The Denver Broncos have one of the best teams in football - it's a fact, but even the best teams have their own flaws. The Broncos still do not have consistent enough play at running back and tight end, for example.
And with the 2026 NFL Trade Deadline less than 24 hours away, Denver is running out of time. With how last year ended, the Broncos essentially saw a legitimate Super Bowl season get flushed down the drain, as they simply did not have an effective enough run game late in the season, which forced quarterback Bo Nix to shoulder most of the load on offense.
On Monday, one of the primary rivals of the Broncos across the AFC landscape, the Jacksonville Jaguars, have managed to pull off three notable trades, leaping ahead of Denver and perhaps the rest of the AFC. The Broncos now have to get off the couch and work the phones to make up some of this lost ground.
The Denver Broncos have to make a trade to keep up with the Jaguars fireworks
The Broncos very, very likely won't make a trio of trades like this, but the idea here is simple: the Jaguars fully understand that they are right in the middle of a Super Bowl window and are going all-out to capitalize as best as possible:
Jacksonville Jaguars’ trades today:
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 9, 2026
🏈Traded a 2nd and 5th to the Falcons for S Jessie Bates.
🏈Traded a 1st and 2nd to the Eagles for DT Jordan Davis.
🏈Traded a 6th to the Saints for DT Davon Godchaux. https://t.co/dbsP3sN9kp
This team did just give up a ton of draft capital on Monday, but they also got two impact players and a very good depth piece in Davon Godchaux. The Broncos did make a big deal for Jaylen Waddle in the offseason, but that was months ago.
As quickly as Super Bowl windows in the NFL open, those windows can slam shut - it's a fact. Just look at the Seattle Seahawks this year. This team lost three games all over last year and are now 5-4 and dealing with injured quarterbacks and a regression across the board.
There is a non-zero chance that 2025 was their only realistic year to win it all. And with the Kansas City Chiefs back in the mix, the Broncos have that new battle to fight, as it wasn't present in 2025.
The AFC also has other juggernaut teams like Buffalo and Cincinnati, and even Pittsburgh has hung around. While the Broncos do have better roster talent than most teams, this is the Super Bowl we're talking about, as there is no guarantee that Denver's window will be open next year, and this is the Super Bowl we're talking about!
The Super Bowl!
Sure, expecting the Broncos to go out and make two major trades isn't realistic - that just isn't how this front office has operated, but this roster does have multiple key flaws that could derail this season - the run game being weakened after J.K. Dobbins went down last year is a perfect example of something that ended up derailing the season.
The phrase I have used on this website before is "if not now, when?"
When is a better time for the Broncos to go all-in with a trade? There are available players - that's clear, but they aren't going to become Broncos unless the team goes out and displays the necessary aggression to make something happen.
With the three trades that the Jaguars just made, the Broncos may have just seen one of the biggest challengers in the AFC leap them in the league hierarchy. Denver must respond.
Add us as a preferred source on Google