The Denver Broncos must dip into the remaining free agent market and make a few signings before their crucial Week 3 game. You just never know if the Broncos will figure something out in Week 3. It might not be likely, but there is always a chance.
The Broncos risk starting 0-3 for the second-straight season as they travel to Tampa to play Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers. About a year ago, that sentence would not have been as scary as it is today. Not only is Mayfield playing out of his mind, but the Bucs defense has also been very good.
This could be another brutal loss for Denver, but they could try and at least raise the floor of certain positions if they were to make some signings before the game.
3 free agents the Denver Broncos should consider signing ahead of Week 3
Hunter Renfrow, WR
Please, I am begging you to sign Hunter Renfrow. If you have read my work here on Predominantly Orange, I have often attached myself to random free agents that I think the Broncos should sign. In years past it's been guys like Kwon Alexander, Yannick Ngakoue, and even Ndamukong Suh. Now, my fixation is on Hunter Renfrow, a former Pro Bowl wide receiver who is an excellent route runner.
Renfrow is no one special at this point, but he's an extremely talented route-runner and could be a very strong underneath target for Bo Nix on offense. At this point, Denver cannot keep trotting out the same wide receivers and hoping for a different result.
Why not try something different like Renfrow? At the worst, Denver signs someone who can't provide much on offense and just ends up getting cut. You know it's a bad situation when Josh Reynolds has been the team's best WR. It's nothing against Reynolds, but he's been nothing more than a WR3 his entire career.
So the fact that he's already on pace for over 1,100 yards in 2024 is a huge indictment on the incumbent talent in the room. It can't hurt to try someone like Hunter Renfrow.
Jerick McKinnon, RB
With Kareem Hunt signing with the Kansas City Chiefs, the Denver Broncos have little to no choices left in the free agency market at the RB position. Javonte Williams is just not cutting it and has turned into a huge swing and miss by George Paton, who traded up in the 2021 NFL Draft to take Williams. Rookie RB Audric Estime is on IR, and Jaleel McLaughlin is, well, a guy.
The Broncos could turn to Jerick McKinnon to try and spark their RB production. More known as a pass-catching back, "Jet" McKinnon has rushed for 2,650 yards and has caught 269 passes over his career. He's racked up 4,698 yards on offense along with a respectable four yards per carry.
He's actually never had 1,000 yards from scrimmage but has played in 116 regular season games and 10 postseason contests. He's as reliable as they come, catching nearly 75% of his career targets and could at least raise the floor of the RB room for a few weeks.
Something has to change with this unit. Broncos RB Tyler Badie probably needs more carries and Javonte Williams probably needs less, but with Estime on IR, this whole situation is a bit tight. The least Denver can do is to try and bring someone in to provide a spark.
Cameron Fleming, OT
With right tackle Mike McGlinchey set to miss several weeks with an MCL sprain, the Denver Broncos should pivot to an old friend in Cameron Fleming, who played in 26 games for the team from the 2021-2023 seasons, starting 20 of them. Fleming can play both left and right tackle and was actually quite good in 2022, starting 15 games.
The Broncos need to do everything in their power to keep Bo Nix upright and to try and fix the offense, which has shown no signs of life through two weeks. Signing a veteran tackle who has played in over 100 regular season games in a no-brainer move that competent NFL franchises make. Can the Broncos make this correct move, or will they just continue down the path of the status quo?