4 free agents, 2 trades the Broncos can make at wide receiver

The Denver Broncos' depth at wide receiver is being tested once again in 2023 after years of brutal injury luck. The Broncos have had to deal with bad injury issues at wide receiver for the last four years and 2023 will be no different with veteran Tim Patrick suffering an Achilles tear and 2020 second-round pick KJ Hamler being waived with a mild heart condition.

The Denver Broncos did use their second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on wide receiver Marvin Mims out of Oklahoma, and Mims will obviously be expected to take on a bigger role sooner than expected. But the door is now open for guys on the roster, and perhaps players not currently on the roster, to make an impact.

What receivers are available to the Denver Broncos right now? The answer is, sadly, not many.

The receiver talent pool in free agency is thin, and it will require being creative to find actual help there if the Broncos are in the market for anything but training camp bodies. But there are some interesting options, nonetheless.

4 free agents, 2 trades the Denver Broncos could consider at wide receiver

1. N'Keal Harry, free agent

For my money, this might be one of the highest-upside options of the entire lot. That should tell you just about all you need to know regarding what's available right now, but former Patriots first-round pick N'Keal Harry is a big-bodied receiver at 6-foot-3 who might still have something in the tank. Case-in-point, we saw him make some plays last year for the Chicago Bears.

He was also part of the same NFL Draft class (2019) as Denver Broncos backup QB Jarrett Stidham, so there's some built-in chemistry there if only from their days practicing together and playing in preseason games together.

N'Keal Harry has 64 receptions for 715 yards and 5 touchdowns over the course of his NFL career. That's obviously not the type of production the Patriots expected when he became the first receiver taken in the first round of the entire Bill Belichick era, but he's still just 25 years old and has at least flashed some abilities that could help the Broncos in 2023.

2. Trade for Cardinals WR Brandon Smith

The Denver Broncos have actually shown some interest in Brandon Smith this offseason and the Arizona Cardinals simply got to him first. Now, they're going to have to wait for the preseason process to play itself out after the Cardinals offered Smith a contract before the Broncos could get a look at him during minicamp.

Smith had an outstanding stint with the Dallas Cowboys as a preseason player a couple of years back, but before that, he was one of the only standout playmakers on the Iowa Hawkeyes offense at the wide receiver position. Smith was a big-play threat for the Hawkeyes with his combination of size and speed, which he showcased in the pre-draft process

The Broncos might now end up having to trade for Smith if he has a big preseason for the Cardinals, which would be annoying. Or, they can wait for roster cuts to come through and try to claim him on waivers if he gets there.

One way or another, though, the Broncos have shown some interest here and Smith is an explosive playmaker who would qualify more as a developmental piece at this point. But perhaps he could show himself ready for an NFL role in 2023.

3. Sign veteran Josh Gordon

Josh Gordon might be a bit of a controversial signing at this point, but given the Denver Broncos' current situation, I can't really think of many better options to take a shot on for the preseason.

Let Josh Gordon go out there in the preseason and prove to you that he's either done as an NFL player, or that he's still got something. Like N'Keal Harry, Gordon was a teammate of Jarrett Stidham's back in 2019 with the New England Patriots, so there's some familiarity there.

Even more recently, Gordon was teammates in the XFL with Broncos third-string QB Ben DiNucci.

I have been pleading with the Denver Broncos to sign Josh Gordon for quite some time now, but to no avail. You could make a very strong argument that if things didn't work out for Gordon with the Kansas City Chiefs, they're probably not likely to work out for him in Denver. I get that, but I also think you just never know until you try something.

Gordon is just 32 years old and obviously keeps himself in great shape. He can obviously still play as well, given the fact we saw him go out there in the XFL and average over 14 yards per reception earlier this year. Given the fact that he was just playing, Gordon likely won't take a ton of time to get into game shape and he offers you size and speed at the position as well as a potential wild card in that position group.

At this point in the offseason, losing a guy like Tim Patrick, the Broncos may prefer to go the veteran route as opposed to bringing in young players who may or may not be able to give you anything.

4. Sign a former Colorado State receiver

We're going to cheat a little bit here and go after three guys in one. There just so happens to be a number of former Colorado State receivers on the free agent market right now, so the opportunity to bring some of these guys back to the state of Colorado is interesting.

