Position by position wish list for Denver Broncos in Free Agency

Secondary

Vonn Bell

The former New Orlean Saint could be a nice addition to the Denver Broncos secondary in free agency. One of the things that puts a damper on this possibility is the likelihood that Caden Sterns takes that next step in his career. Yet, if the team is in the business of trading away draft picks and being aggressive for both head coach and quarterback in back-to-back years. This enters Bell and possibly others into the mix for additions to the safety room. 

Denver could dip into the Chauncey Gardner-Johnson can be an option; however, it is far more likely he stays with the Philadelphia Eagles in the franchise tag it seems. This opens a door for Denver to sign Bell in free agency. Bell with New Orleans had his career season in sacks in 2017. Obviously five years ago, but Bell has done a great job creating pressure on a quarterback and is 28 years old. 

It’s hard also to know if Denver will dip their toes into the safety room with the emergence of PJ Locke and Sterns lately. Yet, if the Broncos are business of putting forward the best product of talent on the back end of the secondary. Bell has a Super Bowl pedigree now with the Cincinnati Bengals. It would be smart to bring that kind of player to a locker room desperate to have a playoff-caliber team in 2023.

John Johnson

We talked about coaching reunions with players. How bout a player-and-player reunion? John Johnson is a recent release of the Cleveland Browns and could be a hot name on the market for a team that might want to reunite former college teammates. Chemistry is a big deal for Justin Simmons and other safety positions. Therefore nothing would surprise me if Denver Broncos signed former Boston College safety John Johnson. 

Johnson has been a bit of a playmaker and tackling machine for a safety over his career. In every single season since joining NFL, Johnson has registered an interception. He also has totaled 100+ tackles a season twice. In an interview with Let’s Talk Broncos Podcast, Caden Sterns enlighten me about the whole safety position with free and strong safety or box safety. The definitions of safety are more detailed than what Madden tells you. There’s left-to-right safety and then box safety. 

This means it does not matter if you have the same style of safety or a different player playing the same position. A playmaker at safety who brings the best out of defense takes the cake over single-focus thinking because a team already has that player. This kind of logic helps teams have the best defense possible. 

Therefore an addition like John Johnson would be a great move for a team that wants a younger safety who can be both left, right, or box safety. 

PJ Williams

Oh, I love reunions. The cornerback PJ Williams has spent his career with one team and that is the New Orleans Saints. Williams spent five seasons with new Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton. The impending free agent is a fascinating study positionally because of where he played with the Saints. Williams's positions during games were as follows: outside cornerback, slot corner, left safety, and right safety. 

If Denver moves on from Kareem Jackson who could seem like a likely candidate to also return with Vance Joseph as defensive coordinator, then Williams could be making the most sense to replace what Jackson brought to the table. Williams may not be the enforcer that Jackson is but he can still be the sound defender and younger. 

Williams would join a secondary room where he can be a slot corner or even that third or fourth safety. That seems like he’s nothing, but he gives Joseph another chess piece of the secondary to maximize that versatility. 

Byron Murphy

With Vance Joseph as the defensive coordinator with Denver Broncos, it would make sense to bring in a player with whom Joseph has familiarity. At 25 years old and a defensive back room that’s already at a high level adding Byron Murphy would be a great decision for this team. 

Christian Parker being retained is actually an even bigger point to bring Murphy into Denver. Parker has been instrumental in the growth of Justin Simmons, Patrick Surtain II, and Damarri Mathis. Keeping Parker would allow Murphy to likely reach his 2021 potential again as a playmaker at cornerback. In 2021, Murphy had four interceptions including a pick-six. 

Being part of a losing culture can breed bad habits. For Murphy, he has to dip back into his college game as a player. Murphy has sound technique and discipline as a cornerback with playmaking. Washington is rich in defensive-back talent. Look at Elijah Molden and Trent McDuffie. Murphy was before them but still proved to be a player capable of being a tough competitor in coverage. Since Parker and Joseph are in town as coaches it would make sense to bring him in and coach him up to be that hard-nosed corner again. It’s there. Now it’s time to tap back in and get it back.

Jabrill Peppers 

Defensive chess pieces are fun if used properly. Since joining the NFL from Michigan, Jabrill Peppers has not exactly made the kind of impact he or the teams he has been on proud they made that move. At this point in his career, Peppers has proven to be a solid depth player on defense. Versatility is still there for the 27-year-old, but expecting to him be a starter is too much to ask for right now. 

However, a player with the kind of versatility as a defensive back from both cornerback and even safety is still a luxury for a defensive coordinator. No one is expecting Peppers to be the starter with Denver Broncos if he comes here, but he would bring insurance to a secondary. Depending on how Vance Joseph plans to use Baron Browning, Denver could have multiple chess pieces on at least two levels. Browning could be a front seven chess piece and Peppers along with others could be a secondary chess piece. 

The cornerback already consists of Patrick Surtain II, Damarri Mathis, and K’Wuan Williams. A player like Peppers gives them ultimate control of mixing and matching defensively. However, as we said before, Peppers is not a starter. He could be a significant role player for Denver though in that secondary. Also, if Byron Murphy signs here, there’s no telling what Christian Parker could do if he gets his hands on Peppers. Parker just might be the right ingredient to bring the most out of Peppers.