5 players the Denver Broncos should consider at the 2024 NFL trade deadline

The Denver Broncos must consider trading for a player or two at the NFL trade deadline if the move makes sense, and perhaps one of these five players fit. The Broncos are 2-2 and legitimately have four winnable games coming up. Ideally, this team is able to win three of four, which would get them to 5-3 the week before the NFL trade deadline.

This would surely prompt Denver to add a player or two, right? The Broncos are a lot closer than some think; they've got the excellent special teams and now have a very good defense. The offense is the last piece of the puzzle, but with how aggressive I believe Sean Payton and George Paton can be, them adding a player at the deadline is not out of the question.

Sure, if Denver loses their next four then this is all out of the question, but we just saw this team beat two playoff-caliber teams in back-to-back weeks. Denver has played an insane slate of opposing defenses, so the offense is going to come. It's been just four games, so I would caution you to allow Bo Nix and the unit to continue to develop.

This is a long process, and perhaps could be aided by adding someone at the 2024 NFL Trade Deadline.

5 players the Denver Broncos should consider at the 2024 NFL trade deadline
Kyle Pitts, TE, Atlanta Falcons

A very odd situation; Kyle Pitts broke out during his rookie season in 2021, hauling in 68 receptions for 1,026 yards and one touchdown. He made the Pro Bowl but has not come close to that production since then. Pitts is 6'6" ad 246lbs. He ran a 4.44 forty-yard dash, so his speed and size is just not commonly seen in the NFL.

Since the start of the 2022 NFL Season, across 31 regular season games, Kyle Pitts has caught 89 receptions for 1,128 yards. This would come out to 49 receptions for 619 yards across a 17-game season, so while his production has dipped, he's still producing at a notable level from the TE spot.

The Denver Broncos have virtually nothing at tight end, so even three receptions a game for 33 yards from a tight end would be a welcome addition. Kyle Pitts only turns 24 years old in a few days, so this could be a low-risk, high-reward move for the Denver Broncos.

Amari Cooper, WR, Cleveland Browns

It seems that Amari Cooper is seeing his name pop up in trade talks, and this bit of news broke which makes the situation even more interesting:

Amari Cooper has been one of the most reliable players in the NFL over the last decade and is 30 years old. He's a former first-round draft pick of the then Oakland Raiders in the 2015 NFL Draft. Across his regular season career, Cooper has caught 683 passes for 9,634 yards and 62 touchdowns. He's got seven 1,000-yard seasons across his career and is on the cusp of hitting 10,000 career yards.

The big concern with Cooper is that he's caught only 43.2% of his targets this year, which is just not ideal. Deshaun Watson is a terrible QB, so perhaps much of that is due to his passer, but Cooper has dropped some passes this year.

You have to assume that the Browns aren't asking for a lot for a 30-year-old wide receiver who is clearly not a long-term piece for this team. If nothing else, Denver should see if they can get Amari Cooper for a late-round pick, as he'd instantly become the Broncos' best and most reliable WR, even with his early struggles in 2024.

You trade for Amari Cooper to help your rookie QB develop. He's not going to be here for the next three years. The point here is to give rookie QB Bo Nix a reliable weapon and someone else that opposing defenses have to watch out for.

The Browns have Broncos have recently made a WR deal before, as Cleveland traded for Jerry Jeudy and proceeded to extend him, so he's there for the long-term. The Browns are in a tough spot with Deshaun Watson. He's not a viable QB, so the Browns may have to get creative to try and re-tool this roster and move on from Watson.

Offloading some veteran contracts could help them start that process.

DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Tennessee Titans

With the Tennessee Titans not really seeing second-year QB Will Levis develop, and with DeAndre Hopkins being a free agent in 2025, it could make sense if the Titans shipped Hopkins to a new team at the deadline. This would be a similar move to the Broncos trading for Amari Cooper; a short-term move to help aid the development of Bo Nix.

And DeAndre Hopkins definitely still has some gas left in the tank. In 2023, he caught 75 receptions for 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns. He's got 12,476 career regular season yards and has stayed pretty healthy for most of his career, which began all the way back in 2013.

DeAndre Hopkins may also be a future Hall of Famer, and I would imagine that another WR-needy team would come calling as well. The Kansas City Chiefs are very likely without Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown for the entire 2024 season, and you know they're trying to add a player. The Broncos should trade for Hopkins at the very least so the Chiefs can't get him first.

Bobby Okereke, ILB, New York Giants

The New York Giants are bad, folks. I have no idea why the team thought it was a good idea to extend Daniel Jones two offseasons ago, but that's really set them back for years. The Giants should build for the future and should consider selling at the NFL Trade Deadline. They have a stud inside linebacker in Bobby Okereke who the Broncos should call on.

They lost Alex Singleton for the rest of the season to a torn ACL and currently have Cody Barton as the "top" guy in the room. While the defense has been excellent, it would not hurt to add someone like Okereke, who has missed just two games in his career.

Denver does still need an impact player at the ILB spot, no matter how good the defense is.

Evan Engram, TE, Jacksonville Jaguars

How about another potential tight end fit? The 0-4 Jacksonville Jaguars are surely heading toward being sellers at the NFL Trade Deadline, as I am also sure that the coaching staff is on the hot seat and perhaps even the GM is on the hot seat as well. The team is seeing their $275 million QB in Trevor Lawrence regress, and the roster itself has some major holes, most notably along the offensive line.

The Jags should consider building for the future, so someone like Evan Engram could very well be on the trade block. In 2023 with the Jaguars, he caught 114 passes for 963 yards and four touchdowns. He's turned into a very good receiving tight end and as we all know, the Broncos need someone like this in their room.

The Jags probably can't fetch much in a deal for Engram, but perhaps they'll consider just taking what they can get, as they need to fill more valuable positional holes on their roster.