Denver Broncos: Top 15 moves over the last three offseasons

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DENVER, CO – DECEMBER 10: Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas #88 of the Denver Broncos pumps up the crowd after scoring a first quarter touchdown against the New York Jets at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on December 10, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /

11. The Demaryius Thomas trade (2018)

Trading players who will go down as team legends is not always preferred or recommended, but the Denver Broncos did what they had to do in the case of Demaryius Thomas.

What’s crazy to think about is that this almost didn’t happen. If Case Keenum had been able to hit a wide-open Thomas in stride on a Monday Night game against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2018, the story here could have been significantly different.

The Broncos and Texans swapped seventh-round picks in the trade, but ultimately it ended up being Demaryius Thomas for a fourth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

That selection would go on to be used by the Broncos to move up with the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2019 NFL Draft to acquire the 42nd overall pick and select quarterback Drew Lock.

In a losing season, trading Demaryius Thomas to a contending team felt like insult to injury for Broncos fans, but he ended up getting hurt in the Texans’ playoff run and cut the following offseason before landing with the New England Patriots. The Patriots traded him to the New York Jets.

Now, Thomas is a free agent and Drew Lock is looking like the next franchise QB of the team.

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