Like it or not, the Denver Broncos are probably going to go "all-in" with Bo Nix for 2025, so let's make an all-in NFL Draft and free agency haul. The rebuilding Denver Broncos are 3-3 through six games and have a realistic shot to be 5-3 in about two weeks. They are most certainly ahead of schedule with them starting a rookie QB and having a ton of roster holes on offense.
The defense has taken a huge leap this year and the special teams is still quite solid, so don't look now, but the offense is really the only part that the team is missing from a complete team. With the team resetting at QB with Bo Nix, who has shown flashes, the team is not only going to give him the entire 2024 season, but may also give him all of 2025.
I would not expect any rookie QB to be able to develop properly in these conditions on offense, as the team just does not have a viable playmaking unit at all. So with the Broncos projected to have a mountain of cap space and also having their first and second round picks in 2025, it's likely that this team makes a strong offensive push in the offseason while also ensuing the defense remains stout.
Let's put together an all-in offseason haul using free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft.
Broncos all-in haul; Free Agency and the 2025 NFL Draft
Sign WR Tee Higgins
This is the big fish in free agency, and unless something wild changes, Tee Higgins will become a free agent and will be the top WR on the market. He's a no. 1 wide receiver and someone the Denver Broncos must make a legitimate offer to. It would almost be a disappointment if he doesn't sign with the team next March.
Sign WR Darius Slayton
Why not? Darius Slayton has been a quality WR in the NFL for years now with the New York Giants. You may argue that signing two WRs in free agency is a bit overkill given that Denver still has Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims Jr, Troy Franklin, Josh Reynolds, and Devaughn Vele, and you may be right, but this team desperately needs multiple playmakers on offense to emerge at some point.
Signing Tee Higgins and Darius Slayton would certainly force Denver to make one, maybe two bold moves at WR when the roster cut-down deadlines approach, but this team is very likely going all-in next offseason, so they'll hopefully be aggressive.
Sign TE Tyler Conklin
The free agent TE market in 2025 at this point isn't that great, but Tyler Conklin is a fine receiving threat and could raise the floor of the room for a couple of years. The TE position is also one the Broncos must hit on in the 2025 NFL Draft as well.
Sign RB Najee Harris
Najee Harris seems to be an interesting RB. He's rushed for at least 1,000 yards in each of the first three seasons of his career but is averaging 3.9 yards per carry across his career. However, he's added 158 career receptions through 57 regular season games and has never missed a single start in the NFL.
He's a high floor, low-ish ceiling running back that has produced each year of his career and is again on pace to break 1000 yards rushing. He'd be a nice security blanket for Bo Nix and could form a lethal RB trio with Audric Estime and Jaleel McLaughlin.
Re-sign DT DJ Jones
I was wrong on DJ Jones; I was certain that the Broncos were going to cut him last offseason, but not only did they not, but Jones is having an insane year. I don't see how the Broncos don't bring him back for another year or two unless they have someone else in mind to take his place. I could see this team wanting to keep the current defense together for as long as possible.
Re-sign EDGE Jonathon Cooper
This should be a top priority for the Denver Broncos along with addressing the WR room. Re-signing Jonathon Cooper must get done, and the team should really consider doing it now, honestly. He'll only get more expensive.
Re-sign QB Zach Wilson
It's my opinion that Denver trading for Zach Wilson last offseason was so he'd eventually slide into the QB2 role and give the Broncos a higher-ceiling option as the backup. With Jarrett Stidham and Wilson set to be free agents in 2025, I don't see how the Broncos would choose Stiddy over Wilson. Expect Zach Wilson back.
Re-sign CB Ja'Quan McMillian
An Exclusive Rights Free Agent in 2025, the Denver Broncos should simply get Ja'Quan McMillian on a multi-year, free agency contract extension to keep him in Denver through his prime years. He's turned into one of the best slot CBs in the NFL.
Other, lesser FA moves to consider...
Denver would have to do something with players like Mitchell Fraboni, Michael Burton, Lucas Krull, Quinn Bailey, and others. Some of these moves are bottom-of-roster type of moves that the team may not take a lot of time to get done, so I don't believe they are worth covering for the point of this long-form piece.
Let's get into a hypothetical 2025 NFL Draft haul now.
15th Overall Pick - Emery Jones, OT, LSU
Emery Jones plays right tackle for LSU and could be someone who kicks inside at the NFL level, but with the Broncos not re-signing Garett Bolles in this scenario, Denver may be forced to take a potential tackle prospect in the first round.
I'd personally have faith that OL coach Zach Strief could develop Jones into a starting tackle
46th Overall Pick - Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State
Tyler Warren figures to be one of the top TE prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft class and has already caught 40 passes for Penn State in 2024. Adding Tyler Conklin and Tyler Warren totally overhauls their TE room and also gives them two Tylers at the position.
80th Overall Pick - Derrick Harmon, DL, Oregon
The Denver Broncos have done a nice job at investing in the trenches over the last two offseasons, and I don't expect that would change in the 2025 NFL Draft, so Derrick Harmon from Oregon is the pick at no. 80.
116th Overall Pick - Sebastian Castro, S, Iowa
The Broncos now have one of the best secondaries in the NFL. The team will see safety PJ Locke III enter the last year of his contract in 2025, and beyond that, it can't hurt to add yet another young defensive back into the room.
192nd Overall Pick - Kyle McCord, QB, Syracuse
How about this juicy pick? The Denver Broncos should continue to chip away at the QB position. Drafting some insurance for the room and also for the ever-so-small chance that a late-round QB pick can turn into a franchise QB, the Broncos select Kyle McCord at pick 192 in this scenario.
193rd Overall Pick - Joshua Gray, iOL, Oregon State
Just adding some more depth to the offensive line is all this pick is. Joshua Gray plays for Oregon State and would give Denver more youth in the offensive line room.
This all-in haul for 2025 may prove to be totally inaccurate, but the idea of them being aggressive next offseason is something that will indeed come true when the 2025 offseason officially begins next March.