3 final moves the Denver Broncos can make to ensure a 10-win season in 2024
Trade for one of Brandon Aiyuk or CeeDee Lamb
It's not 100% clear whether either player is actually available, but both were due for contract extensions by their respective teams at this point, and none are in sight. CeeDee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys is the better player, but Brandon Aiyuk is also very good in his own right. Both players have arguments to command over $30 million per year on a deal.
It sounds like it's too much, but that is the price for elite wide receivers in today's NFL. Justin Jefferson of the Vikings recently signed a deal worth $35 million per year. Yeah, they're not cheap. Nonetheless, the Broncos would round out their offense if they could swing a trade for one of them, which would have to include a first-round pick plus more.
You'd also have to figure that Courtland Sutton would be packaged in this deal. Could a package of Sutton plus a first-round pick be enough to land Aiyuk? Maybe. It won't be cheap, but it's a move Denver should make, as it would give them a top WR room in the NFL.
Sign DE Carl Lawson
Carl Lawson fell out of favor with his last team, the New York Jets, but that doesn't mean he can't play. Once having 54 total QB hits across 28 games during the 2019 and 2020 seasons, Lawson has been able to get to he QB quite well across his NFL career. However, in 2023, he only played in six games and racked up just five total tackles in just 101 snaps on defense.
Lawson still surely has some gas left in the tank, especially as a rotational player. He averages six sacks, six tackles for loss, and 25 QB hits per-17 games, so why haven't the Denver Broncos made this move? Given his 2023 performance, the Broncos could sign him for quite cheap, and he could reunite with a former Jets teammate in John Franklin-Myers.
The Broncos DL looks a lot better when you add Lawson into the mix while already having Zach Allen, DJ Jones, Franklin-Myers, and Malcolm Roach. That is clearly a "plus" unit, if you will. Man, it's making me antsy that the team hasn't made a smart move like this in the dead parts of the FA market.
The Denver Broncos are far from winning a Super Bowl, obviously, but that doesn't mean they can't win a good bit of games in the 2024 NFL Season.