The Denver Broncos have work to do in the 2021 offseason under new general manager George Paton.
Paton has some critical areas of the roster as it is to address before the Broncos get the chance to look into the 2021 NFL free agency crop, but that’s not going to prevent us from taking a look at some wish-list players for the team given their current needs.
Those needs obviously include the cornerback position (where AJ Bouye is not expected to return in 2021), linebacker, safety, and possibly defensive line and edge rusher. Offensively, the Denver Broncos could also seek out free agent quarterbacks.
The team will have to make decisions on prominent in-house free agents like safety Justin Simmons and defensive lineman Shelby Harris among others, but there should be enough cap space to make another couple of impact moves through free agency even if both of those guys are re-signed.
Focusing entirely on the defensive side of the ball, here are a few players to keep an eye on as free agency approaches.
Denver Broncos 2021 free agent wish list: Michael Davis, CB, Chargers
Filling positions of need is good, but stealing from division rivals makes it all the more enjoyable.
Over the past four seasons, Michael Davis has steadily and quietly developed into a very solid starting outside cornerback in the NFL.
Excelling in zone coverage, Davis has 31 pass breakups over the past three seasons along with five interceptions in his last two. He has also proven himself to be a strong tackler with 171 career tackles to his name.
Davis also just turned 26 in early January and at that age, is a player worth investing a long-term contract in. That will be a theme you notice throughout this post — getting players who have developed well and are young enough to warrant a long-term contract.
The Broncos are not exactly in the “win now” mode to be able to sign veteran guys to short-term contract and try to ring chase. The smarter play would be to go after younger guys who could excel for potentially even two contracts with the team.
Michael Davis has the zone coverage abilities and ball skills to be able to be an impactful starting outside corner in Vic Fangio’s defense. Making a move like this would push Bryce Callahan back into the nickel role for the 2021 season and potentially beyond if he’s able to stay healthy and earn another contract with the Broncos.
Denver Broncos 2021 FA wish list: Leonard Williams, DL, Giants
Leonard Williams was one of my top free agent targets for the Denver Broncos in the 2020 offseason as well.
He still doesn’t have a long-term deal with the New York Giants after being franchise tagged in 2020, so the idea of bringing him to Denver is once again at the very least not impossible.
The only issue is, Williams’ value has now skyrocketed and it will undoubtedly require premium free agent dollars to acquire him. Do the Denver Broncos have that in their budget?
We know that general manager George Paton emphasized the importance of building in the trenches on both sides of the football. The Broncos’ offensive line appears to be pretty well set for the foreseeable future, and the entire offensive side of the ball is under team control for a good amount of time yet.
Leonard Williams will turn 27 years old in June, and he’s been playing at a very high level both against the run and as a pass rusher since he came into the league.
If the Giants fear they might lose him to free agency, they may very well slap him with the franchise tag for a second consecutive season. He had a bonkers year in terms of productivity with 57 total tackles, 30 quarterback hits, 14 tackles for loss, and 11.5 sacks.
Imagine that kind of production in the Vic Fangio defense.
This move would be similar in terms of impact to when the Chicago Bears signed Akiem Hicks to play in Fangio’s defense in 2016 and he helped take that defense to another level.
The Giants, by no means, should be letting Williams go if they can help it. If he hits free agency, however, the Denver Broncos should try to make a competitive offer and land him over the other teams in the income tax-free states.
Denver Broncos 2021 FA wish list: Desmond King, DB, Titans
The recent Iowa Hawkeyes flavor on the Denver Broncos’ roster has been a thrill, to be certain.
The team used a fourth-round pick on Josey Jewell in 2018, a first-rounder on Noah Fant in 2019, and then a third-round pick on Michael Ojemudia in 2020.
The Broncos might not be done adding Hawkeyes to the roster and one player who could be a fit for Vic Fangio’s defense is nickel defensive back Desmond King.
King was traded by the Chargers to the Titans in 2020 which came as somewhat of a surprise considering King was an All-Pro (as a return specialist) in 2018.
Even though King has been tremendous as a returner and his play as a defensive back has not matched his 2017 and 2018 tape, the potential is still there for him to be a very effective nickel defensive back and especially in Vic Fangio’s defense.
King has proven ball production early in his career and perhaps some renewed stability with a new team and defensive scheme would do wonders for him.
I love this as a potential low risk move for the Broncos.
Denver Broncos 2021 FA wish list: Chidobe Awuzie, CB, Cowboys
There is no doubt that the Denver Broncos have a need at the cornerback position heading into the 2021 offseason.
One thing that is always intriguing with prospective free agents is to look at guys who may have had a year or two of ‘splash’ play at a previous location but maybe some injury issues or inconsistency issues that can be cleaned up with better coaching, scheme stability, or experience.
Chidobe Awuzie showed some really nice ball production from the cornerback position in 2018 and 2019 when he racked up 25 total pass breakups and two interceptions, but he was also a strong tackler with 150 stops in those two seasons.
