Position by position wish list for Denver Broncos in Free Agency
Offensive Guards
Nate Davis
The guard position is expected to encounter massive changes from what was previously there from 2018-2022. Dalton Risner started out well for the Denver Broncos and had numerous offensive line coaches in his Broncos tenure. Risner struggled even with those changes but still found himself available for the team. The likelihood Risner is back is not good right now. This forces Denver to attack the left guard again in 2023. Nate Davis comes to mind for left guard.
Davis has been of the more successful guards for the Tennessee Titans and with a very run-heavy offense predicated on the play action, Davis seems like a plug-and-play guard. Davis encountered his best year as a guard in 2022 putting him in a great position for a nice payday in free agency. The Broncos plan to be a heavy-run attack offense and one that uses Russell Wilson’s strengths well. This is why Davis’ success in a play-action offense makes him for a great play here.
The Titans guard has shown tremendous growth every season and finished years better than the beginning. Davis would still need to have a better complete season from start to finish. Hopefully, 2022 is the start of something new.
Evan Brown
The Denver Broncos have valued versatile offensive linemen in the past. Detroit Lions guard Evan Brown, who is slated to be a free agent, is a versatile player who played exactly 12 games at center and 12 at right guard. Brown joined the Lions in 2021 as a true depth piece, but he saw his value rise significantly. Frank Ragnow went down due to injury and Brown slid right in there.
Brown played his 12 games at center when Ragnow went down for injury and proved his worth to the rest of his team. Fast forward to 2022, Brown found himself in the same predicament replacing an injured guard this time Halapoulivaati Vaitai. Vaitai was the starting right guard in 2022 initially before the injury and Brown played himself not just past his original one-year deal with the Lions. You could say Brown put himself in the same situation as Alex Singleton and that’s a pay raise. The deal Brown will get in free agency is going to be fascinating. With it being a position of worth a team just might get desperate to pay Brown.
Brown is an interesting candidate here to sign simply because this is his first significant payday. Denver has fallen victim to handing out bad contracts before and it may not be the best decision to hand out a hefty paycheck to a player who may or may not deserve the raise just yet.
Isaac Seumulo
Isaac Seumalo is a quiet individual and a very underrated guard in the NFL. Even though he played as a right guard for the Philadelphia Eagles it would mean he has to more than likely play left guard with Denver Broncos if they chose to sign him. Since the Eagles were the representatives in the Super Bowl from the NFC and had arguably the best offensive line in football, they still have many impending free agents. Seumalo very well might be walking to a new team.
Seumalo is a strong and smart guard. He does a terrific job recognizing the blocking assignment pre-snap and then proceeds to succeed on his rep. The strength and athleticism from Seumalo allow him to maintain his frame keeping upright when dealing with those physical players up front. His athleticism and quickness give him an advantage for him to get to the next level. This helps clear lanes for the running back to also hit his second gear.
If Denver has any desire to spend a lot of money on the guard play they would be smart to allocate it to all the needs on the offensive line. The Kansas City Chiefs did the exact same thing with Joe Thuney, Orlando Brown, and Andrew Wylie. Along with Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith, they spent so much money and effort on that offensive line it would be smart for the Denver Broncos to take a page out of the Chiefs' offseason playbook here and do the same.