The Denver Broncos are facing a critical 2023 NFL season. The team knows it has mortgaged quite a bit to get a new quarterback and head coach into the building but that has also limited some of its resources.
Still, the NFL free-agent market is about to open up and that will be the team's first opportunity to improve the roster in order to make a big push this coming season.
So how should the Broncos attack free agency? It is expected that the team will want to be aggressive but it also has to be an attractive landing spot for players. How "attractive" it currently is depends on who you talk to.
As of this writing, the team has about $32.7 million in available cap space, according to Over the Cap. That will allow for some big moves to be made, but the smaller moves are often just as important.
So in this exercise, I will sit in as general manager George Paton and map out what an ideal run through free agency could look like for the Broncos.
Broncos should trade Courtland Sutton and Lloyd Cushenberry
The first order of business will be to part ways with a couple of current players.
Lloyd Cushenberry, who the Broncos took in the third round of the 2020 draft, has not panned out and just doesn't seem to have much of a future with this team. The Broncos should be in the market for a new center and that means they'll need to move on from the old one.
Cushenberry wouldn't bring much of a return, probably a sixth or seventh-round pick, but that would be better than nothing. If the Broncos can't trade him, he will likely just be cut.
The much tougher decision lies with what the team should do with Courtland Sutton.
Only Russell Wilson carries a bigger cap hit in 2023 on the entire team, which is the main reason this idea needs to be considered. Sutton has been good for the team, but he has been far from great.
The dilemma here would be in taking an experienced weapon away from Wilson. The Broncos are not necessarily deep at the wide receiver position and would have to bank of Tim Patrick being back to 100 percent and having a big year for the team. They would also need someone like K.J. Hamler to finally be on the field and contributing.
So, there is some risk in trading Sutton.
But moving him would get back another $6 million in cap savings. The Broncos would eat some dead money in the deal ($11.7 million) but the extra savings could help bring in another player at a position of need.
That said, here are how those two trades could
The Cardinals have a need at center and could give Cushenberry a chance to rejuvenate his career. The Broncos would get a late-round pick in return.
The Cowboys make sense for Sutton as it would give Dak Prescott another solid weapon to go with CeeDee Lamb. Sutton played at SMU in college and would likely enjoy being dealt there as well.
The Broncos would receive the 90th overall pick in the draft, giving them three picks in the third round. They would be wise to use one of those on a replacement for Sutton.
Fans are going to want to see a bigger return for Sutton but realistically, this might be about the most they get back.
Attacking the offensive line
Sign Ethan Pocic, Center
The main focus of this free-agent period for the Broncos should be on the offensive line, which is no secret. The team needs to make a lot of decisions within that group.
Signing a center needs to be one of the top priorities.
If Cushenberry is traded (and even if he is not, truthfully), the team needs a player who can come in and play the center position for the next several years.
Pocic has made 53 starts in his career and after one season with the Cleveland Browns, is ready to test the market again. Prior to his days there, he played for the Seattle Seahawks, with Russell Wilson.
The connection to Wilson is certainly a factor as it would give the quarterback a player he is comfortable with having played with him before.
He has had some injury issues in the past but he would be a big upgrade at the position and he would be more affordable than guys like Connor McGovern and the recently-released Ben Jones.
Backup option: Sign Garrett Bradbury
Re-signings
Re-sign Cameron Fleming
Basically every player that played right tackle for the Broncos this past season is an unrestricted free agent and I am of the belief that at least one of them should be brought back as a backup for some depth.
Cam Fleming would be the best option there as he held the fort down at that spot as well as could have been expected and becomes a better option than Billy Turner, Calvin Anderson or Tom Compton.
If he would agree to a one-year deal worth about $2 million, you would have to consider that a bargain. He likely won't have a huge market and would probably be willing to accept that.
Backup option: Sign Jermaine Eluemunor
Re-sign Dalton Risner
There are Broncos fans who would dislike this move because Risner has played poorly at times but the reason he should be brought back is because the options on the open market are just not that intriguing.
Like Fleming, Risner should be signed to a short-term deal. The problem is, there could easily be a team out there willing to throw a huge contract at him and if that happens, the Broncos must allow it.
But if he is interested in staying and proving himself for another season, then a deal should be reached. Quinn Bailey and Parker Ferguson are really the only other guards on the roster aside for Quinn Meinerz, the other starter.
But let's say that the Broncos want to look outside the organization, starting with free agency.
Isaac Seumalo is probably the best name out there, but he is going to cost the kind of money you could give to a tackle. Evan Brown is another option and one the team could consider, but how much better would he be?
Then you have the draft, where you don't have a pick until the third round. Do you want to use one of those picks on a guard with all of the needs the team will likely still have? And would a third-round guard be better than Risner?
