In 2025, it also stands as the closest thing Denver got to an Evan Engram Game.

Coming off a bye week, Engram had season-highs in catches (six), targets (nine) and yards (79). Instead of a jumping off point for the stretch run, though, Engram didn’t log more than four catches or 45 yards in a game the rest of the way and didn’t approach the 54.3% of snaps he played that night.

Despite the modest numbers and season overall, Engram was still Denver’s best pass-catching option in 2025. He finished with 50 catches and 461 yards, which isn’t going to blow anybody away but is the top yardage number posted by a Denver tight end since Noah Fant had 670 in 2021.

The Broncos finished No. 26 in the NFL in tight end receiving yards (719), but that was actually a substantial jump from the club’s totals of 455 in 2024 and 362 in 2023.

At present, Denver’s 2026 group looks exactly like its 2025. Engram’s headed into the second and final year of his deal — he’s guaranteed $5 million in 2026 and has a cap number of $14.14 million —��and Denver re-signed Adam Trautman (three years), Nate Adkins (one) and Lucas Krull (one).

On paper, then, the Broncos have moved tight end out of the “must” category because they literally have players on their roster.

Make no mistake, though, it����ap squarely a “need” as the NFL Draft arrives Thursday through Saturday.

“I’ll say this about this class, if you’re looking for a blocking “Y,” there’s a handful available that would be targets,” Denver head coach Sean Payton said Thursday. “If you’re looking for a move — a little bit undersized ‘F’ — they’re out there. So, to each his own. The different types of tight ends are available.

“It’s always a challenge at that position because sometimes you’re projecting from an offense that’s playing them differently.”

The Broncos need to find and develop a difference-maker of their own. The question: What type should they target?

There’s a compelling argument to be made for the “Y” tight end who can play in-line and also be a threat in the passing game. At the same time, Trautman (more of that type of player) just signed a three-year, $18 million contract and Engram — essentially a big receiver — is headed into the final year of his deal.

For a flavor of the variety of options in the upcoming draft, look no further than a pair of players who could be in contention for Denver’s first pick of the proceedings, whether that����ap at No. 62, slightly up or slightly back from there.

The first is Vanderbilt����ap Eli Stowers. There’s every chance he could be gone by the time Denver’s on the board. They may have to try to move up if they want him.

In recent days, there’s been reporting that some teams consider him a receiver rather than a tight end. He’s a proverbial “Joker,” but is his blocking a joke?

“I don’t know that he’s going to be a butt-kicker in there, but he can improve in that area,” NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said this week. “I don’t know how much you’re really going to put his hand in the ground, though. I just think he’s comfortable as that jumbo slot. I used to find it interesting that even some tight ends in the NFL that were flexed every time, you just put tight end next to their name, and way back when, defensive coordinators would match personnel because it said TE in the program. They get treated like, ‘this is a receiver.’

“You can put TE next to his name all you want, but he’s definitely a big slot receiver.”

He’s a heck of a receiver, though. Stowers jumped 45.5 inches vertical at the combine at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds. He had 62 catches for 769 yards in 12 games for the Commodores. Denver got an up-close look at him Tuesday when they hosted him on a top-30visit, one of a number of tight ends who have visited in recent weeks.

“He is explosive. He’s got unbelievable ball skills to track it and go get it down the field,” Jeremiah said. “The highlights are exceptional. He can break tackles after the catch. He’s got burst into and out of breaks. He’s been a little bit inconsistent on some of the combat catches. When you see him in crowds, that����ap something that he can continue to get better at. But he’s my No. 2 tight end. I think he’s a second-round pick all day long.”

Then there’s Michigan’s Marlin Klein. The German national is 6-6 and 248 pounds and has never caught more than 24 passes in a season in his career. Jeremiah, though, thinks Klein could get picked around Denver’s No. 62 and, if not, then by the time Friday ends.

“Just because teams are looking for these hand-in-the-ground, ‘Y’ tight ends that have size,” he said. “That can block but also have some speed and some ability to make plays down the field, which he does. The 4.61 40 is legit. You see that on tape. And he’s another one who, the trend line is going up there.

“He had to wait his turn behind (2025 first-rounder Colston) Loveland. If he was the featured tight end at Michigan for three years, I think we’d be talking about him as a guaranteed lock of a second-round pick.”

The bottom line is the Broncos could use both a potential young upgrade at “Y” and also a homegrown playmaker more in the Joker role. They looked at “Y” players ahead of free agency, but ultimately saw the price tag go to $8-10 million a year for players like Charlie Kolar, Daniel Bellinger and Cade Otton and instead re-signed Trautman at $5.7 million per year.

If that guy, Klein or someone else, is available in a range Denver likes, it����ap a good use of a pick. Given Engram’s contractual status and down year in 2025, though, the Broncos should be thrilled if they somehow end up in a position to land a player like Stowers.

The odds look low from here, but hey, stranger things have happened.

“You talk about that conversation that����ap taken place in Denver forever about trying to find that ‘Joker’ and those mismatch-type players,” Jeremiah said. “(Stowers) definitely fits that bill.”

The Broncos head coach and general manager are set to spend most of the first four weeks of April sequestered in front of a big screen in Denver’s team room, clickers in hand, watching tape of draft prospects.

Tape, tape and more tape.

“(Wednesday) morning at 7:30 a.m., we enter that team meeting room and we’re in there for the next 26 days,” Payton said Tuesday.

Last spring, they spent so much time sitting in chairs next to each other that Payton copped to accidentally drinking out of his general manager’s water bottle instead of his own.

“You break for lunch and you break for dinner,” Payton said a week before Denver selected Jahdae Barron at No. 20 overall last spring. “You go through the rounds and others will come back in with (information) — maybe we hand two scouts and two coaches a clump of outside linebackers or a clump of nose tackles.”

There are layers to the strong relationship that has grown between Payton and Paton over the past three-plus years, but their shared love of evaluating players is at the center.

Spring weather on the Front Range can be invigorating, but for Paton and Payton, April beauty is identifying a mid-round pick who becomes an impact player.

“You are dying to fall in love with guys,” Payton said last year.

This spring, of course, the Broncos will be waiting quite a while to make their first pick. After trading their first-round pick and more for star receiver Jaylen Waddle, Denver is not currently on the board until No.�� 62 overall, the 30th pick of the second round, which arrives on the draft����ap second day.

That����ap familiar territory for Paton, though, who will be operating without a first-rounder for the third time in six drafts as Denver’s general manager.

“Obviously, we’re focused on 30 in the second (round),” Paton said Monday at the NFL’s spring meetings. “We’ve fortunately been there before — I think two different times. We have a good feel for that. We can hone in.”

Paton was careful not to rule out trading up from No. 62, but Denver has depleted draft capital after the trade. Packaging No. 62 and one of its fourth-round picks (Nos. 108 and 111) might allow the team to slide up a few spots and dealing both could potentially get the Broncos to the middle of the second round. Denver could dip into its haul of 2027 picks and is in line for potentially two compensatory selections, too.

Overall, though, Payton and Paton are in for a long wait.

“We have a pretty good feel for that realm,” Paton said.

When they finally do arrive on the clock, here are the positions the Broncos find themselves most in need of adding to.

