The 2025 NFL Draft is officially just one week away and the Denver Broncos have clear areas they need to address. Luckily, this year's NFL Draft class lines up absolutely perfectly with the team's needs at running back, receiver, defensive line, and tight end.
The Broncos' needs might be obvious, but when and where they address those needs isn't. The NFL Draft is a chess match and one of the ways you can throw teams off the scent is to sign free agents before the draft. That doesn't mean you should just be throwing money into the wind, but it could mean making sensible moves right before the draft while keeping your longer-term plans intact.
There are a number of free agent moves that could still make a ton of sense for the Broncos to potentially throw teams off their scent in the NFL Draft.
3 free agents the Broncos should sign before the 2025 NFL Draft
1. Keenan Allen, wide receiver
The Broncos have been connected to a lot of different receivers this offseason already. They checked in on Stefon Diggs before he signed with the Patriots. Although the Broncos didn't make any offers, they drew interest from both Cooper Kupp and Deebo Samuel before both of those guys landed with new teams.
There has been interest in the veteran receiver market over the last two years by the Broncos, who pursued both Allen Lazard and Adam Thielen, but to no avail. The Broncos have ultimately either scoffed at the price or decided they'd rather continue with young guys at the wide receiver position.
Keenan Allen was a strong contributor for the Chicago Bears last year and proved he's still got it at the age of 32 (going on 33) with 70 receptions for 744 yards and seven touchdowns. The Broncos should still be considering wide receivers as early as the 1st round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but signing someone like Keenan Allen to a one-year deal could not only tick off a lot of Chargers fans, but throw teams off Denver's scent completely.
2. JK Dobbins or Nick Chubb, running back
I'm not an advocate of signing a veteran running back by any stretch, but the Broncos could probably confuse a lot of teams if they signed either JK Dobbins or Nick Chubb to short-term deals before the NFL Draft.
Up to this point, the running back position is one of the only positions on the entire Denver Broncos roster that has been completely untouched this offseason. There has been movement almost literally everywhere else. The fact that the Broncos have done nothing at running back is a clear tell that they are going after running backs early in this draft, and the last thing they want is to get jumped by another team for the player they want.
Signing a free agent running back before the draft to a harmless deal could help the Broncos conceal their hand going into the 2025 NFL Draft. And you never know when these short-term wild card types of deals can pay off.
3. Ja'Whaun Bentley, linebacker
Even with Alex Singleton coming off of injury and Drew Sanders transitioning back to the off-ball linebacker position, a player like Ja'Whaun Bentley would be a worthwhile dart throw.
If nothing else, it might prevent the Broncos from drafting another off-ball linebacker higher than they should when there are more pressing areas to be addressed. This is not a great off-ball linebacker class in the NFL Draft, and passing on the talent and depth at other positions just to draft another linebacker would be rather disappointing, unless it's in the 6th round.
Bentley is coming off of injury as well, but he's been a tackling machine and would be a great complement for Dre Greenlaw in the middle of Denver's improved defense.