Denver Broncos: Possible San Francisco 49ers trade targets
The Denver Broncos host the San Francisco 49ers for joint practices this week before their game on Monday. What players could John Elway target in a trade?
The Denver Broncos are preparing to play host to the San Francisco 49ers, not just for a routine preseason game but joint practices at the Broncos’ facility followed by a preseason game on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.
The Broncos and 49ers have plenty of familiarity with each other, on and off the field.
This preseason contest will mark the 40th time the Broncos and 49ers have faced off against each other in the exhibition season. The teams’ ties run deep.
San Francisco is led by general manager John Lynch, while the Broncos are led, of course, by John Elway. Both executives are Ring of Famers for the Denver Broncos, and soon, both will be Hall of Famers. Lynch is still waiting his turn.
Kyle Shanahan, the head coach of the 49ers, interviewed for the Broncos’ job in 2017 before they hired Vance Joseph. Vic Fangio, the head coach of the Broncos, was once defensive coordinator for the 49ers, not long ago. He interviewed for their head coaching vacancy in 2015 before they ultimately hired Jim Tomsula.
The Broncos’ new offensive coordinator, Rich Scangarello, also came over from San Francisco this past offseason.
The Broncos have also made a number of trades with the 49ers since John Elway became general manager of the team, including some trades since John Lynch became general manager of the team in 2017.
As a matter of fact, that year, the Broncos sent backup running back Kapri Bibbs to the 49ers for a draft choice. In 2019, the Broncos traded a fifth-round pick to the 49ers for linebacker Dekoda Watson.
Incidentally, the two teams may not be done trading. You never know.
These joint practices will provide both teams a great opportunity to scout fits for their rosters at positions of weakness. As I wrote on Wednesday, the Broncos have a number of areas on their roster they need to address.
With the team’s primary weaknesses in mind, as well as the understanding that the Broncos have pretty limited cap space at the moment, here are some players I could see John Elway trying to trade for in the coming weeks.