The Denver Broncos traded for linebacker Daiyan Henley from the Los Angeles Chargers until they didn't. The deal is off, and Henley will remain a Charger. A free agent at the end of the season, there is always a chance that the Broncos pursue him next March, which would be kind of funny.
Anyway, Denver came away with zero trade deadline acquisitions after being a team that reportedly had interest in positions like safety, tight end, and running back. In another Super Bowl-caliber season, with one of the oldest rosters in the NFL, the Broncos essentially stood pat at the deadline, not making a singluar move.
And now, thanks to this failed Henley trade, the Broncos troubling trade deadline strategy just got exposed.
The Denver Broncos were not aggressive enough during the deadline on offense
Had the Henley trade gone through, the Broncos would have added an athletic linebacker with plus coverage ability, and he likely would have instantly become the best linebacker on the roster. Not quite a thumper against the run, Henley is still competent in that regard and is a well-rounded player, also only in his age-27 season.
All of a sudden, the Broncos are left with the same exact team they had before, and that's a huge problem. Despite all of this interest in other positions, especially at running back, the team very clearly was not aggressive enough, at all.
Guys like Tony Pollard and Jonathan Taylor seemed to be available for the right price, and with Denver having one of the worst run games in football, why didn't the team make a move for an available running back?
Why did this team seemingly have 'interest' in a plethora of positions, only to end up with no one? I'm not saying the Broncos should have gone out and spent a ton of draft capital like the Jacksonville Jaguars did to acquire Jessie Bates III and Jordan Davis, but the Jaguars clearly view themselves as a contender and are actively capitalizing on this window.
The Broncos simply did not do the same. It's one thing if this team had added a RB on offense, for example - the most obvious position of need on this roster, along with inside linebacker, has been a need for years now.
Heck, even the report of the Broncos checking in on Trey McBride is infuriating. Having interest in players and following through on that interest are two totally different things, and if a potential Super Bowl isn't motivation enough to perhaps slightly overpay for a player, then what would be enough...?
I struggle to see the logic in how the Broncos approached the trade deadline. Super Bowl windows can close as quickly as they open in this league, and with how the 2025 season ended, you would have thought the Broncos would be supremely motivated at the deadline, sitting at 7-2 and No. 2 in the AFC, to make a legitimate move on offense.
While this team is among the best and most talented in the league, that doesn't mean every position is in a good spot. We're seeing one of the worst run games in the league most weeks and a tight end room that does not produce at a high enough level.
Denver now coming out of the trade deadline empty-handed is a direct reflection of how flawed this organization's trade deadline strategy was.
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