Perhaps it’s a testament to the Broncos’ aspirations to repeat as Super Bowl champion that at 6-2 they believe there are nearly as many areas to improve upon as there are bona fide strengths.
Denver hasn’t been afraid to get aggressive at the trade deadline in the past when it believes a move could help its championship chances. Last week it traded a fifth-round pick to New England for tight end A.J. Derby.
The NFL’s trade deadline is Tuesday at 2 p.m. Typically the sellers are few and the potential buyers are plentiful. This year appears to be a seller’s market as well with only a few teams truly out of contention: Cleveland, San Francisco, Chicago, Jacksonville and the New York Jets.
Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said Monday he wasn’t focused on any impending moves, but he was confident general manager John Elway and director of player personnel Matt Russell would be looking for any option to improve the roster.
“I’ve got to stay focused on our football team and what we’re doing,” Kubiak said. “John and Matt are always involved with a lot of things. It’s usually a lot of talk this time of year. I don’t know how much movement there will be.”
The Broncos’ biggest weakness has been their offensive line, which has struggled all season, leading to quarterback Trevor Siemian constantly being under siege and the run game’s inability to be consistently generate yards.
On the offensive line trade market, Browns left tackle Joe Thomas and 49ers left tackle Joe Staley are the biggest names.
Thomas and Staley, however, are both over 30 years old with multiple years left on their contracts at big cap hits. That may be a deterrent to moving them as much as the likely high trade compensation required to acquire them.
Kubiak lamented his team’s “nonexistent” running game Sunday against the Chargers in their first action without lead back C.J. Anderson. The Broncos could look to add a veteran option at running back.
Cowboys running back Darren McFadden now appears to be healthy after breaking his elbow this summer. He joins a crowded backfield with Ezekiel Elliott, Alfred Morris and Lance Dunbar already vying for snaps. The veteran back ran for more than 1,000 yards last season.
Ravens running back Buck Allen is in a similar boat. Terrence West is the lead back in Baltimore, but Allen, Lorenzo Taliaferro and Kenneth Dixon are all fighting for backup touches. Baltimore runs a similar zone-read system so the acclimation would be quicker than normal with the Broncos.
There aren’t many defensive players on the trade market and the Broncos are stronger on that side of the ball.
Possible targets
A look at a few intriguing trade options who could help the Broncos in the stretch run, athough big moves are rare at the deadline:
Player | Position | Team | Size | Description |
1. Joe Thomas | OT | CLE | 6-foot-6, 312 pounds | The six-time all-pro and career-long Brown is hitting the backend of his career and would require a first- or second-day draft selection, but he’s an ironman and still one of the NFL’s best left tackles.
2. Joe Staley | OT | SF | 6-5, 315 pounds | The three-time all-pro hasn’t had as great of a career as Thomas, but he’s still been fairly consistent, talented and an upgrade for Broncos.
3. Darren McFadden | RB | DAL | 6-1, 220 pounds | The oft-injured back doesn’t have the same speed he once had, but he’s in the final year of a cheap contract and provides a capable veteran option.
4. Buck Allen | RB | BAL | 6-0, 222 pounds | It would be tough for Baltimore to trade Allen just a year after drafting him, but they have four backs on their rookie deal. Allen is a solid, veteran option.
5. Sheldon Richardson | DE | NYJ | The biggest splash is also probably the least likely because of the cost and baggage around Richardson, but he’d improve a leaky run defense.
