Denver Broncos should sign former Saints player who played for Sean Payton

Greg Dulcich exited the Denver Broncos' Week 1 game early with a hamstring injury. He will probably miss some time, so Denver should consider signing a TE who has played with Sean Payton before. In fact, not only has he played with Sean Payton before, but he's also been very productive in the last few years that he's been on an NFL roster.

Yes, he's well into his 30s at this point, but his production has actually been very consistent and quite impressive as he's aged into his 30s, and for whatever reason, he was totally out of the NFL last year. What we saw in Week 1 against the Las Vegas Raiders was a team that did not have a big, explosive play on offense.

Perhaps Jerry Jeudy being out of the lineup was contributing to that. Either way, I think the Broncos could afford to add someone who does have big-play ability, and he has some familiarity with Sean Payton. Given that Payton has brought over several of his former players, I don't see how signing Jared Cook would be much different.

Cook, 36, has been in the NFL since 2009 and has played for six teams. He is the true definition of a journeyman, but he's remained productive. From 2017-2021, Jared Cook put up the following receiving yardage totals: 688, 896, 705, 504, 564. He also added 28 touchdowns during that stretch.

Over a 17-game season, Cook has averaged 741 yards and six touchdowns in that same time period. I really have no idea why Jared Cook was not on an NFL roster in 2022, and perhaps him being closer to 40 than 30 is a problem. I can't help but wonder, though, if Cook still has something in the tank.

In 2019 and 2020, he was with the New Orleans Saints, where he caught 80 passes for 1,209 yards and 16 touchdowns. He averaged 15.1 yards per reception, which was the best stretch of his career. Gaining 15 yards per completion is a giant chunk of the field, and Cook does have big-play ability.

His 6-foot-5, 246 pound frame and freakishly long legs make him a perfect big-play and red zone threat at the TE position. I think signing Jared Cook or at least working him out in Denver would make some sense, especially if Greg Dulcich needs to miss some time. Denver probably has to figure something out with their pass-catchers if they want to be able to open up the offense and capitalize on some big plays.

Even though the offense was largely efficient in Week 1, it was missing a spark.