The Broncos need to spend on defense and draft for offense
Feb 6, 2020, 6:36 AM
This offseason, Broncos general manager John Elway is working with arguably the most ammunition he’s ever had since taking over in the front office saying back to 2011. The Broncos will have a projected 12 draft picks in April’s draft and more than $60 million in cap space for free agency.
How will Denver capitalize on arguably this opportunity to turn the franchise around?
The Broncos have plenty of holes to fill on both sides of the ball, but most of their own free agents are on the defensive side. The obvious decision is to bring back Justin Simmons, whether it’s on a long-term deal or at least the franchise tag. It’s safe to say that Simmons will not be going anywhere anytime soon.
Another decision the Broncos will have to make is to pay Shelby Harris or Derek Wolfe. Both defensive lineman are coming off career years and both looking to get their last big pay day before retiring. Denver might not be able to afford to pay both.
The Broncos are going to need to fill their secondary no matter what happens in the offseason. Denver is hoping to bring Chris Harris Jr. back, but they might have to break the bank for him. The Broncos will also need to add another corner no matter what happens with Harris because of the lack of depth at the position. There’s no way the Broncos can afford to trust De’Vante Bausby or Bryce Callahan due to their injury history.
Another position that the Broncos will need to fill is the middle linebacker position. Todd Davis has shown that he’s not the elite inside backer that Denver needs to win. With the new offenses in the NFL evolving on a weekly basis, the Broncos need to add some speed and a player that’s great in coverage to cover the top tight ends in football.
The biggest needs the Broncos have to fill on offense are on the offensive line and at wide receiver. It’s been proven time after time that it’s rare to see top level offensive lineman hit the open market in free agency. Teams just won’t allow their top offensive lineman to hit free agency. So with that being said, Denver must target offensive line help in the first round of the NFL Draft.
Plenty of mock drafts have the Broncos selecting a wide receiver in the first round and that’s the word coming out of Dove Valley. With this being one of the best wide receiver drafts in NFL history, Denver can wait to draft one until the second or third round to add a weapon opposite of Courtland Sutton. Don’t forget Sutton was a second-round pick!
Denver had one of the top defenses in football this past season and a way for them to keep that defense together is to pay their own.
The offensive weapons are not going to be available in free agency, so Denver must pay for an elite defense and draft and develop an offense that can help Drew Lock lead this team back to the postseason.
