The Denver Broncos have begun leaking some of their coaching hires to the media, including the hiring of Keary Colbert as the team's new wide receivers coach. Colbert was an assistant most recently with the Florida Gators in 2022 and previously worked at his alma mater at USC from 2016-2021. Colbert is a former Denver Broncos receiver himself, signed by Mike Shanahan in the 2008 offseason only to be traded two games into the campaign.
He returns to Denver to fill the shoes of longtime position coach Zach Azzanni. As is the case with new coaching staffs almost all the time, personnel can change drastically when you overhaul a coaching staff. There is a connection between Colbert and New York Jets wide receiver Elijah Moore, who was requesting a trade last year, that could come into play for the Denver Broncos in 2023...
Denver Broncos an option for WR Elijah Moore in a trade?
Broncos WR coach Keary Colbert considers Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin to be a 'mentor' of his. Kiffin coached him at USC, brought him on as a GA, and brought him to Alabama as an 'offensive analyst'
— Xan (@XanB21) February 23, 2023
Wonder if this relationship might propel interest in trading for a certain Jets WR? https://t.co/FONiRgcDtN
The connections between Keary Colbert and Lane Kiffin are obviously very strong ones, but what does that have to do with Elijah Moore? Well, Moore's coach at Ole Miss was none other than Lane Kiffin.
Beyond just the connections of Keary Colbert and Lane Kiffin regarding Elijah Moore, there are now obvious connections with the New York Jets and the Denver Broncos that could lead to some types of deals being made over the course of the 2023 offseason. Not only did the Jets hire Nathaniel Hackett as their offensive coordinator, but they also hired Zach Azzanni as their wide receivers coach.
Azzanni came onto Vance Joseph's staff in 2018, the year the Broncos drafted Courtland Sutton out of SMU. Last year, Hackett's offense was seeing results in terms of Courtland Sutton getting open. He wasn't getting the ball or making plays as frequently as many had hoped, but he certainly didn't have issues getting open. If the Jets covet a player like Sutton, it could make sense for the Broncos to take over $6 million in cap savings by trading him straight up for a player with two years left on his rookie deal like Elijah Moore.
Moore will be just 23 years old in March and the Broncos have Tim Patrick coming back from injury this offseason. That's not to say they should just trade Courtland Sutton to the highest bidder, although it's interesting that his name has already started popping up this offseason.
At any rate, don't be shocked if something comes to fruition here. The Jets could very well be moving on from Corey Davis this offseason, which would give them a need for a bigger-bodied receiver like Sutton. Sutton just so happens to be familiar with the offense and position coach.
For Keary Colbert and Sean Payton in Denver, it would be a chance to get younger and cheaper at the position with Jerry Jeudy's contract extension now on the horizon.