The Denver Broncos made their already-elite defense better, but could they have an unthinkable trade up their sleeves? One thing that has become obvious in today's NFL is that teams have to prioritize building through the NFL Draft on offense, but they can build a defense through free agency.
The Broncos have followed this blueprint, as many of their key defensive players are from offseason acquisitions, but most of their key offensive players are through the NFL Draft. This is simply the direction the league is trending.
But that isn't always easy for certain teams, and a rival AFC team could be a perfect example of that. Could this allow the Denver Broncos to pull off an unthinkable trade?
Should the Broncos swing for the fences with this major trade?
Cincinnati Bengals stud defensive end Trey Hendrickson released a statement today, and you can read it below:
Trey Hendrickson statement today to ESPN: “No communication has taken place between my camp and the organization post draft. The offers prior to the draft did not reflect the vision we shared and were promised last offseason if I continued to play at a high level. Coaches are… pic.twitter.com/2MKBL60ATg
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 12, 2025
The 'tl;dr' version of the statement is that the Bengals have not been in communication with Hendrickson post-draft about a new deal, and he's absolutely deserving of one. Being that the Bengals paid both Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins this offseason, they might not be able to pay Hendrickson as well - while they do have the cap space to pay Hendrickson, who led the NFL in sacks in 2024, the team has historically been cheap and poorly run.
Well, being that Sean Payton played a huge part in drafting Trey Hendrickson back in 2017, could the Denver Broncos swing for the fences here and pull off a major trade? The trade would absolutely require a package of a player and draft picks, but being that Denver has been aggressive when necessary, you have to wonder if they would at least check-in on the availability. If the Bengals aren't motivated to get a deal done with their best defensive player, the only way out should be a trade.
And Denver could truly put the rest of the NFL on notice if they were able to pull something like this off.