The Broncos still need a mismatch tight end

Maybe the term “Joker” has finally fallen out of vogue in ����apountry, but the value of that player — a mismatch in the middle part of the field — most certainly has not. Not to Payton.

“Every year,” Payton said earlier this year at the NFL Combine. “We’re always looking for the tight end or running back that has those traits. They’re hard to find, though.”

Particularly so for the Broncos and particularly so at tight end.

Denver thought it might have found one in veteran Evan Engram last year. The results? More OK than wow. Even if Engram fares better in his second season with the Broncos, the club needs a young playmaker at the position. Noah Fant flashed at times, but this has been a sore spot more or less since the days of Julius Thomas more than a decade ago.

Payton and Paton will be dying to fall in love with a tight end from a 2026 group that doesn’t have the same star power as last year, but that is deep and diverse from a skill-set and body type perspective. Is there a big guy with blocking chops that they see untapped receiving potential in? An undersized pass-catcher who can be a stout blocker with a bit of fine-tuning?

“There are some really good prospects, but I’m anxious to see who they are because right now I just know the names,” Payton said. … “Hopefully we can get to know them and possibly have a target in there.”

NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah has only Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq (No. 14 overall) , so perhaps Denver will have its pick of any tight end after Sadiq at No. 62, but Vanderbilt����ap Eli Stowers and Ohio State’s Max Klare are among a group of others who could come off the board around the Broncos’ first pick. Denver is doing its diligence on tight ends, including hosting NC State’s Justin Joly on a visit this week.

Sean Payton likes Denver’s running backs, but…

The Broncos are no strangers to taking a running back late in the second round. They did it just last year when they grabbed RJ Harvey at No. 60 overall.

Harvey had a productive rookie season, accumulating 12 total touchdowns and 896 offensive yards. He struggled to consistently produce as a rusher when called upon to be Denver’s lead back in the wake of J.K. Dobbins’ Lisfranc injury in November, but he undoubtedly has explosive ability.

Denver re-signed Dobbins and believes Harvey, a dynamic pass-catcher, will only trend upward in Year 2.

“We love the way RJ played,” Payton said Tuesday.

The day before, Paton called Harvey, “an explosive player and an explosive receiver out of the backfield. A matchup problem. He is going to get better as a runner. He got better as the year went on.”

Both men called the position one Denver could address in the draft or over the summer and pointed out that, this time a year ago, neither Harvey nor Dobbins (a June signing) were on the roster.

Whether it����ap in the second round or later, though, the Broncos could use more youth and overall dynamic ability in their room.

Offensive line isn’t a need right now, but could become one quickly

There’s an argument to be made for inside linebacker or safety as Denver’s next priority, but the Broncos have addressed each of those positions in some way over recent weeks. The Broncos signed safety and special teamer Tycen Anderson to a one-year deal. That����ap not a long-term defensive solution, which Denver could certainly still use and may look to the draft to address. Payton said this week that edge Jonah Elliss would get a look playing inside linebacker, too. Now the Broncos have Elliss, Jordan Turner, Drew Sanders, Levelle Bailey and Karene Reid behind their starting duo inside. Not much proven production defensively, but several options to sort through.

Meanwhile, the offensive line is one of the more fascinating groups on the roster.

Denver’s is one of the best in the business, and is poised, if healthy, to continue that run in 2026 and perhaps beyond.

The group has a back-to-back first-team All-Pro right guard in Quinn Meinerz and a newly extended center in Luke Wattenberg. Both tackles, Garett Bolles and Mike McGlinchey, played at a high level in 2025, with Bolles being named a first-team All-Pro.

Left guard Ben Powers is entering the final year of his deal in 2026 and, with the caveat that things can always change, looks likely headed into his final season with the Broncos.

�ٱ�Ա������retained Alex Palczewski with a two-year deal, and he could end up being the primary backup at three positions — LG, RG, and RT — in 2026 and then slide into Powers’ spot beyond that.��Easy, right?

Well, yeah, as long as everybody else stays healthy. McGlinchey has had injury issues in the past, though he was mostly healthy in 2025. Bolles’ longevity is impressive and he’s shown not even a hint of decline from his perch as one of the premier athletes at left tackle.

And yet, Bolles and�� McGlinchey will be 34 and 32, respectively, when Week 1 rolls around.

They could each play multiple more years at a high level or age could start to catch up with either or both quickly.

The Broncos, then, are in an enviable position but also one that carries perhaps more risk than first glance might suggest.

They have developmental options in the pipeline in Palczewski, tackle Frank Crum, center Alex Forsyth and a wild card in Nick Gargiulo and they have built that depth using only seventh-round picks and undrafted free agency signings.

In fact, seventh-rounders Gargiulo (No. 256 in 2024) and Forsyth (No. 257 in 2023) are the only linemen Denver has drafted since Payton arrived as the coach.

Before them, Paton selected Wattenberg in the fifth round in 2022 and Meinerz in the third round in 2021.

That����ap four straight draft classes since 2021 in which only linemen were taken on Day 3. The Broncos currently have only one Day 2 pick this year, so that run could well continue. But offensive line — guard or tackle — feels like a real possibility, be it at No. 62, early in the fourth round, or somewhere in between, depending on how Paton and Payton maneuver with their picks.

A guard could push ‘Palcho’ and Crum further toward being the heirs apparent at each tackle spot. A tackle could line Palcho up as the left guard of the future. Either way, a young, talented player in the room would be a welcome addition, regardless of exactly where he plays or how good the Broncos’ room still looks on paper.

Mike Evans? Good luck!

Romeo Doubs? See ya!

Wan’Dale Robinson? Au revoir!

Christian Kirk? Adios!

The Broncos coach has what’s left of his heart in the right place. But he might want to get his eyes checked. Better yet, Payton might want to have the receivers they’re running it back with have their peepers looked at.

Only the Titans (who featured a rookie QB) and Browns (bad QBs, then Shedeur Sanders) elected to punt more times during the 2025 regular season than the Broncos did (75).

And only Jacksonville (8.0%) had a higher team drop rate than the Broncos’ 7.0%.

Don’t know about you, but if I’m sitting on a franchise quarterback on a rookie contract, I’d be sorely tempted to overpay in the short term now for a more sure-handed WR 2 or borderline WR 1. Alas.

“My brother’s the worst at this,” Payton had told reporters just before the 2024 trade deadline. “He’s the worst at free agency, and he’s the worst at the trade deadline. He just wants to see action. Then right after the action takes place, he never goes back and reflects and says, ‘Well, that was a bad signing,’ or, ‘That was a bad trade.’

“I say that, I kid him, but I think that there’s so much more that goes into it relative to whether you’re trading a player (or) acquiring a player. Contracts go into it, vision goes into it, and locker room goes into it. There are a lot of details that go into that.”

True. Fit matters, especially in a place as cold and cynical as an NFL locker room.

But culture can’t catch touchdown passes. Chemistry alone won’t move the chains.

And young, top-shelf quarterbacks on cost-friendly deals don’t last forever.

From 2020-2023, during Joe Burrows’ initial contract in Cincinnati, the Bengals reportedly spent $287 million on free-agent deals — an average of $71.78 million per year.

According to OverTheCap.com, the Chiefs in 2018, the second season of Patrick Mahomes’ rookie contract, spent $57.3 million on 26 players from outside their roster.

