The Denver Broncos were aggressive but calculated this offseason with their roster moves, and a few are already paying off. With the Broncos cutting Russell Wilson, it wasn't likely that they were going to spend a ton of money in free agency.
Next year, however, can be a lot different. The team made more modest, lowkey free agency moves, and a lot of them are paying off. They also brought in a slew of young players from the 2024 NFL Draft who can hopefully be building blocks for the future.
Of all the offseason moves that Denver made, let's look at three that are already paying off.
3 Denver Broncos' offseason moves already paying off in 2024
Signing WR Josh Reynolds
Who knew that the Denver Broncos' most productive wide receiver through three weeks would be Josh Reynolds. A late free agency signing, Reynolds was brought in I assume to help fill the void left by the Jerry Jeudy trade and to simply give Bo Nix a reliable target in the passing game. Through three weeks, Reynolds has hauled in 11 passes for 174 yards.
He's averaging 58 yard per game, which is the highest mark of his career. The 3.7 receptions per game is also the highest mark in his career as well. If Reynolds keeps this pace up throughout the entire 17-game season, he'd finish with 63 receptions and 986 yards.
Not too shabby, eh?
Now if we want to think of this differently; why is Josh Reynolds the team's leading receiver? Why isn't it a young player like Marvin Mims Jr or Troy Franklin? The Broncos still do clearly need a no. 1 wide receiver. Reynolds is not that type of player and is also turning 30 in February of 2025.
He's been a very solid free agency signing and is probably going to be here next year for the last year of his deal, but he does not solve a major issue for Denver. Still, though, Reynolds has been more than what the Broncos had hoped. He's caught 73.3% of his targets as well, which, as you can guess, is the highest mark of his career.
Josh Reynolds and the entire Broncos' offense does not yet have a passing touchdown, but as time goes on, that will change.
Signing DT Malcolm Roach
Malcolm Roach has actually been one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL this year. Yes, you read that correctly. According to ESPN, Roach ranks 5th among defensive tackles in pass rush win rate and 5th in run stop win rate. He signed a two-year deal and was really only brought along to help stop the run. Not only has he done that, but he's giving the team some boost in their pass rush, which is a hilarious bonus.
The Broncos may have built something truly special along the defensive line with guys like Roach, Zach Allen, Jonathon Cooper, and even John Franklin-Myers. Roach signing with the Broncos in the offseason was not this major, headline-making move, but it's quickly proven to be a smart one as the former New Orleans Saint has come in and exceeded expectations.
Drafting QB Bo Nix
This was the right move all along. The Denver Broncos were not going to build anything sustainable with Russell Wilson still on the roster. Yes, the team won eight games last year, and yes, Wilson threw 26 touchdowns against just eight interceptions, but if you watched the offense, it wasn't working.
Wilson was simply not capable of playing on time or working the middle of the field. The team had no intermediate passing game, and it just did not make sense to continue the Sean Payton/Russell Wilson era at all. In recent years, there's really only been one free agent/QB trade move that has worked out, and of course, it was Tom Brady, who is the best NFL player in history.
Teams do not win Super Bowls or win consistently without drafting and developing a quarterback. If Denver wanted to get their franchise back on the right track, this is what they needed to do. Say what you want about Bo Nix; but it became more clear as the offseason went on that Nix was going to be the Broncos' target in the 2024 NFL Draft.
He's here, and he showed a ton of growth in Week 3. It was the best performance of his young career and was, objectively speaking, just flat-out great quarterbacking. You can definitely see what the offense is building with Nix under center, as Sean Payton is playing to his strengths and allowing Nix every opportunity to be the guy.
The move to cut Russell Wilson may have stung at first, but the Broncos embracing a first-round rookie QB in Bo Nix was the right move.