Now that the Denver Broncos have a head coach in place with Sean Payton coming to the Mile High City, the fun speculation can begin about what players could wind up joining him. Of course, not every former Saints player or player with a connection to Payton will wind up playing for the Broncos, but it stands to reason that Payton will want to target at least a few players to upgrade this Denver roster in 2023 who can help ease the transition into his program.
Looking at the free agent class of 2023 as well as some players that could be on the trade or cut block, there are plenty of names to file away and put on the radar with about six weeks until NFL free agency kicks off.
What players should you be keeping on the radar? Let’s take a look at seven, with a mix of guys on both sides of the ball.
7 players that could follow Sean Payton to the Denver Broncos in 2023
1. Brandin Cooks, WR, Houston Texans (trade target)
The wide receiver position is going to be a massive area of focus for the Denver Broncos in 2023, regardless of the perception from the outside looking in. This team has to look back over the last handful of years and realize that going into a season with talented receivers on paper means absolutely nothing.
The Broncos might need some proven players in their offense at receiver after missing Tim Patrick last season, KJ Hamler for most of the year, and Courtland Sutton really not taking a step forward as many expected him to. We could be in line for a bit of a reset at the position with Jerry Jeudy and Tim Patrick as core players moving forward.
Could the Broncos dangle a mid-round pick at the Texans to reunite Sean Payton with Brandin Cooks? It would make plenty of sense. Cooks is a sure-handed target who has caught over 65 percent of his career targets. The Broncos had just one player last year (Jerry Jeudy) who caught over 60 percent of his targets at the wide receiver position that actually played the majority of snaps.
Courtland Sutton’s catch percentage was down under 59 percent.
A player like Cooks could give the Broncos a dynamic option in the short-term and is someone Sean Payton is obviously very familiar with.
2. Andrus Peat, OL, New Orleans Saints (possible cap casualty)
As of right now, Andrus Peat remains under contract with the New Orleans Saints and isn’t readily available as a free agent or anything. However, given the fact that the Saints need to find ways in the very near future to get under the 2023 NFL salary cap (and they have a long ways to go), Peat is one player who could be let go so this team can do exactly that.
This potential connection becomes especially interesting if the Denver Broncos end up hiring David Shaw to their staff in some capacity. We’re getting a little ahead of ourselves there, but it’s worth mentioning since Sean Payton has highly recommended Shaw as an NFL coach in the past.
Peat played his college ball at Stanford (under Shaw) and would replace Dalton Risner as the starting left guard on the Denver offensive line. It does come with a bit of a catch, however, as Peat has had issues staying healthy in New Orleans and the Broncos might be leery of that given the fact that this team has been decimated by injuries in recent years.
They may, at the very least, be cautious about adding players with an injury history to play key positions on this roster, but nevertheless, if Peat becomes available, the connection to the Broncos is now extremely obvious.
3. Jameis Winston, QB, New Orleans Saints (possible cap casualty)
The New Orleans Saints can save almost $13 million on their 2023 salary cap by designating Jameis Winston as a post-June 1 release, and given the fact that this team could be looking to completely reset at the QB position, would that be much of a surprise?
Probably not.
Back in the 2021 season, before Winston went down with a knee injury, Sean Payton had him playing some of the best and most efficient football we’ve seen from him since he won the Heisman Trophy at Florida State. Winston has always had talent, but he hasn’t always been able to rein it in.
With the Saints in 2021, through six games and change, Winston had thrown 14 touchdowns compared to three interceptions. He posted the highest TD percentage and the lowest INT percentage of his NFL career as a starter. It’s only a seven-game sample, but it was a drastic improvement from the 30 interceptions he threw two years prior as a member of the Buccaneers.
The Broncos would be an interesting landing spot for Winston for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, the team has been allergic to reclamation projects in the past, and Winston is one of those. Maybe less so than he was in 2020, but nonetheless. Second, it would represent arguably the highest-profile backup Russell Wilson has ever had. Not that Russ needs someone to compete with in the offseason but someone who could legitimately push him would be nice.
With all due respect to Brett Rypien, having someone like Winston around in the event that Wilson would get hurt or play poorly again would be a much better contingency plan for the Denver Broncos. You would think Winston would be eager to get back with Sean Payton if the opportunity presented itself.
4. Marcus Davenport, EDGE, New Orleans Saints (2023 free agent)
The Denver Broncos had to make a blockbuster trade in-season to realistically even get in the Sean Payton sweepstakes. They sent Bradley Chubb to the Miami Dolphins for a first-round pick and that pick was then sent over to the Saints recently in the Payton deal.
The Broncos are now down Bradley Chubb and a first-round pick, but the team obviously has had a plan off the edge.
Let’s break it down before we talk about 2023 free agent Marcus Davenport.