After the second year of Bo Nix’s current deal, the Broncos had, as of Monday afternoon, spent zippo on nada.

“Hope what we’ve got will get better” is a strategy, granted, although former Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt has seen how well that one usually works out. Payton’s putting a lot of faith in a good group of coaches to squeeze more out of the status quo. It’s putting a lot of faith in new offensive coordinator Davis Webb. It’s also putting a lot of faith in another first-year wideout, which is a risk in and of itself.

The Broncos have picks No. 30 (first round), No. 62 (second round) and No. 94 (third round) to lead off their 2026 NFL Draft haul. Seven wideouts were taken among picks 25-75 last spring, including Pat Bryant III to Denver at No. 74.

Their average stat line in 2025: 28 catches, 364 receiving yards, three touchdowns, two drops. Bryant has all kinds of size (6-foot-2, 204 pounds), catch radius, and upside, but his production last year (31 catches, 378 receiving yards, one receiving touchdown, three drops), along with all the ups and downs that came along with it, proved fairly typical of rookies drafted around his salary slot.

You may not get more cap value in 2026 from, say, a Doubs, who grabbed 75 balls and six scores last fall and just inked a four-year, $68-millon deal with the Patriots. But you’ll almost certainly get more production, historically, when compared to a low-first-round-to-early-third-round rookie wideout.

“When you have a dominant O-line and a dominant defensive line, people want to come here,” left tackle Garett Bolles told us in January.

“We’ve got a great running back room, we’ve got great receivers. Obviously, we need some key players to come in and do what they need to do by getting points on the scoreboard. We got a phenomenal defense. We have everything we need. We just need a couple more playmakers, and sky’s the limit for this team.”

The sky here, sadly, remains only so high, so long as the Broncos value continuity over, well, math. Take Adam Trautman. Super dude. He was tied for 46th among NFL tight ends last season in receiving first downs with 11. Old friends Greg Dulchich and Noah Fant collected 14 and 13, respectively.

According to Spotrac.com, after his latest Broncos extension, That trio averaged 28.3 catches and 2.3 receiving scores last fall, if you’re curious. Trautman collected 20 and (checks notes) one, respectively.

A Payton quote from last August has been doing the rounds lately. Remember when the Broncos coach likened free agency to garage sale finds? In hindsight, it was a harbinger.

“My parents loved garage sale-ing,” Payton told reporters that day. “That was their deal, one thing they enjoyed together. And I think I had 10 couches growing up …

“So, they come home with a new couch, and you’d remove the old one. And you were so excited — it was a sectional — until you sat in the left corner, and it wiggled. And then you realized why it was a free agent.”

Tell that to Talanoa Hufanga. Fit may catch on. Culture may catch on. But if nobody can catch the darn football, what’s the point?

No one wanted the Broncos to spend like Liberace. But how about Cincinnati?

Only three teams have yet to sign a free agent off another roster since legal tampering opened Monday morning: the Seahawks, Jaguars and Broncos.

All are playoff teams.

The difference? The nuance? Seattle won the Super Bowl last month. And the Jaguars are a “smaller market” team. Are the Broncos really taking cues from them?

The Seahawks crossed the finish line because of shrewd additions. They took risks on quarterback Sam Darnold and receiver Cooper Kupp.

There were misses, like receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling. But, this was a contender determined to take a step forward. It was not unlike the Eagles the previous year when they added running back Saquon Barkley and defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

Seattle’s gamble paid off in a ring.

So what are the Broncos doing?

What new running back did they sign this week?

Nobody.

Which secondary receiver did they welcome to a room that needs experience?

None.

What about tight end? Surely, they brought in help at a position that has struggled with receiving production since the salad days of Noah Fant. Right?

Nope.

Perhaps the previous free agent signings by coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton convinced everyone into believing the Broncos would make a single headline-worthy move.

That was the expectation.

And it was born from words, not delusion.

Paton explained at the end-of-season press conference in January that, “We will determine our needs. We’ll be aggressive in filling those needs.”

In addressing how coming so close could shape this offseason, coach Payton admitted at the NFL Combine, “We won a lot of games by one score or less (12-3 record). I’m not naive enough to think those games couldn’t have swung. You could grab any two or three, but where’s the meat on the bone? It is with our takeaways. That has to improve. Our run game consistency (has to improve).”

So what happened?

The Broncos fell in love with their own players in a sport where falling in like is advised.

They finished with the second fewest takeaways in franchise history last season, and instead of pursuing Jacksonville linebacker Devin Lloyd — he had five interceptions a year ago, one more than the Broncos’ entire starting secondary — they stayed in-house, re-signing Justin Strnad and Alex Singleton.

They are solid players. But wasn’t the preference one or the other? Apparently not.

The thought is that they steady Vance Joseph’s defense, in play calls, blitzes and leadership. But are they good enough to win a Super Bowl? You’ve seen them. Do you agree?

It is easier to argue for sticking with the inside linebackers than with the offensive positions.

To run it back at running back remains deflating.

Understand something. Everyone loves J.K. Dobbins, the bilingual breakaway threat who answers to the nickname “El Toro.” But if you are going to be OK with bringing him back with a $5 million raise, then you have to be prepared for the consequences, namely that he will not play a full season.

It has never happened. His injury history looks like a script from “The Pitt.”

Dobbins defended the Broncos’ move on social media. He replied with fire to a Twitter post that asked how Denver could pay him $10 million a year and not give Travis Etienne Jr. $13 million: “Go be a fan of a different team lame (butt) dude and don’t try to turn back around when I shut the fluke injury (blank) up this year.”

I was cool with keeping Dobbins — as a complementary piece to Etienne. The Broncos had enough money to pay them both.

Have we forgotten how Dobbins’ foot injury derailed the offense last year? The run game wilted with rookie R.J. Harvey as the starter, costing the Broncos a chance to win the AFC Championship. Payton is correct. Consistency is the key. But it is impossible without availability.

If Dobbins stays in the lineup, it will be a terrific story. The odds are against it.

The Broncos boast a championship-caliber defense. So, not arming Bo Nix with more weapons while he is on a rookie contract feels like a huge mistake.

There is the belief, one expressed by Payton, that free agents can be deceiving. Last August, he told a story of his parents finding couches — thanks to friend Andrew Mason of 104.3 The Fan for digging this up — at garage sales.

“They would come home with a new couch. And you were so excited — it was a sectional — until you sat in the left corner and it wiggled,” Payton said. “And then you realized why it was a free agent.”

This is countered by the fact that the Broncos don’t sniff the NFL’s Final Four without significant free agent upgrades in Mike McGlinchey, Ben Powers, Zach Allen and Talanoa Hufanga.

The hit rate on open market players is around 35 percent. And that was Denver’s batting average last season when landing Hufanga, Dre Greenlaw and Evan Engram.

Again, no one was asking them to go full John Elway when he signed DeMarcus Ware, Aqib Talib, T.J. Ward and Emmanuel Sanders in 2014. But let’s be clear, the Broncos had the best offense in NFL history before they arrived, and they would not have won the Super Bowl without the defensive boost.

Yes, Payton and Paton have earned the benefit of the doubt. But why make it so hard on themselves, especially with the schedule much tougher next season?

This means they have to ace the draft — Arkansas running back Mike Washington Jr. or Vanderbilt tight end Eli Stowers make a lot of sense. They have to stay healthy and coach up young players like Harvey, Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant.

