Pro Football Rumors
The Broncos just completed one of the most shocking comebacks in NFL history, reeling off a 33-point quarter to stun a Giants team that held a 19-0 lead at one point. The win moved Denver to 5-2, which remains good enough for the AFC West lead.
This franchise has not been in a strong buyer’s position ahead of a trade deadline in many years. Selling has been far more common here. Between 2018 and 2022, the Broncos unloaded Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, Von Miller and Bradley Chubb at deadlines. Offers came in for Patrick Surtain and Jerry Jeudy after the team’s slow start in 2023, and while Denver was not exactly a seller last year, the team did move on from Baron Browning (to the Cardinals). This season, though, teams are monitoring the Broncos as a buyer.
Specifically, clubs have Denver on the radar to make a trade for a wide receiver upgrade, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones notes. Labeling the Broncos as “perhaps the biggest contender for a wide receiver” at the deadline, Jones indicates teams are looking at the division-leading team in terms of how aggressive it will be — as this is a rare spot for the Broncos.
The Broncos will attempt to hold off an increasingly high-powered Chiefs team that has won every division title since Denver’s 2015 Super Bowl season. Armed with a high-level defense once again, the Broncos will need to consider a move to bolster their offense.
Denver ranks 17th in scoring, 11th in yardage and 14th in EPA per play. The team, however, has looked sluggish (through three quarters, at least) on that side of the ball during much of its four-game win streak. It took a Herculean comeback to avoid a Giants upset, and the winless Jets held the Broncos to 13 points. The Giants rally reminded of the Broncos’ surge in Philadelphia. Bo Nix has struggled before catching fire in the fourth quarter. That would not appear sustainable, pointing to the team needing to examine need areas.
As this space mentioned this summer, the Broncos are highly Courtland Sutton-dependent at wide receiver. They have not seen a No. 2 option step up. Both Troy Franklin (269 receiving yards) and Marvin Mims (234) have produced at points, but neither is a particularly reliable target at this stage of their careers. Third-round rookie Pat Bryant has only five receptions for 46 yards, working as a clear backup. Evan Engram has not been the team’s de facto WR2 just yet, either, totaling 22 catches for 179 yards in six games played. While Sean Payton regularly centered Saints offenses around one receiver and used a rotating cast to fill out the corps, it is worth wondering if the Broncos are a man short here.
The team was loosely connected to Deebo Samuel, Cooper Kupp and Keenan Allen this offseason. Kupp exceeded Denver’s price range, while only the Commanders made an offer for Samuel. Perhaps more notably, the Broncos were eyeing Emeka Egbuka in Round 1....
