Denver Broncos: Make an offer for Minkah Fitzpatrick

The Denver Broncos need draft assets, but they need young foundational players more. They should undoubtedly make an offer for Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Minkah Fitzpatrick was a first-round pick of the Miami Dolphins just one year ago, and after a very good rookie season, he’s apparently on their “everything must go” list.

The Denver Broncos would be foolish not to make some kind of offer, including going as high as their second-round pick plus.

The Dolphins are rightly seeking first-round value for Fitzpatrick, and the Broncos have not been connected to the trade talks up to this point specifically. But John Elway would be kidding himself if he felt his roster was too set to add Fitzpatrick or that his 2020 draft picks were more valuable.

To a certain extent.

The Broncos at 0-2 are not in a great position to make a big trade. They are currently looking more likely to have a top 10 draft pick than not, although a lot can happen in the last 14 games of a season, in case you needed to be reminded of that.

So why should the Broncos give up a valuable draft pick (or two) to get a player like Minkah Fitzpatrick?

Thinking beyond 2020

The Broncos do not have Chris Harris under contract for 2020. They do not have Justin Simmons or Will Parks under contract for 2020.

The cupboard is not bare in the secondary beyond this season but the Broncos’ top 2020 corners if projecting right now will be Bryce Callahan (who is yet to play a game for Denver) and Isaac Yiadom, who has struggled to start off his second NFL season.

Fitzpatrick is a proven commodity

Fitzpatrick was a top-flight prospect coming out of Alabama and has proven his worth as a jack-of-all-trades in the secondary, playing safety and corner.

The Broncos could use him at outside corner, float him around, play him inside, play him in the box, or do whatever. He’s proven himself to be a very good chess piece for a defense and why would you not trade unproven commodities (draft picks) for proven ones?

In the market for a corner anyway

The Broncos are going to be in the market for corners next offseason. Is there any chance they will use one of their four top 100 picks on a corner or defensive back?

If the answer to that question is ‘yes’ then there’s no reason not to make an offer here. Fitzpatrick is a stud who has three seasons beyond 2019 on his contract.

Need a spark

The Broncos are in need of some kind of spark right now. The defense has been okay through a couple of games but nowhere near what everyone thought they were going to be with Vic Fangio calling the shots and their elite edge duo of Von Miller and Bradley Chubb.

The Broncos need some kind of a spark, and Fitzpatrick — one of the most passionate players you will see — could provide it.

Leadership

Coming out of the 2018 NFL Draft, Fitzpatrick was considered one of the highest character players in the entire class.

As a matter of fact, some said he was the most beloved player Nick Saban has ever had at Alabama.

When the Dolphins got Fitzpatrick, I felt like they got a culture establisher, meaning they got a player who is going to help them through these dark times. That apparently is not the plan of the front office but Fitzpatrick could certainly be that for the Broncos.

So what’s the offer?

If I were John Elway, I would offer the Dolphins a second-round pick this year and a second-round pick in 2021. The Dolphins are obviously just collecting draft picks at this point, and they want close to first-round value or first-round value for Fitzpatrick.

Since the Broncos can’t realistically offer their first-round pick this year or next year, they might be wise to offer up some day two picks for a guy who could be a cornerstone piece moving forward.