It is not a terrible plan. It is just the worst plan for this offseason. They are so close, and no one objectively watches the offense and thinks it is elite.

So, the answer is Davis Webb calling plays? That is going to make up the difference that could have been provided by a big-time free agent? Are we even sure Webb is going to keep the job all season? Are you convinced he is not going to get pushback on new ideas from Payton?

The defense to all of this is the 11 contract extensions signed since July 2024. Those players returned the Broncos to relevancy and achieved cost certainty.

So, given the chance to make a splash, the Broncos chose not to dip their toes in the pool.

The big names are gone in free agency.

The Broncos decided to do nothing. And be very loud about it. Maybe they are right. It would not be the first time. But if not, we don’t want to hear any excuses about how they lacked a playmaker.

And after it rained lime and blue on Super Bowl Sunday, cigar smoke twisted through the stuffy air in the caverns of Levi’s Stadium. Hardly any man walked around with red-rimmed eyes in Seattle’s locker room. Hardly any tears of joy flowed. Coors Light and Don Julio flowed, instead, after the Seahawks utterly discombobulated the Patriots 29-13 on the league’s grandest stage. Throngs of players set up their phones on an equipment cart and went straight to Instagram Live, forming a mini mosh-pit as bass-boosted speakers thumped Kodak Black’s “Skrilla” and Lil Baby’s “Freestyle.”

Off against one wall, All-Pro cornerback Devon Witherspoon — who had a sack and allowed just two catches against New England — boasted to a teammate that Seattle’s NFC title-game win over the Rams was actually their Super Bowl. On the north end of the locker room, outside linebacker Derick Hall posed with the Lombardi Trophy after two sacks and a forced fumble of his own. Across the way, left tackle Charles Cross stood more pensive, Seattle’s blindside protector for four straight years.

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” Cross told The Post. “I’m glad – I feel like God already has the story written, and I just have to live it.”

The three of them, though, had the start of their Seattle stories written by the trade that rocked the NFL four years ago. In March 2022, general manager John Schneider sent franchise quarterback Russell Wilson to Denver for a crop of players and a haul of future draft choices, one of the biggest blockbusters in recent NFL history. Witherspoon, Hall and Cross — “foundational pieces,” as Schneider put it Sunday night — all came from picks in the Wilson deal, and all played integral roles in Seattle’s dismantling of the Patriots.

And thus, much of the pieces to the Seahawks’ second Super Bowl title since 2013 were laid in place by the Denver Broncos.

“I don’t know about you,” Seahawks defensive passing-game coordinator Karl Scott told The Denver Post Sunday, “but I think John Schneider needs to go buy a lottery ticket tonight.”

“Because,” Scott continued, “everything he touches hits. Turns to gold.”

None of those former draft choices, really, give much thought to their origins in Seattle. Witherspoon said he’s here; that’s all that matters. Hall simply said the pieces Schneider brought “speaks volumes.”

Elsewhere Sunday, though, one of the key active pieces to that Wilson deal back in 2022 sat at his locker, mulling the past for a moment . Drew Lock, 29, has lived several lives in the span of six NFL seasons, a Broncos second-round pick in 2019 who was tabbed as a future franchise quarterback only to fall and be shipped off to Seattle after three years. Earlier this week, when asked about the effects of the Wilson trade on the Seahawks’ roster, Lock told The Post that the bird’s-eye view of the trade is “pretty gnarly.”

Lock’s now a Super Bowl champion, a key piece to the locker room after signing back in Seattle this past offseason to push starting QB Sam Darnold. And after the Patriots’ win, smile wrinkles formed in the corners of Lock’s eyes.

“It just goes back to, everything happens for a reason … I’ll let life happen, let God lead me in the right direction,” Lock said when asked about the Wilson deal Sunday. “Trust what����ap going on. It����ap already been written. And it����ap just my job to go live it out.”

A king’s ransom for Russ

Seattle’s only losing season in the last 14 years came in 2021, when a 33-year-old Wilson was named to his fifth straight Pro Bowl. Schneider and Seattle decided it was time to shop Wilson, after his 10th year with the franchise.

Wilson, though, had a no-trade clause baked into a four-year, $140 million extension he’d signed in 2019, necessitating that he and agent Mark Rodgers needed to sign off on however Seattle tested the market. And Wilson, as Rodgers recalled this past week to The Post, wanted to go to Denver — a historic franchise that was temporarily operating with no head coach (the team fired Vic Fangio in January 2022) and no owner (the team was put up for sale in February 2022).

“Understand — we were talking, and negotiating, in what I would call a vacuum,” Rodgers said.

Broncos general manager George Paton, entering his second year in Denver, was maneuvering to get a quarterback. The Broncos wanted Wilson enough for Paton to promise Rodgers — before he was traded — that Denver would sign him to a long-term extension once he arrived. And Schneider, who’d already won a Super Bowl with Seattle in 2013, wrestled away a treasure trove of assets from Denver: former first-round pick Noah Fant, former second-round pick Lock, defensive lineman Shelby Harris, and five future draft choices.

On March 16, 2022, then-Broncos tight end Eric Saubert was working out with Fant at a gym in Orange County when a television above them flashed. The news of the Wilson deal broke to their complete shock. The two enjoyed one brief, fleeting second of shared euphoria.

“Oh! We got Russ!”

Then Fant’s agent called with the news.

In the years since, the move has set Denver and Seattle on two diverging trajectories that nearly looped them back to a meeting in Super Bowl LX after the Broncos came four points away from beating New England in 2025’s AFC title game. Paton, of course, swung and missed on Wilson and on hiring Nathaniel Hackett in 2022, then swung a course-correcting trade for Sean Payton as head coach, and since has delivered nothing but hits. Schneider, meanwhile, added three key contributors with those Denver picks: Cross was drafted at No. 9 in 2022, and Witherspoon at No. 5 and Hall at No. 38 in 2023.

“The beginning of all of this was his understanding Wilson, the trade market, and getting that value from the Denver Broncos,” Rodgers said. “Interestingly – so, that����ap the beginning of that rebuild … and John’s done a phenomenal job. I mean, John’s as good a personnel guy as there is in the league.”

‘We just really hunted’

For four quarters in Santa Clara on Sunday, the Seahawks’ defense put on a masterclass in football torment. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye played like he heard footsteps awaiting at every corner of the pocket, getting sacked six times with four turnovers. After blitzing Witherspoon just 21 times in 2025, according to Next Gen Stats, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald sent him repeatedly on timely defensive-back pressures, and the 25-year-old recorded three quarterback hits.

“We just really hunted,” Hall said. “I feel like we showed we’re the number-one defense in the world.”

The Patriots were fully prepared for this. They were simply helpless to stop it.

“I didn’t even know that he blitzed that fewest amount of times,” Patriots receiver Trent Sherfield said. “Because we were so — just so ingrained in our minds that like, ‘Hey, we need to be prepared for the DB blitz.'”

In many ways, Seattle’s formula was exactly akin to Denver’s throughout 2025. A quarterback who avoided mistakes, turned a few negative plays into positive ones and delivered a few shots. A running game that buoyed the offense for long stretches. A defense that combined exotic pressure with sticky coverage.

The Seahawks simply had a cleaner run and were buoyed by branches from a trade that has reshaped the NFL.

