The Denver Broncos offseason was trending toward underwhelming until the Jaylen Waddle trade news dropped, but there was still some meat left on the bone with moves that the Broncos did not make.
And with limited capital in the 2026 NFL Draft, the team may struggle to fill the rest of the roster needs. Thankfully, the roster is among the best in the league, so the urgency just isn't as high as other teams that don't have as much talent.
But let's rewind a bit and dive into a few free agency moves that the Broncos may regret not making.
The Denver Broncos could end up regretting not making a few offseason moves
Signing Travis Etienne
The Broncos did not sign Travis Etienne, as the veteran running back decided to sign a four-year deal with the New Orleans Saints. While Denver bringing J.K. Dobbins back was not at all a bad move, his injury history now forces the Broncos to go back into the running back market to find another player.
Had they signed Etienne, they could have realistically fielded a room featuring Etienne and Harvey, and that duo could have handled an overwhelmingly majority of the workload. Sure, it's not inherently bad that Denver still figures to add another player, but it's pouring more resources into a position when another, more efficient avenue existed to fix the room.
Some may argue that Etienne was always going to sign with the Saints because he's from Louisiana, but money talks.
Signing an inside linebacker in free agency not named Justin Strnad or Alex Singleton
Not only did the Broncos cut Dre Greenlaw after just one season, but they also brought back Justin Strnad and Alex Singleton in a baffling series of moves. The linebacker group in free agency was incredibly deep and featured names like Kaden Elliss, Tremaine Edmunds, Nakobe Dean, Quay Walker, Leo Chenal, and many others.
Simply put, there were some names on the market who would have presented rather significant upgrades over the players Denver bafflingly retained. Sure, the team plans on moving Kaden Elliss to the position, but he's never been an inside linebacker in the NFL and is far from a known commodity at the position right now.
Denver is going to be forced to address the position in the NFL Draft, yet another unit where it could have been realistically solved in free agency. Sure, teams that spend a lot in free agency aren't guaranteed success, and being a 'winner' in free agency doesn't mean anything, but there were some modest options on the market who would have presented notable upgrades.
Reworking the tight end room
The Broncos also are trending toward running it back at the tight end room. All of running back, inside linebacker, and tight end were and are still the weakest groups on the roster. Sometimes, you have to go out there and buy some talent to find upgrades.
Like linebacker, it's baffling that Denver didn't make any additions here. The Adam Trautman extension was especially troubling, as he's one of the more underwhelming players on the roster but did get quite the raise.
Lucas Krull and Nate Adkins have largely been non-factors for the Broncos, and while Evan Engram did have some nice production in 2025, he's on the wrong side of 30 and also has just one more year left on his deal.
If you combine all of this together with the reality that Denver doesn't have a first-round pick, it's going to be quite difficult for this team to address all of their needs in the draft.