The NFL trade deadline has once again come and gone, and despite the deadline's reputation for being mostly talk and little substance, this year's action was pretty significant. We saw the Washington Commanders make a couple of huge trades before the deadline, getting rid of both Montez Sweat and Chase Young. We saw the Vikings make a move to replace the injured Kirk Cousins. The Seahawks got aggressive in a move for defensive lineman Leonard Williams.
But what about the Denver Broncos? There were undoubtedly a number of moves out there that the Broncos could have, and probably should have made. Which ones might they end up regretting?
5 trades Denver Broncos will regret not making
1. Chase Young trade
One trade the Denver Broncos really missed out on was getting in on the trade discussions for former NFL defensive rookie of the year Chase Young. Young was traded to the San Francisco 49ers for a third-round compensatory pick in 2024. The fact that the 49ers were able to get young for a pick that, at best will be in the late 90s and more likely in the early 100s, is astounding.
The Niners made a trade with the Broncos a few weeks back to acquire Randy Gregory to help their pass rush production, but that hasn't really happened, apparently. The 49ers are 0-3 since that Randy Gregory trade, for what it's worth.
But now they've taken another swing and have Chase Young reunited with Nick Bosa. The Denver Broncos could have reunited Young with Baron Browning and Jonathon Cooper in Denver, and they could have done it for a reasonable price.
Oh well.
2. Broncos should have traded for a tight end
As of right now, the Denver Broncos have exactly zero viable weapons in the passing game at the tight end position. Absent an unexpected free agent signing, the fact that the Broncos passed on tight ends at this year's trade deadline means that the team is moving forward with Adam Trautman, Chris Manhertz, and Nate Adkins at the position for the remainder of the season.
I guess Sean Payton and George Paton were okay with not having anyone at the position who can help in the passing game. Greg Dulcich is supposed to be that guy for the Broncos, but he's been unfortunately dealing with hamstring injuries for almost a year-and-a-half at this point. Dulcich's availability is a major question mark, and obviously something the Broncos can't really count on.
They might have been able to make a deal for someone like Hunter Henry or Mike Gesicki of the Patriots, but nothing materialized.
3. Broncos didn't add any additional picks to 2024 NFL Draft war chest
Will the Denver Broncos regret not making any trades to add picks to their 2024 NFL Draft war chest?
Maybe.
According to Tankathon, the Broncos have six selections in the 2024 NFL Draft as of right now:
- 1st round
- 3rd round (from Saints)
- 4th round (from Dolphins)
- 5th round
- 5th round (from Jets)
- 7th round (from Rams)
Obviously, the Broncos had some offers on players that are currently on the roster, but they would rather evaluate those guys over the final nine games than trade them away now. Ultimately, I don't really disagree with keeping guys if you were only getting offered poor value in return, but having just six selections in next year's draft is tough.
4. No defensive line trades
The Denver Broncos didn't need to go after Leonard Williams and give up a second-round pick (like the Seahawks did) by any means, but you would have loved to see them go after some defensive line help at the NFL trade deadline. To be fair, the Broncos did pick up rookie Keondre Coburn on waivers from the Chiefs, so they've got some potential reinforcements in the works, but the defensive line has been an area of concern throughout the season.
Zach Allen and DJ Jones are good players, and Mike Purcell is solid in rotation, but players like Jonathan Harris and Matt Henningsen haven't been good enough to this point. It would have been nice to see the Broncos make some type of move here, even if it was just going after more developmental help like Keondre Coburn.
5. Should Broncos have offloaded a WR?
The question has to be asked: should the Denver Broncos have offloaded one of their wide receivers?
Personally, I was in favor of keeping both Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton, but given their contract situations, Sutton's elevated value, and the lack of reps and targets right now for Marvin Mims, it's at least a question worth asking.
Especially if the motivation is to get Mims, one of the most explosive playmakers on the team, more chances to actually make plays, I think you could make an argument here. The Broncos probably aren't going to get better value for Courtland Sutton than right now with the way he's played. They clearly aren't having their asking price met regarding Jerry Jeudy, and that's not likely to happen in the offseason, either.
If they truly were motivated to offload a receiver, now would have been the time. Now, it's up to Sean Payton to help us all see the vision he's got for all of these guys together, or we're possibly going to be left wondering in the offseason: Why didn't the Broncos trade a receiver when they had the chance? Why did they keep that player just to trade/cut him in the offseason when Marvin Mims could have been getting reps.
Again, I'm not 100 percent on board with this line of thinking, but it's worth considering.