Randy Gregory will likely be back in 2023 as the Broncos’ presumptive top EDGE player. Baron Browning showed tons of progress in his first full year off the edge and the team will also be counting on him. The Denver Broncos also have guys under contract like second-year player Nik Bonitto, third-year player Jonathon Cooper, and 2022 trade acquisition Jacob Martin. We could and should likely also see Aaron Patrick back with the team when healthy.
Given the uncertainty with some of those guys as far as holding up as full-time edge players, injury concerns, and then some, it would make sense that we would see the Broncos take a shot on some low-risk, potentially high-reward types of players off the edge in free agency. At least one or two guys.
Davenport would fit that description as someone who isn’t likely to break the bank, and might very likely take a one-year deal to come to Denver and play for Sean Payton and whoever he hires as defensive coordinator, be that Ejiro Evero or Vic Fangio or whoever.
He’s a former first-round pick (2018) that the Saints traded a lot to acquire once upon a time. If Payton still sees greatness in this guy (only 26), then signing him to a one-year deal on the off chance he might rack up 8-10 sacks for you is a worthwhile shot to take.
5. Shy Tuttle, DL, New Orleans Saints (2023 free agent)
The Denver Broncos might have to get themselves some help on the defensive line in 2023 free agency yet again with question marks right now over the status of Dre’Mont Jones.
The Broncos drafted Dre’Mont Jones out of Ohio State in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft, and he’s very clearly blossomed into the best player of that once-vaunted class. Jones will undoubtedly cost the Broncos a lot to retain, whether on a long-term deal or on the franchise tag.
Depending on whether he’s classified as a defensive end or defensive tackle, it’s going to run the Broncos roughly $18.7-20 million to keep Jones in the fold if they have to franchise tag him. Now, the team is cash rich with the new ownership group, but the entire franchise tag figure would count against your salary cap. That figure really puts you between a rock and a hard place.
Will the Broncos simply let Jones walk in free agency? It’s hard to believe they would, but it’s not impossible.
If that does end up happening, the team is going to have to be active in finding help along the defensive line and Shy Tuttle of the Saints could be a target.
The 2023 free agent had a pair of sacks this past season, three QB hits, 49 total tackles, and five batted passes. The numbers don’t leap off the page, but Tuttle is a dependable player up front who gets his hands into throwing lanes consistently.
6. CJ Gardner-Johnson, DB, Philadelphia Eagles (2023 free agent)
The Denver Broncos have one of the best secondaries in the game today, but they could get even better in the 2023 offseason. Kareem Jackson is slated for free agency. Young safety Caden Sterns is coming back from injury.
Could the Denver Broncos look to make a big splash and get another playmaker to go alongside Justin Simmons in the secondary? It just so happens that former Saints defensive back CJ Gardner-Johnson is a free agent after the Eagles play in the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs.
First and foremost, let us all marvel at the mastery of Eagles GM Howie Roseman. Roseman and his pro scouting department do as good of a job as any in the entire NFL at evaluating talent and finding players for bargain prices. They gave up nothing of real consequence to the Saints to acquire Gardner-Johnson last year, and he ended up picking off six passes for the Eagles as they won the NFC.
Gardner-Johnson has always been a versatile playmaker, and he would be a welcomed addition to the Broncos’ secondary which already includes Simmons, Pat Surtain II, nickel corner K’Waun Williams, and breakout rookie Damarri Mathis.
The Denver Broncos could get a big-time playmaker on the back end of the defense, something they need alongside Justin Simmons. This would allow the team to continue utilizing Caden Sterns in a versatile role, as we know defenses (regardless of who is calling the shots) spend the majority of their time in nickel and dime as opposed to their base looks.
The more defensive backs, the merrier.
7. Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints (possible cap casualty/trade target)
At this particular point in time, it looks like there’s a decent chance that the artist formerly known as “CantGuardMike” could end up being a cap casualty for the New Orleans Saints. I’m sure they would rather get some draft compensation for him, but his lack of availability over the last handful of years could be a sticking point.
The Saints really won’t save a lot of money by designating Thomas as a post-June 1 release, but it might be time for both sides to move on. We’ll see what happens there, but one way or the other, it might end up being a good pairing for both the Broncos and the Saints as fellow PO writer Chandler Hyler has already suggested.
Thomas was once one of the most dominant wide receivers in the NFL.
Many might end up asking, why would the Broncos trade for Michael Thomas? They already have Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, Tim Patrick, etc…
The reality is that the Broncos need to reset at the receiver position and even though Thomas has had some issues staying healthy in recent years, it would almost undoubtedly be a one-year investment and a worthwhile risk given the current state of the roster.
In my mind, they could go after both Michael Thomas and Brandin Cooks, trade away Courtland Sutton, and have a top four going into 2023 of:
- Jerry Jeudy
- Michael Thomas
- Brandin Cooks
- Tim Patrick
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But that’s probably wishful thinking at best. The point is, I want the Denver Broncos to be aggressive in upgrading the receiver position because they need it. This offense needs playmakers, and Michael Thomas could be that in a one-year vacuum.