“Looking back at it, it was kinda like the hamster wheel started turning,” said Scott, who was originally hired in 2022, a week before the Wilson deal. “And you have a vision for what it can be. But no one truly knows what it����ap going to be.

“And to see it come to the light, it����ap kinda cool to see.”

�³���:��Monday, 6:15 p.m.

�³�����:��Empower Field at Mile High

�ճ�/�����徱��:��ABC, 850 AM/94.1 FM

Broncos-Bengals series:��Denver is 22-12 against Cincinnati. The Bengals, though, pulled out a 30-24 overtime win in one of the most thrilling games on last year’s schedule after head coach Sean Payton opted to play for OT following a late Denver scoring drive rather than hunt for a game-winning two-point conversion.

In the spotlight: Pat Surtain II and the Broncos will face a J.B. under center. Not the one they’re used to.

In January 2022, the prelude to his year-long sabbatical before becoming a Bronco, head coach Sean Payton made clear to Peter King that he quite liked a certain Bengals quarterback nearly as much as Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes.

“I love Joe Burrow,” Payton told King. “I just trust the other guys to run it better. But that����ap like, I like vanilla and pistachio, you like butter pecan. All good choices.”

If Burrow is butter pecan ice cream, then what’s Jake Browning? Plain yogurt?

The Broncos are well-acquainted with Burrow by now, and not in a good way. The Pro Bowl QB torched them in last year’s December overtime loss. But Burrow is sidelined for weeks after toe surgery, and the Broncos will see Browning in his stead on Monday night, a longtime backup who capably filled in for Burrow over seven starts in 2023.

Through two games, Browning’s been one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL, with the second-worst QB rating (67.1) in the league among qualified quarterbacks. He made enough plays in relief of Burrow in Week 2 to crunch out a win over Jacksonville. He threw two picks in Week 3 as the Bengals got crushed 48-10 by Minnesota.

Still, take Cincinnati’s passing game for granted at your own risk. Last year’s December matchup tanked the Broncos fanbase’s perception of CB2 Riley Moss, after Bengals No. 2 wideout Tee Higgins went off for 11 catches, 131 yards and three touchdowns. And Ja’Marr Chase, the league’s No. 1 WR in perception and payday, just caught 14 balls for 165 yards against the Jaguars in Week 2.

The guy delivering the ball to Chase and Higgins, though, is substantially different and changes the Bengals’ high-powered attack. The two wideouts landed a combined $276 million in extension money this offseason, but they caught a combined six passes for 65 yards against the Vikings.

“We couldn’t find a great rhythm to be able to get those guys the ball enough,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said Monday.

The question, now, is how the Bengals try to get those guys in rhythm against the Broncos and reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain II. A dissection of Burrow and Browning’s attempts in 2025 reveals two slightly different approaches: Browning has thrown substantially more over the middle (37.3% of his attempts) than Burrow (19.4%), as the Bengals have taken fewer shots to the sideline with their backup quarterback.

Chase has played a decent percentage more in the slot across the past two games than he did in Week 1 with Burrow, too. The Bengals could line him up there more frequently against the Broncos to try to get him away from Surtain and get some easier underneath looks for Browning.

This will be another statement game for Moss, too. He’ll undoubtedly find himself lined up opposite Higgins often on Monday, and Cincinnati can’t afford to only send two targets for a second straight week to a receiver worth nearly $30 million a year.

Who has the edge?

When Broncos run:��The Bengals run defense has been just fine this year, ranking near the middle of the pack in effectiveness through three games. Second-round pick Demetrius Knight is a promising inside linebacker. His LB mate Logan Wilson is a steady veteran. But Broncos RB J.K. Dobbins is rolling right now, tied for eighth in the NFL in yards per carry, and is currently the steadiest part of an unsteady Denver attack. Edge: Broncos

When Bengals run: Jake Browning for Joe Burrow is actually �ڲ�����from the Bengals’ biggest problem on offense right now. Through three games, starting RB Chase Brown has 47 carries for … 93 yards. As a team, Cincinnati’s currently dead last in the NFL at a revolting 2.4 yards per carry. The Broncos run defense has been gashed up the middle at times the last two weeks, but the Bengals haven’t shown an ability to challenge anyone on the ground. Edge: Broncos

When Broncos pass:��Here’s where things get tricky. Bo Nix has been the worst starting quarterback in the NFL when under duress — at least, by the numbers — through three games this season. The Bengals, however, blitz less often than any other team in the league and largely rely on nickel-heavy schemes. Cincinnati hasn’t allowed a single deep completion (over 20 yards) to any team. The Bengals also give up the most yardage on intermediate throws (between 10-19 yards) in the league. Nix, on the flip side, currently has the worst rating in the league on intermediate throws among 31 qualified NFL quarterbacks. Fascinating! Edge: Even.

When Bengals pass: Jake Browning currently stands alone in leading the NFL in picks with five, and has thrown 47 fewer passes than any of the guys who’ve thrown four.��Edge: Broncos

Special teams:��Bengals punter Ryan Rehkow is leading the NFL in yards per punt through three games, but kicker Evan McPherson struggled at times last year, finishing 6 of 12 on kicks longer than 40 yards. The Bengals also haven’t shown much in the return game. Edge: Broncos

��Dz����󾱲Բ�:��Denver committed 10 penalties against the Chargers last week, several of which were back-breaking or momentum-shifting. You’re not in a great place with discipline if you’re drawing flags for offensive offsides and neutral-zone infractions on punt defense. But the Bengals have a horrid ground game and couldn’t feed the ball consistently to their two best playmakers against the Vikings, and got walloped for it. Sean Payton’s game-calling was decidedly above-average last week, too. Edge: Broncos

Tale of the tape

By the numbers

22%: Percentage of red-zone snaps against the Bengals’ defense that have gone for a touchdown in 2025.

1: Fourth-quarter carries Broncos running back J.K. Dobbins got in last week’s loss to the Chargers.

6.1%:��Percentage of snaps the Bengals stack the box (eight or more defenders), second-lowest in the NFL.

6.7:��Yards per catch for Marvin Mims Jr. this year, down from last year’s mark of 12.9.

50%:��Bengals WR Tee Higgins’ catch rate, down from 67% in 2024.

21: Quarterback pressures by Broncos OLB Nik Bonitto, the highest in the NFL through three games.

X-factors

Broncos: WR Marvin Mims Jr. Where has Mims’ long-awaited breakout been in Year 3? The multidimensional receiver has caught just six passes through three games and has taken just a handful of snaps in the backfield, after emerging as a hybrid weapon in Sean Payton’s offense last year. Denver could use another passing-game threat to take the pressure off Bo Nix, and Mims’ coming-out party last year came against the Bengals: eight catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns in December.

Bengals: S Jordan Battle.��After the Chargers’ Derwin James Jr. was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his work against the Broncos, Denver faces another highly productive and versatile safety in Battle. The Alabama product��has two picks and leads the Bengals with 23 tackles entering Monday night’s matchup. This Cincinnati defense has been mediocre overall, but Battle offers legit playmaking potential from the secondary.

Post predictions

Parker Gabriel, Broncos beat writer:��Broncos 28, Bengals 13.

