The Denver Broncos have been wheeling and dealing ever since George Paton came aboard as GM. Could he strike a deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars?
Denver Broncos general manager George Paton has been on the job for about 18 months at this point, and we know one thing for certain about him — he likes to make trades.
Not just for the sake of making trades, but Paton said when he was hired as the GM that he and the Broncos would be “in on every deal” and he’s proven that to be the case.
Paton has made a wide variety of trades since he’s held the GM position in Denver and they range from massive blockbusters to simple trades to upgrade the team’s depth.
Although Paton currently only has five selections in his 2023 NFL Draft war chest, he also has 2024 and 2025 draft picks at his disposal as well as a roster full of players that could be traded for decent return value.
Will he call up Trent Baalke and Doug Pederson with the Jacksonville Jaguars to strike a deal?
Here are a few intriguing options to consider.
Denver Broncos trade option with Jaguars no. 1: K’Lavon Chaisson to Denver
Possible asking price from Jaguars: Late Day 3 pick or similar prospect dart throw
The Jacksonville Jaguars fell in love with LSU linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson in the 2020 NFL Draft process for many of the same reasons a lot of people did.
This guy is a freaky athlete out there on the field with the versatility to play off the edge or play off the ball.
Swiper | @S4CKGURU
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) September 20, 2020
📺 @CBS
pic.twitter.com/CRHCbWgNFE
Unfortunately, he simply hasn’t lived up to expectations in his first two NFL seasons, racking up just over 50 total tackles with just two sacks.
He did have nine QB hits in his rookie season with the Jaguars and despite some injury issues dating back to his time at LSU, Chaisson is the type of player who could be a fascinating addition to your linebacker room.
The Broncos don’t exactly need any more lottery tickets off the edge, but if Chaisson could come in as an off-ball linebacker convert and perhaps be a backup option to Jonas Griffith?
Now that’s an option I could get behind.
I love the idea of buying low on former first-round picks with multiple years left on their rookie deals. If the Broncos could get Chaisson at a discounted price, it might be worth looking into for George Paton.
Denver Broncos trade idea with Jaguars no. 2: Laviska Shenault to the Broncos
Possible asking price: 5th-round pick or late pick plus a player
Be careful what ideas you suggest on Twitter, you never know how people are going to react.
The Denver Broncos don’t really have any pressing issues at the moment, so people getting all upset over this kind of idea because there are more “pressing” needs is a silly argument to me.
There are more than a few good reasons the Denver Broncos should consider making a move like this.
- Shenault was considered a possible 1st-round prospect just two years ago
- He has positional versatility
- He can return kicks or punts
- Given Jacksonville’s investments at WR, the price to acquire could be very low
- He still has two years left on his rookie deal
- KJ Hamler is making progress coming back from injury, but his injury history cannot be ignored
- Depth at receiver is untested, not as high upside as Shenault
- WR is a premium position in the NFL
Imagine for a moment that the Broncos do make a reasonable trade for Laviska Shenault. Maybe they trade an interior offensive lineman from their deep group right now for Shenault and both teams swap draft picks.
Shenault would have a chance to rebound in Denver with a creative coaching staff and a superstar QB running the show.
By 2023, maybe he’s your RB2 behind Javonte Williams…
This is the kind of move where you should flex your creative muscles, not suppress them.
Should a trade like this be the priority? Not necessarily. Should the Broncos be “in” on a deal if one is going to go down?
I think the answer to that is absolutely.
Denver Broncos trade idea with Jaguars no. 3: Interior OL to the Jaguars
If there’s one area of the Denver Broncos’ roster I’m relatively certain we’re going to see George Paton get some trade value, it’s on the interior offensive line.
Some of these players could be competing at the right tackle position as well, some at center, but here are the Denver Broncos’ current interior linemen on the roster.
- Dalton Risner
- Lloyd Cushenberry III
- Quinn Meinerz
- Graham Glasgow
- Billy Turner
- Tom Compton
- Luke Wattenberg (rookie)
- Netane Muti
- Ben Braden
Let’s just say, for the moment, that the Broncos keep six or even seven of these guys. That could leave two or three NFL-caliber players on the interior offensive line without a spot on the final 53-man roster.
The Jacksonville Jaguars just so happen to need some help on the interior offensive line, so this is an area where the Broncos could recoup some value.
It could be with one of the trade ideas I’ve already mentioned, or it could be just for a draft pick to add to the 2023 war chest.
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Whatever the case may be, the Jaguars are a team to watch when it comes to figuring out how the Broncos are going to be able to maximize the value of the players they have on the roster at the interior offensive line positions.