Predicting which players the Denver Broncos will sign in free agency

1. Ja’Wuan James, OT, Miami Dolphins

The Denver Broncos have a desperate need at the right tackle position.

Last year, they traded for Jared Veldheer, who is now an unrestricted free agent. They tried, and failed, this offseason to sign Billy Turner.

The Broncos may be the team to make former first-round pick Ja’Wuan James the highest paid right tackle in the NFL, or at least up near the top.

The highest paid right tackle in the NFL today is Lane Johnson, making an average of $11.252 million per season. Could James eclipse that?

I’m not so sure, but some team might be willing to make him that kind of offer.

The Broncos are not at the point where they can scoff at paying guys what they are worth on the open market. The days of Peyton Manning helping lure free agents who were chasing titles in are dead and gone, so the Broncos have to pay market value just like everyone else.

At the tackle position, you usually get what you pay for.

I say usually because the Broncos signed a couple of busts to big contracts in Donald Stephenson and Menelik Watson. Those two players serve as reminders that the Broncos should not be looking to give big money to someone else’s ‘sixth man’ on the offensive line, either.

Sign a proven starter like James, and solidify the position for years to come.