Broncos general manager George Paton’s heaviest offseason lift is over. A week after he acknowledged the club needed “better play out of the quarterback position,” and promised to be “aggressive” while pursuing an upgrade, he agreed to trade a package of three players and five draft picks to the Seattle Seahawks for Russell Wilson.
After the Broncos spent seasons of cobbling together quarterback options via free agency, low-risk trades and the draft, Paton needed to be in the building for only a year to understand a big swing was required. By the time Wilson turns 34 in late November, the Broncos should be in prime contention for a playoff spot.
But Paton’s work is only beginning. He can now address needs at right tackle, edge rusher, nickel back, tight end, inside linebacker, safety and back-up quarterback knowing No. 3 is QB1.
The free-agent negotiating period opens Monday at 2 p.m., followed by the signing period 48 hours later, which is when the Wilson trade will become official.
The Broncos still have ample salary-cap space — around $26 million according to Over The Cap, and a good cupboard of draft picks — one in the second round, two apiece in rounds 3-4 and nine total selections, to upgrade their depth chart. And the Broncos have Wilson to serve as a free-agent recruiter/closer.
In-house free agents: The Broncos should prioritize signing inside linebacker Josey Jewell to play alongside Baron Browning, and Kenny Young to serve as a depth option/special teams core player. Jewell tore his pectoral tendon in last year’s second game, but Paton said last week that Jewell would be ready for the offseason practices.
The other notable Broncos free agents are running back Melvin Gordon, tight end Eric Saubert, inside linebacker Alexander Johnson, nickel back Bryce Callahan and safety Kareem Jackson.
What to do at right tackle is interesting. The Broncos have rolled through 20 over the past decade and using their second-round pick at No. 40 would have been an ideal spot but that selection now belongs to Seattle. Bring back Bobby Massie on another one-year deal? Paton can wait out the free-agent market for a few days or weeks before making a call on Massie.
Trading Noah Fant, who led the Broncos with 68 receptions last year, creates a void at tight end, but the Broncos would be smart to re-sign Saubert to serve as the primary blocker and give Albert Okwuegbunam a chance to be the No. 1 pass-catching tight end.
Open market: Finding an edge rusher to play opposite Bradley Chubb should be Paton’s top priority next week. The first calls should be to Chandler Jones and Randy Gregory. Jones, 32, has at least 10 sacks in six of the last seven years and Gregory, 29, had 6 in 12 games last year for Dallas. Linebacker Von Miller would be further down our list of targets.
At right tackle, unrestricted free-agent options include the New York Jets’ Morgan Moses, Pittsburgh’s Chukwuma Okorafor and Las Vegas’ Brandon Parker.
Arizona’s Zach Ertz leads the group of tight ends after Dalton Schultz (Dallas), Mike Gesicki (Miami) and David Njoku (Cleveland) were franchise tagged and Ian Thomas re-signed with the Panthers.
Draft: Giving up two first-round picks is part of doing business in the Elite Quarterback Sphere. But last year, the Broncos drafted running back Javonte Williams in the second round and Browning and right guard Quinn Meinerz in the third round. Expect Paton and his staff to find value on Night 2 and Day 3 of the draft.
The Broncos’ initial pick is currently No. 64 overall and if they don’t re-sign Jackson and want an option besides Caden Sterns, taking a safety makes sense.
In rounds 3-7, finding a nickel corner, interior lineman, right tackle (if they don’t sign one from outside the organization), running back (if Gordon doesn’t return) and yet another edge rusher should be on the Broncos’ to-do list.
Wilson is in the fold, solving the Broncos’ most pressing need. Now itap time to make additions/improvements around him.
