The Denver Broncos will be in the market for a wide receiver in the 2025 offseason, and their gameplan (along with everyone else's in the NFL) might have just changed dramatically with one player's trade request.
In an offseason where big-name wide receivers are abundantly available, nobody is really moving the needle because of their age or injury history. One player who will move the needle is Seattle Seahawks veteran receiver DK Metcalf, who just turned 27 late last year and has been one of the most productive and consistent WR1s in the NFL since coming into the league in 2019.
Metcalf's availability might be unexpected to the masses, but it's likely that conversations started happening around his name at the NFL Combine. There were some low rumblings about Metcalf going to the Green Bay Packers in a trade, or at least the idea of it, but the star receiver has now officially asked his way out of Seattle.
And the Denver Broncos need to see what they're asking for him...
Denver Broncos should be in on DK Metcalf sweepstakes
Two-time Pro Bowl WR DK Metcalf has requested a trade and the #Seahawks have agreed to explore options, sources tell me and @RapSheet.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 5, 2025
Days before free agency, the 27-year-old Metcalf immediately becomes the top receiver available. pic.twitter.com/DBsoZwGguL
If DK Metcalf is available, I think there are a couple of napkins George Paton could brainstorm another trade idea to send over to Seahawks GM John Schneider and see what he thinks. At the very least, Paton vowed back in 2021 to be "in on every deal" and it would be outrageous if the Broncos didn't at least inquire about the price to acquire Metcalf.
Metcalf would be the best receiver the Broncos have had since the late Demaryius Thomas played for the team. He's in the prime years of his career and the reason the Broncos would be motivated to deal for him would obviously be young quarterback Bo Nix. Nix is coming off of a historic rookie year and the team is now in a truly competitive window.
While many in the Broncos' fan base seem to think the team is so far off from contention, Sean Payton stated after the Broncos' playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills that they've got to find a way to be playing playoff games at home. How do you do that? Well, you have to win your division.
The Broncos are positioned exceptionally well to be aggressive in the spots they see fit over the next window of time.
It's also very interesting when you think about it from Courtland Sutton's situation. Sutton is entering the final year of his contract with the Broncos and it was recently reported by Mike Klis of 9News that an extension with Sutton is expected to be done around the time of the 2025 NFL Draft (if not sooner). With Sutton's future in limbo, the Broncos could decide that the draft compensation and contract they would give to Metcalf is worth the upgrade.
Metcalf should have a robust market overall and plenty of teams out there willing to pay top dollar to acquire him, perhaps even starting with the aforementioned Green Bay Packers. But the Broncos would be fools to just pass without making any sort of effort at all.