In 2020, Awuzie was limited to just eight games, but the upside and potential remain with this player who is just 25 going on 26 in 2021.
Awuzie is also a former Colorado Buffalo whose combination of size (6-0, 202 pounds), athleticism (4.43 in the 40-yard dash, 6.81 three-cone), and reactive quickness could make him a candidate to truly break out in the Vic Fangio defense.
If the price is reasonable here, this is a young player who might be worthy of the Denver Broncos’ investment.
Denver Broncos 2021 FA wish list: Matt Milano, LB, Bills
The Denver Broncos have struggled to find the winning formula at the off-ball linebacker position since they won Super Bowl 50 with the elite duo of Danny Trevathan and Brandon Marshall.
This past season, Alexander Johnson and Josey Jewell proved to be a fairly formidable duo for Vic Fangio’s defense, but neither player is especially great when it comes to coverage abilities.
That’s one major reason why the Denver Broncos prioritized Justin Strnad in the 2020 NFL Draft. Before his injury, Strnad was poised for a big role with the Broncos last season. He should not be forgotten, but the Broncos might also look to free agency to fill that need.
One of the top coverage linebackers in the NFL today is Buffalo’s Matt Milano, a fifth-round selection out of Boston College in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Milano has actually developed into quite the three-down linebacker for the Bills, showing off his ability not only in coverage but also as a pass rusher with 25 career quarterback hits.
Signing a player like Milano would mean moving one of the 2020 starters into a reserve role, likely Josey Jewell, but could pay dividends for the Broncos .
Denver Broncos 2021 FA wish list: John Johnson, S, Rams
The Denver Broncos’ secondary was decimated by injuries in 2020, although not at the safety position.
Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson played 100 percent of the team’s snaps in 2020, but only Jackson is under contract.
The Broncos obviously want to keep Simmons in the fold and hopefully Simmons will be able to stay, but if Simmons stays, does that mean Jackson will have to go?
That’s a tough decision the Broncos will have to at least talk about because Jackson’s cap hit could prevent the team from making other long-term investments.
One such long-term investment that might be worth moving on from Jackson is bringing in Rams safety John Johnson, a former college teammate of Justin Simmons who has been a stud with the Rams.
Johnson has 350 career tackles and eight career interceptions, and getting into the same defensive backfield with Simmons would be a lot of fun to see for Broncos fans.
It is also worth noting that Johnson is coming off of a tremendous season with Brandon Staley as his defensive coordinator. The former Vic Fangio protege (now the head coach of the Chargers) obviously ran a similar defense to what the Broncos run if not a carbon copy with his own flair mixed in.
Since Staley moved on from the Rams, Johnson could see the fit in Denver in a similar defensive scheme next to his pal Justin Simmons and the two could give the Broncos the distinction of best safety tandem in the NFL for years to come.
Denver Broncos 2021 FA wish list: Jayon Brown, LB, Titans
The fact that two former fifth-round draft choices are on a potential “wish list” of 2021 free agents should give Denver Broncos fans some hope about former fifth-round pick Justin Strnad.
Believing in Strnad’s development is not a fool’s errand, but the Broncos might have the opportunity to upgrade the linebacker position immediately if the price is right.
In addition to Buffalo’s Matt Milano, a possible upgrade available in 2021 is Tennessee’s Jayon Brown, who — like Milano — has proven himself to be a tremendous coverage linebacker in his four NFL seasons.
Brown has 26 career pass breakups and 16 of those have come in the last two seasons. In the 2018 campaign, he also showed what kind of weapon he can be as a blitzer with six sacks and 10 quarterback hits.
Brown played in just 10 games this past season, so perhaps the Broncos would be able to get him at a slightly reduced cost. With that said, the fact that he only played in 10 games this season makes his eight pass breakups all the more impressive.
Denver Broncos 2021 FA wish list: Mackensie Alexander, CB, Bengals
Other than safety Anthony Harris, who is 29 and likely looking for the biggest contract of his life, there are not many 2021 free agents from the Minnesota Vikings that could “reunite” with George Paton.
There will be some cap casualties, no doubt, but there are also players who are former draft selections of Paton’s in Minnesota who could be of interest to the Denver Broncos.
One player that could come in as a potential slot cornerback is former second-round draft choice Mackensie Alexander, who played for the Vikings from 2016-19 before his one season in Cincinnati.
Alexander had a career-high 47 tackles in 13 games this past season for the Bengals, and Paton has seen the best of what he can do on the field when he was with Minnesota.
In 2018, Alexander finished with 10 pass breakups, four sacks, seven tackles for loss, and five quarterback hits as primarily a slot defender with the Vikings.
Denver Broncos: 5 takeaways from George Paton’s introduction
The Denver Broncos introduced George Paton as the team's new general manager on Tuesday. What did he have to say about his new gig?
If the Broncos believe in the development of Michael Ojemudia going forward and are confident that Bryce Callahan can play at a high level again in 2021, adding Alexander to the fray could really give the team flexibility when it comes to the 2021 NFL Draft.