Denver Broncos free agency preview: Defensive Line
After the trade with the Seattle Seahawks saw Shelby Harris head off to the upper Northwest, the Denver Broncos are officially in the market for another starting defensive end.
Or are they buying into McTelvin Agim?
Interestingly enough, Denver Broncos fans do not seem to be as high on the potential of McTelvin Agim as a starting defensive end as they are Albert Okwuegbunam as the potential starting tight end.
More on that later.
For the time being, I don’t know if Agim should be given any sort of promotion. He’s going to have to go out there and earn it. But, should the Denver Broncos be going after older veterans like Ndamukong Suh in free agency?
I’m not so sure about that.
Look at the Cincinnati Bengals as a model here. The Bengals had Sam Hubbard in house, and they went out in free agency and on the trade market to add players like Trey Hendrickson, BJ Hill, and Larry Ogunjobi.
Those moves ultimately helped propel that team to an AFC title in 2021.
I think we’ll see the Broncos take a similar approach by signing a big-name edge to pair with Bradley Chubb and then making some savvy moves on the interior defensive line.
First off, I see the Broncos signing Sebastian Joseph-Day of the Los Angeles Rams. Joseph-Day has an elite athletic profile and with three sacks in just seven games last season, it looks like his best days are up ahead of him.
Joseph-Day has an obvious couple of connections on the Broncos’ staff with Ejiro Evero and Marcus Dixon coming over from the Rams.
I don’t think he will be the only free agent acquisition up front for the Broncos, however.
Another player I would love to see in Denver is former Buffalo Bills third-round pick Harrison Phillips, who has been playing some really good ball for the Bills the past couple of seasons.
Although Phillips is not exactly a space-eater, he’s the type of player on the interior who can move mountains and I think he’s shown consistent improvement as a pass rusher.
At the nose tackle position, I don’t think it’s unfair to say that the Broncos need a starting nose tackle. Mike Purcell is under contract, but he has just three tackles for loss over the last two seasons compared to having eight tackles for loss in the 2019 season.
Continuing the theme with adding younger players up front and really fortifying this position group, I would love to see the Broncos bring in Folorunso Fatukasi from the New York Jets, a force up the middle of the defense whose run defense would make a huge difference for this team in 2022.