3 players the Denver Broncos could trade for before Week 1
Teams across the NFL are continuing to sort out their rosters ahead of the 2023 NFL season, and these three players might make sense on the Denver Broncos. A recent article from Bleacher Report highlighted one player from each NFL team that should be traded ahead of the 2023 season.
Many of these players and hypothetical trades could very well happen for varying reasons. Aging veterans or players who aren't on the best of contracts could force them off their respective rosters at some point, and I do think the Denver Broncos have room to add a player or two.
I would expect the Sean Payton/George Paton brain trust to add in some way before the start of the season. Perhaps making a trade for one of these players makes sense for the team. Let's talk about it!
3 players the Denver Broncos could trade for before week one of 2023 NFL season
1. Shaq Barrett, EDGE
Why not reunite Shaq Barrett with the team that he began his career with? B/R pegs Barrett as the player that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should trade, and it makes a lot of sense when you think about it. When you consider Barrett is 31 this year and now on a Buccaneers team that is clearly angling toward a rebuild, a trade makes sense.
Barrett played in just eight games in 2022 but managed three sacks and six QB hits. During his career in Tampa, which has spanned four years, Barrett has 40.5 sacks and 81 QB hits, which is excellent production. Most notably, Barrett had a whopping 19.5 sacks and 37 QB hits in 2019, his first year in Tampa.
His 17-game average over his eight-year career comes out to eight sacks and 17 QB hits per season, which would be a welcome addition to the Denver Broncos defensive front, which is already thin because of injuries. I also think adding Barrett allows defensive coordinator Vance Joseph to deploy players like Frank Clark and Randy Gregory as defensive linemen. Both have played with their hands in the dirt and this could help Joseph conjure up schemes to get to the QB.
In the NFL today, you can never have too many pass rushers, so there should be no argument against adding Shaq Barrett, who won't be expensive to acquire.