Wins and losses are all that matter in the NFL. But early in the season, that measuring stick can be a noisy one. Cincinnati is 2-1, but is also quite bad by almost every metric. The Broncos are 1-2, and while their warts are obvious, they’re also in many ways a pretty good team. If Joe Burrow were playing, this could have shaped up to be a barnburner a la December along the Ohio River. Instead, this lines up well for Sean Payton’s team to get in rhythm offensively and take the ball away defensively.

Luca Evans, Broncos beat writer:��Broncos 31, Bengals 10.

This Cincinnati team is����������right now — just look at the tale of the tape above. They can’t run well. They can’t pass well. They don’t rush the passer well, or much at all. In a primetime game at home, this is the perfect environment for Sean Payton’s group to round into form and for quarterback Bo Nix to quiet an increasingly loud group of doubters. Expecting a blowout.

Troy Renck, columnist:��Broncos 30, Bengals 18.

The Broncos offense doesn’t do anything particularly well. And the Bengals are just unwell. The health of Joe Burrow has again jeopardized a season because the Bengals refuse to invest in a line to protect him. So, the Broncos get a get-right game. Their frothing defense is ready to show it can finish against Jake Browning. Only Akili Smith would have been a better matchup. This sets up as a night for the Broncos to figure out who they are offensively — feed J.K. Dobbins — while sacking Browning repeatedly.

Sean Keeler, columnist: Broncos 27, Bengals 17.

The Burrow Bowl is now The Burro Bowl, as both QB1s in this game have played like donkeys as of late. (So much for Monday Night Football marketing.) At least Cincy’s bringing old pals Dalton Risner, Noah Fant and Samaje Perine back to town, so that’s fun. Watching this secondary try to cover Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins won’t be. Fortunately, the Bengals rank sixth among NFL offenses in sack rate allowed, which means a lovely night of watching Nik Bonitto turning Empower Field into Casa Bonitto again.

“What’s up, J?” Courtland Sutton asked.

First down.

“Hey, J!”

Sutton again.

First down.

“Good hit, J!”

Still Sutton.

“Nice one, J!”

Simmons looked at the scoreboard.

“Dude, stop,” he told the Broncos’ wideout last November at Empower Field. “We’re enemies.”

Broncos 38, Enemies 6.

“I don’t know how he is with other people, but I got very Larry Fitzgerald vibes from him,” Simmons, the Broncos safety from 2016-2024 and all-around good dude, recalled to me on a wicked-hot Wednesday at Arrowhead Golf Course.

“But he plays like a complete dawg. I’ve always loved Court.”

He still loves the Broncos, too. Deep down. Even when they’re kicking his backside, as they did to Simmons’ Atlanta Falcons last fall.

“What was different about that Broncos team in 2024,” I said, “compared what you lived through here with Sean Payton in 2023?”

Simmons pondered this for a second.

“That’s a really good question,” the ex-Broncos All-Pro replied. “I mean, even when I played against them and I’m watching a film, I just felt, and this is no shade at anyone — I feel when you have a team that is young, and you can mold, they buy in a lot faster than guys that are older and have seen it and have done things differently for however long that is. Right?”

“And so people can take that how they’re going to take it. It’s not a shot at anyone, but the guys bought in.

“Sean is an amazing coach. And when you have that combination, good things happen. Not all the time, right? But good things tend to happen. And so I think last year was just a byproduct of the team buying in. That showed up in a lot of their games.”

Only six guys in Broncos history have racked up more interceptions in blue and orange than Simmons’ 30 picks. No. 31 ran down almost everything over eight seasons here besides a playoff berth. Then, in one of football’s crueler ironies, the very first fall after he gets cut, the Broncos go 10-7 and snap that postseason curse like an old branch.

Seeing an ex living that well could make a guy bitter. If that guy wasn’t Justin Simmons.

“I mean, I can’t speak for Sean (Payton),” the former Broncos safety said of Denver’s third-year coach. “I have no bad blood with Sean, with anyone in the building. I loved my time there. I will always consider him a friend and a great coach …

“I loved Sean. I love the Walton-Penner group and what they have going on. Business decisions happen. And sometimes there are casualties, where both player and fans wish there wasn’t and (there) just is. And both sides could be better from it — and you see they had a successful year. And I’m so happy for them.”

At 31, Simmons has joined The Von Miller Club — a veteran free agent chasing a ring in the winter of his NFL days. But this is still home.

It’s why he headlined the second Justin Simmons Golf Classic here Wednesday. It’s why the proceeds were committed to mentoring young people here, promoting youth sports here, supporting education here.

“The Foundation is still super young and there are some things that we’re working through,” Simmons said. “Honestly, all I really care about, every event in my head, I’m saying, ‘There’s one kid that’s going to benefit from this and that’ll change their lives forever.’ And that means more to me than anything else.”

felt like a throwback to 2019. Noah Fant, the tight end shipped to Seattle in the Russell Wilson trade, turned up to hit the links. So did Shelby Harris, who’s now with the Browns. What, did Vic Fangio’s invite get lost in the mail?

Speaking of Uncle Vic, the Eagles — where Fangio just won a Super Bowl ring as defensive coordinator — are allegedly still on Simmons’ short list. The 49ers, Commanders and Bengals could all use safety depth.

“I think Atlanta I would still pick 10 out of 10 times if I was in the spot (I was in) last year,” Simmons said of his next team. “But in terms of where I’m at now, (I’m) being a little bit more picky where we want to go and where we want to call home next … the next two years, a year, whatever it is … but a contender is No. 1 on the list right now.”

Like the Vonster, Simmons wants to retire a Bronco someday. And like Miller, he knows that someday probably isn’t anytime soon.

“I’m a big (Talanoa) Hufanga fan. I think he’s gonna have a tremendous time with Denver,” Simmons said of the new Broncos defensive back.

“Love both (him and linebacker Dre Greenlaw). I think it’s going to be great. I really think they’re going to do a lot better. Easier said than done, because their defense last year was lights out.”

And he thinks their QB1, Bo Nix, only scratched the surface as a rookie.

“When the head of the ship feels confident and is ready to lead and is projecting that … the rest of the guys follow suit,” Simmons said of Nix, who lit his Falcons up for four passing touchdowns last November.

“It’s just a marriage. And I think with Sean and Bo, the marriage right now is just flowing great. They both get each other. They both understand each other. And they’re both in each other’s corner. It makes for hopefully continued success, year after year after year.”

Good hit, J.

“Miss you!” a fan shouted at us as he passed.

“Thanks, man,” the safety countered. “Appreciate it.”

Simmons’ smiled at that one, a gleam as golden as the sun above. In this town, 31, you’ll always be the best of enemies.

��

They reached the playoffs in 2024. They found their guy in Bo Nix. They are hanging with the cool kids again, possessing a quarterback on a rookie deal as they emerge from salary cap hades.

But they must get a tight end and running back who can take the pressure off Nix or prepare to fade back into the darkness. Sean Payton needs his “joker.” We get it.

The question is who?

For the first time since Payton took over in 2023, he appears serious about addressing the void. After selling us on Adam Trautman and Company and Javonte Williams and Crew, I need to see it.

Payton earned trust with the selection of Nix. But his misplaced loyalty at tight end and blind spot at running back prevent him from getting the benefit of the doubt in this case. Like his team, he has to continue to prove it.

