The 2026 NFL Trade Deadline is days away, and the Denver Broncos deadline decisions could make or break the 2026 season. The team deciding to stand pat could come back to bite them, as roster shortcomings at positions like running back and tight end are too glaring to ignore.
Making the necessary roster moves can truly thrust this team over the edge, as they have a Super Bowl-caliber makeup but might need another player or two to get them over the edge. We saw how much, for example, the running back position hurt them last year after the deadline, as J.K. Dobbins going down essentially ended any chance the Broncos had at fielding a quality run game.
Let's dive into the deadline more and look at three players the Broncos should trade for, and two they should send packing.
The Denver Broncos should trade for...
Jonathan Taylor, RB
Jonathan Taylor might be the biggest, most logical name that would fit the Broncos' need at the running back position. With Dobbins not being effective anymore, and both Jonah Coleman and RJ Harvey already having spent time on IR or currently on IR, the team's RB room has been shaky this year, to say the least. Even Tyler Badie is on IR right now as well.
Taylor is a consistent, reliable, bell-cow runner, and while Coleman has looked really encouraging thus far, it's hard to fully trust him as the RB1 of this team in a Super Bowl window when he has just 30 carries in the NFL. Adding Taylor isn't any sort of indictment on who Coleman can be in the future; it's about taking advantage of the present, especially with the injuries the team has had at the position.
The Broncos are also one of the least-efficient run games in the sport, so this isn't some wild idea.
Dallas Goedert, TE
Dallas Goedert is a free agent following the 2026 season, and he is a complete tight end. He can line up in-line and can also function as a reliable receiving target. While Goedert isn't an overly special player anymore, he's the exact type of tight end that the team has been missing, as Evan Engram is much more of a pass-catcher who has limited blocking upside, and it's clear that Adam Trautman is 'just a guy.'
Adding Goedert would finally give the Broncos a complete TE room with players that can occupy specific roles on offense, and it would perhaps finally allow the Broncos to actually begin producing at the postion.
Daiyan Henley, LB
It might not be likely that the Los Angeles Chargers would trade a player in their division, but Daiyan Henley is trending toward being a free agent in 2027 and could add a spark to the linebacker room. Yes, Alex Singleton just won the AFC Defensive Player of the Month award, bit it's pretty clear that Singleton is still a massive liability in coverage. Henley is a much better coverage player, allowing a career passer rating of 85.1, according to Pro Football Reference.
Henley is also incredibly athletic and could bring some youth into the room. If one of Singleton or Justin Strnad were to get hurt, the Broncos would be in some serious trouble. Adding another reliable linebacker might not be at the top of the list for fans given all of the running back news, but it's something that has to be considered.
The Denver Broncos should trade away...
Riley Moss, CB
Riley Moss is a free agent following the season and still seems to have this 'grabby' gene in him when in coverage. While he is playing opposite Patrick Surtain II, Moss has not only dropped a pretty easy interception this year, but he's still getting called for pass interferencce penalties that have continued to be the worst part of his game.
He was also burned pretty badly back in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams for a touchdown that nearly cost the Broncos the game. With the team also having Ja'Quan McMillian and Brandon Jones set to be free agents, bringing all of them back in 2027 simply might not fit the financial books. Entrusting Jahdae Barron or Kris Abrams-Draine, who have played well in their limited chances this year, might be the move to make.
It would be a risk to trade Moss given how stingy the secondary is, as he has been a part of that mix as a starter since 2024, but if the Broncos aren't planning on signing him to a new deal in the offseason, trading him now might make sense.
J.K. Dobbins, RB
This is a pretty interesting blurb that came out today from Albert Breer on Dobbins:
"J.K. Dobbins’s name was raised in some trade talks, as Broncos rookie RB Jonah Coleman broke out, but it’s less likely now that RJ Harvey is hurt. … The Texans have least checked in on available running backs and safeties."
This is not nothing, and in the event that the Broncos were to add a RB at the deadline, it would be tough to imagine that Dobbins isn't included in that package. There would be no logical way the Broncos would roster all of Taylor, Dobbins, Harvey, and Coleman, for example.
Denver might have to either trade Dobbins to another team for pennies or include him in the package for Taylor, or another RB. Either way, he simply has not been effective for the Broncos this year. He's averaging fewer than four yards per carry and has already seemed to be overtaken in the rotation by Coleman.
The Broncos can easily move on from Dobbins' contract this coming offseason, but if this team does make a notable RB move in the coming days, Dobbins could and should find his way onto a new team.
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