1. Preston Williams

Formerly of the Miami Dolphins, Preston Williams is an intriguing option on the free agent heap because he showed some actual NFL chops at one point in time. The only problem? That was back in 2019. Williams is just 26, and over his first 16 games in the NFL, he had 50 receptions for 716 yards and 7 TDs. Those numbers aren't bad, by any means, but he's done almost nothing since 2020.

Still, the fact that he's 26 years old, has a 6-foot-5 frame, and has done it before? He might be worth a shot.

2. Rashard Higgins

Speaking of not producing much the last couple of years, I present Rashard Higgins. Higgins has been in the league since 2016 where he was a fifth-round pick of the Cleveland Browns. He had a couple of really nice seasons in Cleveland in 2018 and 2020 but outside of that, he's been a rotational role player at best. He only appeared in three games for Carolina last season, ironically on the same roster as Preston Williams.

Higgins will be 29 this season, and if he's got something left in the tank as an NFL receiver, perhaps Denver would be the team to find out.

3. Olabisi Johnson

"Bisi" Johnson made the Minnesota Vikings' roster as a 7th-round pick in 2019 and actually contributed 300 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns. He played a rotational role again in 2020 but has missed each of the last two seasons due to injury. He's been working out for teams this offseason, as recently as Monday with the Houston Texans.

The unfortunate thing with Johnson is the recent injury issues don't give you much hope he'd be able to actually contribute in 2023.

5. Make a trade with the Miami Dolphins

It might be time for George Paton to get on the horn with his old buddy Chris Grier and find out what the Dolphins want for one of the receivers in their overloaded room. The Dolphins clearly didn't know they were going to be able to pull off a trade for Tyreek Hill last offseason, otherwise they probably wouldn't have gone out and signed former Dallas Cowboys receiver Cedrick Wilson.

Wilson seems like an odd man out in the Dolphins' receiver room as of right now, but it also sounds based on what I'm reading out of Dolphins camp like the wide receiver rotation is still very much undecided.

Let's take a look at all the players the Dolphins have right now at receiver that could/will be on NFL rosters in 2023:

- Tyreek Hill
- Jaylen Waddle
- Braxton Berrios
- Cedrick Wilson
- Chosen Anderson
- River Cracraft
- Erik Ezukanma

Now, the Dolphins might end up having to choose between one of Berrios or Cracraft as those two guys offer just about the same thing as slot receivers, but then again, they also have the potential to get some value for a player here if the Dolphins are willing to move on for the right price.

If someone like Cedrick Wilson or Erik Ezukanma becomes available, that might be something for the Broncos to look into.

6. Sign a proven veteran

Like I said, the wide receiver position in free agency is relatively bare right now. There are some big names still out there but what do those big names even bring to the table at this point?

1. Jarvis Landry

Jarvis Landry obviously played for the New Orleans Saints last year, but Sean Payton wasn't there. Payton's footprint was still in New Orleans, however, and I think the offense in Denver would be something Landry could pick up on quickly.

The Saints didn't exactly have the best quarterback situation last year and Landry is still capable of making plays like this:

2. Julio Jones

There might not be a player available that Sean Payton is more familiar with than Julio Jones. The former first-round pick in 2011 is a living NFL legend, and he spent his prime years battling against Payton and the Saints as a member of the Atlanta Falcons.

Payton had the chance to coach Julio Jones in the 2018 Pro Bowl and Russell Wilson was also obviously on that roster as many people have pointed out at this point.

Russ has already thrown touchdowns to Jones in the past:

Jones played last year for the Bucs and that offense really struggled. But he could be a nice veteran presence with Tim Patrick out of the mix.

3. Kenny Golladay

Kenny Golladay was decently productive in 2021 for the Giants, averaging over 14 yards per reception. I want to preface what I'm about to say by making it clear that Courtland Sutton has done more since 2019 than Golladay, but many Broncos fans are holding out hope that Sutton can get back to WR1 form and the last time he showed that level of play was the same year Golladay last showed it -- 2019.

Golladay made the Pro Bowl in 2019 with the Lions and hasn't been able to duplicate that production since, but his QB situation has also not been good at all.