The Denver Broncos are a team with many needs as we head toward the 2024 season. The team is searching for several answers and has had to make some difficult decisions to help set them up best for the future, such as letting go of Justin Simmons, one of the best safeties in team history.
Most people rank the current roster of the Denver Broncos among the worst in the league and recent power rankings reflect that belief. The team has made some free-agents signings, but most of them have been fairly quiet because the Broncos are feeling the impact of the Russell Wilson contract and are not throwing money around this offseason.
Following the first big wave of free agency, the Broncos still have some major needs, all of which are likely to carry over into next month's draft.
5 biggest remaining Broncos needs after the first wave of free agency
Tight End
The Broncos re-signed Adam Trautman this offseason but that won't nearly be enough as his first season with the Broncos was a pretty quiet one despite being the team's top tight end. Greg Dulcich would be able to offer the team a big boost but being healthy has been his biggest hurdle and beyond that, the team doesn't have much, though Lucas Krull has some upside.
The Broncos are going to need to find another tight end somewhere, unless they want to bank on Dulcich being a much bigger part of the offense in 2024 but he has played in just 12 career games, including only two last season.
The Broncos need a tight end who can stretch the field and Trautman is not going to offer that. It will be interesting to see what the Broncos do at the position but they only have eight draft picks currently and they need to hit on each of them, so they might roll with what they have. The free-agent market doesn't have much left to offer.
Top free agents remaining:
Logan Thomas
C.J. Uzomah
Robert Tonyan
Cornerback
The Broncos have Pat Surtain II but they are going to need to surround him with better options than Damarri Mathis and Riley Moss. The team has chosen not to bring back in-house free agents K'Waun Williams and Fabian Moreau but in a passing league, more is needed.
You will still come across mock drafts that have the Broncos taking a corner with the No. 12 overall pick in the draft and while that would be wildly unpopular within the fanbase, it shows that it is still viewed as a huge need for the team.
Right now, the team may have to hope that either Mathis or Moss comes up big in 2024 but adding another veteran option and/or drafting a player within the first four rounds is likely going to have to be considered.
This is also a secondary that lost its leader, Justin Simmons, so guys like Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert could be really excited to throw it around against the Broncos this coming year.
Top free agents remaining:
Xavien Howard
Adoree Jackson
Stephon Gilmore
Defensive Line
This was probably the team's weakest position coming into the offseason and it might still be, despite the solid free-agent signing of Malcolm Roach. Looking at this group, there isn't much to be enthusiastic about. The team needs much more.
To the surprise of many Broncos fans, D.J. Jones is still on the roster despite the cap relief that letting him go would bring. Zach Allen had a good year last year but beyond that, the team has Matt Henningsen, Elijah Garcia, Rashard Lawrence and Jordan Jackson.
Former Broncos Mike Purcell is still out there but at 32 years old, the team may have decided that he doesn't fit into future plans. The Broncos are going to need to add some reinforcements before the season kicks off but there are still several ways to do that, including the undrafted process.
Top free agents remaining:
Emmanuel Ogbah
Carl Lawson
Calais Campbell
Wide Receiver
The Broncos have a thin wide receiver corps and that still didn't stop them from sending Jerry Jeudy to a new team. They did decide to bring back Tim Patrick on a new, team-friendly deal and though he hasn't played a snap since the 2021 season, he will be counted on to provide veteran leadership in 2024.
Courtland Sutton was also the subject of many trade rumors but remains the team's top wide receiver and second-year player Marvin Mims will likely be given a much bigger role than he had as a rookie. But what do the Broncos have at wide receiver beyond that? Well, not much.
Lil'Jordan Humphrey was re-signed and Brandon Johnson is still around. Jalen Virgil will look to bounce back from a season-ending injury and then you have fringe roster guys like Phillip Dorsett, David Sills and Michael Bandy. This is a very lackluster group.
There will be hope that Mims takes off in year two but the team needs at least one more option that might actually threaten a defense. The Broncos need to surround the starting quarterback, whoever that may be, with the kind of weapons that set him up for success. It's hard to say that the Broncos have that in place right now.
Top free agents remaining:
Odell Beckham, Jr.
Michael Thomas
Hunter Renfrow
Quarterback
Of course, we have to finish with the most obvious. Nearly everyone thought that the Broncos would add a veteran arm to the roster once free agency started and it has been a surprise that the team has opted not to. So could the Broncos really start the 2024 season with Jarrett Stidham at quarterback? It's starting to look quite possible.
The Broncos will draft a quarterback at the end of April, it's just a matter of when they choose to make that pick and who it ends up being. If the team does not trade out of the No. 12 slot in the first round, most signs are pointing to Oregon's Bo Nix.
Whoever the Broncos draft, he will be immediately tabbed as the future of the franchise, so it is a player Sean Payton, George Paton and everyone else in that front office is going to have to be 100 percent behind.
The Broncos have just Stidham and Ben DiNucci on the roster. It's possible they could still add another option through free agency, but that idea seems less likely with each passing day as it's more likely that the team just sees Stidham as that "bridge" option.
Top free agents remaining:
Ryan Tannehill
Carson Wentz
Trevor Siemian