The NFL Free Agency started about two weeks ago, and the Denver Broncos have been working on addressing positions of need, re-signing guys, and adding depth.
In the 2022-23 season, the Denver Broncos' offensive line allowed the most sacks in the NFL (63), so the top priority for the Broncos entering Free Agency was to improve that area, especially with those limited Draft Picks. Free Agency started, and the Broncos went all in to improve the OL. The first move they made was the signing of star offensive guard Ben Powers, who allowed only one sack during the entire 2022-23 season, which was during the Wild Card Game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Powers signed a four-year deal with the Broncos.
Following the Powers signing, they locked their starting Right Tackle in Mike McGlinchey, signing him to a five-year deal. Right tackle has been an irregular position for Denver, so signing McGlinchey was great. Just for you to see that RT was very irregular for the Broncos ... the starting RTs in the past seasons have been: Billy Turner (2022), Bobby Massie (2021), Demar Dotson (2020), and Elijah Wilkinson (2019) ... the last starting RT that played for more than a year at the position was Orlando Franklin, who played three consecutive years as the starting right tackle, so once again, locking McGlinchey was key. The third offensive line signing for the Broncos (so far), was Center Kyle Fuller, who was Russell Wilson's Center in Seattle.
Besides those three signings in the offensive line, the Broncos signed Backup QB Jarrett Stidham to a two-year deal, re-signed LB Alex Singleton to a three-year deal, signed Blocking TE Chris Manhertz to a two-year deal, signed DE Zach Allen to a three-year deal, RB Samaje Perine to a two-year deal, FB Michael Burton to a one-year deal, CB/KR Tremon Smith to a two-year deal, re-signed S/ST PJ Locke, signed P Riley Dixon to a two-year deal, RB/ST Tony Jones Jr. to a one-year deal, and finally signed WR Marquez Callaway to a one-year deal. As you can see it has been a busy Free Agency for General Manager George Paton and Head Coach Sean Payton.
On the other side, Denver lost some players during the 2023 Free Agency, these include DL Dre'Mont Jones, FB/TE Andrew Beck, RB Mike Boone, OT Calvin Anderson, WR Freddie Swain, TE Eric Saubert, DL DeShawn Williams, RB Chase Edmonds, and P Corliss Waitman
So, after all the discussion of which Free Agents the Denver Broncos have signed, and which Free Agents the Broncos have lost, here are some guys from the available Free Agents that GM George Paton can consider signing ...
- Centers: Ben Jones, Connor McGovern, Rodney Hudson. For the Broncos' OL to become even better, they can still improve the Center position, either by adding one of these remaining FAs or in the Draft. Do you see Lloyd Cushenberry as the starting center moving forward?
- Running Backs: Ezekiel Elliott, Kareem Hunt. It is unlikely that the Broncos sign one of these running backs, but with Javonte's health and him likely missing some games, they can add one of these guys to pair up with Perine.
- Defensive Line: Calais Campbell, Poona Ford. With the loss of starting DL DeShawn Williams, Denver can add Colorado Native Calais Campbell, or Poona Ford, where both could bring a great veteran presence to the locker room.
- Edge Rusher: Jadeveon Clowney, Yannick Ngakoue, Justin Houston, Frank Clark, Melvin Ingram. Adding another edge rusher to this defense, besides Zach Allen would be great, especially with the lack of sacks that Denver Pass Rushers had. The player with the most sacks last season was Dre'Mont Jones (who signed with Seattle), followed by Bradley Chubb (who was traded in mid-season), and after Chubb, DeShawn Williams ... so Denver needs to add someone else to this position group.
- Cornerbacks: Marcus Peters, Rock Ya-Sin, Shaquill Griffin, Bradley Roby. Adding a veteran CB, after the release of Ronald Darby can definitely help the team, and can also help Damarri Mathis to develop. Once again, adding an experienced veteran to the position group can help the Broncos.