The Denver Broncos have a clear path to create millions in cap space and should break the bank for this crucial player. A positive quality of George Paton is his cultural-based mindset. I remember during his introductory press conference, or some time around there, him saying that he believes in building teams through the NFL Draft and retaining in-house players.
Creating that culture where the team takes care of their own is huge in keeping the team competitive and the players happy. Paton has also shown great willingness to invest heavily in the free agent market. This is evidenced by signing players like K'Waun Williams, DJ Jones, Randy Gregory, and trading the entire western hemisphere for Russell Wilson.
Paton has also rewarded players in-house that have deserved it. All of Justin Simmons, Shelby Harris, Courtland Sutton, and Tim Patrick got contract extensions from George Paton, which is nothing more than Paton keeping his word for the deserving players.
The next player on this list is someone the Broncos should break the bank for, and that's none other than Dre'Mont Jones who is easily one of the better defensive tackles in the NFL by far. He excels in both the run and pass game.
According to ESPN, Jones ranked sixth among all defensive tackles in pass rush win rate. He also makes a nice compliment to DJ Jones, who ranked fourth in run-stop win rate as a defensive tackle. On a side note, the two players being able to compliment themselves like this as excelling in the run-and-pass game is huge.
Furthermore, Jones being able to generate interior pressure is huge as the Broncos' edge defenders were a bit inconsistent this year with injuries. Randy Gregory hardly saw the field and Baron Browning battled some injuries. 2022 rookie Nik Bonitto contributed virtually nothing in that department.
Being that the Broncos are in a loaded AFC West, they'll need to keep the defense intact as much as possible, especially with being able to get to the quarterback. I'd guess that Dre'Mont Jones' contract extension would come in at around $15 million per season.
It may seem expensive, but Justin Simmons is getting about that much per year playing a much less valuable position at safety. If Jones can be signed for $15 million per season, then the Broncos should be all over that, but even if Jones is wanting a bit more, I don't any situation where the team should not do that.
Not extending Jones would create yet another massive hole along the defensive line, and games in the NFL are won at the line of scrimmage, so Denver being able to keep their defensive line together would the the smart way forward.