Give me Risner, easily.
Backup option: Sign Evan Brown, but he will probably be more expensive than Risner.
Big splash move
Sign Jawaan Taylor
The Broncos need to make at least one big splash move and this is it. The right tackle position needs to be addressed with a quality starter and Jawaan Taylor may be the best option.
His stock is on the rise in terms of his play on the field and he has been a durable player throughout his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
He is not going to come cheap. Spotrac projects him to get a contract in the neighborhood of $14 million a season but that will likely be cheaper than the deal Mike McGlinchey ends up getting.
The Broncos could look at bargain players such as Jermaine Eluemunor and George Fant but both of them are likely nothing more than a temporary band-aid. In fact, if they don't sign a guy like Taylor, the best option may be to just wait for the draft to find that long-term guy.
The Broncos have had a lot of bad luck in signing right tackles in free agency in recent years with the likes of Donald Stephenson, Menelik Watson and Ja'Wuan James having been some of the biggest free-agent busts in team history, but Taylor does seem like a cut above all of them.
Backup option: Take a right tackle with pick No. 68 or 69 in third round of draft.
Running Back
Sign Alexander Mattison
Because of the nature of Javonte Williams' season-ending injury last year, he may not be ready to get on the field when the season kicks off. And even if he is, the Broncos need reinforcements.
Alexander Mattison is a great fit for this spot and I outlined that right here. He is a starting caliber running back, he has just been behind Dalvin Cook in Minnesota. However, if these reports are accurate, the Vikings may like Mattison better for the future than Cook.
Mattison could come in and carry the load until Williams was at 100 percent and then when he was, they could make for an excellent pairing, just like what the Vikings have had the past four seasons.
He would also be cheaper than someone like Miles Sanders or Kareem Hunt.
Backup option: Sign free agent Jeff Wilson.
Re-sign Latavius Murray
Latavius Murray was an excellent addition for the Broncos last year and still runs hard despite being 32 years old. Once Williams went down, he was easily the best running back on the team last year.
There won't be a lot of suitors for Murray, who was on the practice squad of the New Orleans Saints before the Broncos came and got him last season. A short-term deal to keep him in Denver for this next season makes all the sense in the world.
The Broncos don't have much at running back behind Williams as Tyler Badie, Damarea Crockett and Tyreik McAllister are the only other guys under contract.
Adding Mattison and retaining Murray is the move to make.
Backup option: Use a late-round pick on a running back.
Linebacker
Re-sign Alex Singleton
Alex Singleton was nothing short of fantastic for the Broncos this past season and finished seventh in the league in total tackles. In a game against the Chargers in October, he racked up 21 tackles.
Only three players in NFL history have ever had more tackles in a game.
Singleton was in on what seemed like every play and so long as he and Josey Jewell can stay healthy, they make up a solid combination at the inside linebacker spots.
Bigger names such as Lavonte David and Devin Bush are out there and could be intriguing, but Singleton would be much more affordable and if he can repeat his 2022 performance, there is no reason not to give him another deal.
However, it would be best if that were a short-term deal again. If Singleton is looking for a bigger contract there could be other teams willing to give him that and the Broncos may be out at that point.
Backup option: Splurge to sign free agent Tremaine Edmunds.
Tremaine Edmunds would be a fabulous signing for the team but he will not come at a low cost. If the Broncos could swing it, and certainly if they didn't use the money on a big move like Jawaan Taylor, then it's a move the team should absolutely consider.
Defensive Line
Sign Zach Allen
This wouldn't be a headline-grabbing move, but it is one that makes plenty of sense.
Zach Allen was drafted in the third-round in 2019 by the Cardinals and for the past four seasons, he has played on a defense ran by Vance Joseph, the Broncos' new defensive coordinator.
The Broncos could get Joseph a familiar piece from his old defense and help strengthen a defensive line that seems certain to lose Dre'Mont Jones.
In four seasons in Arizona, Allen has registered 138 tackles, 11.5 sacks, one interception and three fumble recoveries. He has scored one defensive touchdown and could be plugged right in as a starter on the Denver defense.
Re-sign DeShawn Williams
After bouncing around the league, DeShawn Williams has found a home in Denver and has become a regular contributor over the last three seasons, playing in 46 games with 34 starts in that time.
Williams had a career-high 4.5 sacks last year and would be easy to keep around on another short-term, affordable deal. There isn't much reason not to make that happen considering how much of a hit losing Jones could be.
If the Broncos signed Allen and retained Williams, they could pair them with D.J. Jones and still have a solid defensive front, though it would need more work.
If Eyioma Uwazurike can step up and become a bigger defensive force next season in year two, that would be huge for the team.