He has acknowledged the problem. However, if this ends with Payton converting Lil’Jordan Humphrey to tight end, then consider me pranked. If Williams starts at running back in the opener, then call my emergency contact.

Shopping off the clearance rack won’t work. The Broncos need bonafide threats to bring out the best in Nix. My working theory is that they have four candidates for the 20th pick — tight ends Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland and running backs Ashton Jeanty and Omarion Hampton — and will only go another direction if they are off the board.

Let’s start at tight end. Over the last decade, the Chiefs have had the football equivalent ofLuka Doncic. The Broncos have had Hookah Doncic.

Payton needs his Jimmy Graham. But again, who?

There are interesting options. Former Broncos tight end and Big Ten analyst Jake Butt saw two of them up close and personal.

“I know Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland. Colston is a technician. You look at how Travis Kelce is always open. That����ap just feel. Colston has that,” Butt said. “Tyler is more of a Gronk (Rob Gronkowski) type. You are taking him with a different vision in mind. He’s great after the catch. A better blocker. A bigger body. I know the last time the Broncos drafted a tight end at 20 they took Noah Fant. He was a rare athlete. But, I think these guys are more polished and leaps and bounds ahead of him.”

No one I have talked to at the NFL combine this week believes Warren will be available at the Broncos’ 20th pick. Or that Denver would have the appetite to trade up. But…

“If he is there, Denver should run to the podium and hand in the card,” NBC analyst Chris Simms said Wednesday.

Added Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 champion Ryan Harris, “I like Colston, but he hasn’t been the focus of an offense. If you are going tight end, go get Miami’s (13th pick) and get Warren.”

Warren is a better player. Colston is a better fit. Colston, surgically repaired right shoulder willing, runs routes like a slot receiver, and wins in the middle of the field. That is exactly what Nix needs as he becomes more confident in the pocket.

Think about what Graham did for Drew Brees. In five seasons in New Orleans, he averaged 84 receptions, 1,036 yards and 11 touchdowns.

“Tight end is an obvious choice. It is a quarterback’s best friend,” The Athletic’s Michael Silver said. “I think of Sean with Jimmy Graham. What a weapon he was. Such a big part of the offense.”

The Broncos tight end leaders the past two seasons have averaged 20 catches for 196 yards and three touchdowns. Shannon Sharpe used to burp out those numbers.

It was equally discouraging at running back, where Williams, an all-time good guy and great comeback story, has averaged 644 yards and three touchdowns on 3.6 yards per carry over the past two years.

The Broncos believe their offensive line is a team strength. There is no excuse for the run game to be this ineffective. Jeanty or Hampton would provide a boost. Jeanty can change a game as a runner, receiver and pass protector. Hampton is physical with breakaway speed.

“You can’t have 12-play, 75-yard drives against good teams consistently,” Simms said. “You need a guy who can pop a run or take a slant 60 yards to take the pressure off the quarterback.”

Payton knows this. For 15 years in New Orleans he led a prolific offense. So don’t fill up at the pump with unleaded and pass it off as nitromethane.

No one is going to confuse Nix with John Elway. But remember Elway never won a Super Bowl until Sharpe replaced Clarence Kay and Terrell Davis succeeded Leonard Russell.

Payton needs a joker. So does Nix.

One of those four — Warren, Loveland, Jeanty or Hampton — must be the guy. If not, the question of “Who?” will remain a tread-bare Abbott and Costello skit.

No. 10 George McGinnis for Alex English

Date: Feb. 1, 1980

Details: The Nuggets traded former ABA MVP George McGinnis for third-year pro Alex English and a 1980 first-round pick that eventually became Carl Nicks.

Synopsis: McGinnis’ best days were behind him, and he was out of the NBA by 1982. English, on the other hand, was just getting started. The silky smooth forward averaged 25.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists over the next 11 seasons with the Nuggets, including eight all-star nods and three All-NBA selections.

No. 9 Tulo to Toronto

Date: July 27, 2015

Details: First-year general manager Jeff Bridich dealt Troy Tulowitzki and reliever LaTroy Hawkins to the Toronto Blue Jays for shortstop Jose Reyes and pitchers Miguel Castro, Jeff Hoffman and Jesus Tinoco.

Synopsis: Trade rumors swirled around Tulo all offseason before Bridich pulled off a deadline deal. The Jays reached the ALCS that October and the next, with Tulo hitting 29 homers over 172 games before injuries derailed his career. Of the four players Colorado got back, Hoffman’s 6-5 season in 2017 represented the apex.

No. 8 Clinton Portis for Champ Bailey

Date: March 4, 2004

Details: The Broncos sold high on running back Clinton Portis, sending him to Washington for Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey and a 2004 second-round pick.

Synopsis: After topping 3,000 yards over two years in Denver, Portis posted four more 1,000-yard seasons for a Washington team that won one playoff game over his seven years there. Bailey was a first-team All-Pro his first three years in Denver and second-team All-Pro two more times over a 10-year stint with the Broncos that cemented his Hall of Fame status.

No. 7 Carmelo Anthony & Chauncey Billups

Date: Feb. 22, 2011

Details: The three-way trade involving the Knicks and Timberwolves saw the Nuggets acquire Kosta Koufos, Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov and four New York draft picks. The Knicks got franchise icon ‘Melo and homegrown hero Billups, plus some other non-marquee players such as Shelden Williams and Corey Brewer.

Synopsis: GM Masai Ujiri blew up the Nuggets’ roster a year and a half following the team’s Western Conference Finals trip. Denver used one of the first-round picks it got to draft Jamal Murray in 2016.

No. 6 Mikko Rantanen

Date: Jan. 24, 2025

Details: With Mikko Rantanen months away from unrestricted free agency, Avs general manager Chris MacFarland sent the winger to Carolina in a three-team deal that netted forwards��Martin Necas and Jack Drury and second-round (2025) and fourth-round (2026) picks.

Synopsis: Only time will tell if MacFarland made the right move dealing Rantanen in-season rather than risk losing him for nothing in free agency. If this move sets up another deal down the line, Colorado’s Stanley Cup aspirations remain intact.

No. 5 Holliday for CarGo

Date:��Nov. 10, 2008

Details:��GM Dan O’Dowd flipped Matt Holliday, a central figure in the team’s 2007 pennant run, in exchange for one of the top young outfielders in the game, Carlos Gonzalez. Colorado also got closer Huston Street and starter Greg Smith.

Synopsis: Holliday lasted a half-season with the A’s before being traded to St. Louis; the Rockies got a three-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner and two-time Silver Slugger in CarGo. Plus, they got a reliable closer in Street (84 saves in three years).

No. 4 Patrick Roy

Date: Dec. 6, 1995

Details:��The Avalanche acquired the 30-year-old Roy and winger Mike Keane from Montreal in exchange for Andrei Kovalenko, Martin Rucinsky and Jocelyn Thibault.

Synopsis:��Roy turned a great career into a Hall of Fame one with Colorado, leading the Avs to a pair of Stanley Cup titles. Keane made an impact on the 1996 title team as well, while none of the players the Canadians got so much as made an all-star team. The trade immediately altered the trajectory of the Avs, who had just relocated from Quebec.

