according to Pro Football Focus with a 77.1 rating.

There is some potential help that Denver could target, and NFL teams are more willing to make in-season trades than they have been historically.

Here are five guys John Elway could look at targeting to shore up what was previously known as the “No Fly Zone”.

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