No. 3 John Elway

Date:��May 2, 1983

Details:��Baltimore took Elway with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1983 draft, but the Stanford product refused to play for them. Using the leverage of a potential pro baseball career, Elway forced a trade to Denver six days after the draft in exchange for quarterback Mark Hermann, offensive tackle Chris Hinton and the Broncos’ first-round pick the next year (Ron Solt).

Synopsis:��Chris Hinton was a perennial Pro Bowler on the Colts’ offensive line, but beyond that, this was a fleecing. Elway racked up 148 regular-season wins and played in five Super Bowls, winning the last two over the Packers and Falcons.

No. 2 Nolan Arenado

Date:��Feb. 1, 2021

Details:��GM Jeff Bridich traded Arenado to the Cardinals, and sent over approximately $51 million, to unload the Rockies star to St. Louis in exchange for one young left-handed pitcher (Austin Gomber) and four prospects (infielder Mateo Gil, right-hander Tony Locey, infielder Elehuris Montero and right-hander Jake Sommers).

Synopsis: GM Jeff Bridich’s last big move doesn’t look quite as bad as it once did. Arenado turned in three more All-Star seasons in St. Louis, but his production has since tailed off and now the Cardinals are looking to deal him. Gomber (4.75 ERA) is coming off a solid 2024, but is the only real asset Colorado got back.

No. 1 Russell Wilson

Date:��March 8, 2022

Details:��General manager George Paton traded two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-round pick, quarterback Drew Lock, defensive lineman Shelby Harris and tight end Noah Fant to the Seahawks for quarterback Russell Wilson and a fourth-round pick.

Synopsis:��The biggest trade in Colorado sports history also doubles as the biggest dud. Wilson signed a five-year, $242.6 million extension with the Broncos a few months after being acquired … and didn’t play one down of that deal before Denver cut him in March 2024.

Honorable mention

• Nuggets trade David Thompson to Supersonics for Bill Hanzlik and first-round pick (1982)
• Nuggets trade Kiki Vandeweghe to Blazers for Wayne Cooper, Fat Lever, Calvin Natt and two draft picks (1984)
• Nuggets trade Fat Lever to Mavericks for two first-round picks (1990)
• Rockies trade Larry Walker to Cardinals for Jason Burch, Luis Martinez and Chris Narveson (2004)
• Nuggets trade Allen Iverson to Pistons for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb (2008)
• Nuggets trade Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two first-round draft picks (2007) to 76ers for Allen Iverson and Ivan McFarlin.
• Broncos trade Jay Cutler and fifth-round pick to Bears for Kyle Orton and three picks (2009)
• Rockies trade Ubaldo Jimenez to Cleveland for Alex White, Joe Gardner, Matt McBride and Drew Pomeranz (2011)
• Avalanche trade Matt Duchene to Senators for Sam Girard, Shane Bowers, Vladislav Kamenev and three draft picks (2017).

The Broncos are developing an offensive identity as a physical team that protects the football. Denver ranks 13th in rushing (124.1 yards per game) behind the revival of Javonte Williams and speed of Bo Nix.

You head to the mountains in a 4Runner. The Broncos head to the stadium in a BoRunner. He is a legitimate dual-threat quarterback — has been since high school — and yes, he is cool with that.

“I think it is a compliment if they give you credit for throwing the ball, too,” Nix said Wednesday. “I don’t think anybody wants to just be a running quarterback in the league. But it is a good tag. It is important. It����ap tough (to defend).”

Critics have cooled on the offense because Denver has won four of five games and three straight on the road. Carolina offers another chance to show the Broncos can handle prosperity as Vance Joseph’s defenders figure to leave the field Sunday with pieces of Bryce Young’s jersey between their teeth.

Beating bad teams is an important step in no longer being a bad team. But the Broncos are not reaching the playoffs — there is a clear path with games remaining against Atlanta, Cleveland, Indianapolis and Las Vegas — without a balanced offense. They rank 29th in passing yards per game (169.9). When it comes to receivers, they don’t have a No. 1. When it comes to pass-catching tight ends, they have none.

The Chiefs, convinced they can three-peat, acquired DeAndre Hopkins for Patrick Mahomes. The Broncos act convinced they can compete, meaning they should trade for Cleveland’s David Njoku.

I would have preferred Bengals receiver Tee Higgins, but it is increasingly unlikely he will become available. And the Rams’ Cooper Kupp makes no sense given his age and injury history.

Broncos coach Sean Payton understands the Broncos need production from their tight ends. He believes they are close.

“It����ap one of the quarterback’s allies because generally you get some of these coverages where they are not doubling the outside, but the individual matchups are in the triangle on the inside with the runner and the tight end,” Payton said. “There was one play (against the Saints), Bo was climbing (the pocket) and we just missed Lucas. So, we are one play away from not having to answer that question.”

He meant one trade away.

Njoku solves the Broncos offensive Sudoku. He fits each row, all the columns, checks every box. Give him the final nine games in Denver and he can deliver 35 catches, 350 yards and three touchdowns.

The last time the Broncos acquired a tight end during the season was in 2015 when they landed San Francisco’s Vernon Davis. They needed him to run seam routes for Peyton Manning. Instead, they only played seven quarters together because of Manning’s foot injury.

“It was hard because I didn’t have a lot of time to learn the playbook or have much time with Peyton,” Davis told The Post. “But it was an amazing experience winning a Super Bowl.”

Davis caught 20 passes for 201 yards. Njoku would sneeze those numbers. You are telling me he is not worth surrendering a fourth-round pick for? It’s not like Michigan’s Colston Loveland or Penn State’s Tyler Warren are going to be around when that draft pick comes due next spring.

Njoku is 28 and due roughly $670,000 over the remainder of the season, making it possible for the Broncos to add him even with their salary cap constraints. He is under contract next year for $14.25 million, a figure that could be renegotiated as part of a contract extension.

Njoku does not have to be a rental, nor should he be viewed as one. The Browns should be willing to listen because it sure looks like they are tanking.

Njoku made the Pro Bowl last season. The Broncos practically made history. Few times have they been worse at tight end than in 2023. The sobering numbers: 39 catches, 62 targets, 362 yards, four touchdowns, 19 first downs. This season, they are on pace for 41 catches for 330 yards on 77 targets for no scores and 10 first downs.

Krull is an intriguing prospect but remains too raw to be trusted with a postseason berth hanging in the balance.

It����ap impossible to overstate how much a functional tight end could help Nix’s development. Tight ends are big targets. They are open when they are covered. And with Nix’s ability to execute run-pass-options, the tight end is the perfect outlet in the middle of the field (Watch how Lamar Jackson uses Isaiah Likely and Mark Andrews on RPOs).

As it stands, the Broncos’ tight ends represent a 12.2 percent target share, according to Sumer Sports data. There are 20 tight ends in the NFL with higher rates by themselves.

The position has been a problem for the better part of a decade, illuminated in 2022 when then-rookie Greg Dulcich, now a weekly healthy scratch, led the Broncos with 411 yards receiving.

Julius Thomas fell out of bed and into the end zone in 2013 and 2014 (24 touchdowns). Noah Fant fell down after he caught the football, but his production from 2019-21 represents the salad days (average of 57 catches, 635 yards, three touchdowns) compared to the current situation.

The Broncos have to understand their method of winning is not sustainable, placing too much stress on the defense. Their past at tight end does not have to be their future.

It����ap time to take Nix off the tightrope and trade for a tight end.