The Denver Broncos free agency will be watched very closely by fans as they start to grow impatient. The Broncos haven’t had a winning season in five years and haven’t made the playoffs in six. The organization could finally get over the hump by signing the right players, ending those streaks.
Denver Broncos Free Agency: 5 Players They Could Target
With $39 million in cap space, the Denver Broncos can add quality players who can make an immediate impact. Denver’s most significant position they will look to upgrade this offseason will be at quarterback. Denver has struggled dramatically in the past few years to find a signal-caller that they can rely on. Denver will also look to upgrade their pass rush this offseason as they struggled at times to pressure the quarterback. Another critical area Denver will want to improve is on their offensive line, as they worked to protect their quarterback at times.
Jameis Winston
Coming off a torn ACL, Jameis Winston would be a good option for Denver if they cannot make a splash with a star quarterback. He started seven games for the New Orleans Saints, throwing for 1,170 yards and 14 touchdowns, only three interceptions.
Denver has some young talent at wide receiver in Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, and Jerry Jeudy that could make Denver an appealing spot for Winston, along with a run game that would take some of the pressure off of Winston. Jameis Winston was the first overall pick in the 2015 draft and has yet to live up to it. But could Denver be the place for him to turn his career around?
Teddy Bridgewater
While this might feel underwhelming for Broncos fans, Teddy Bridgewater showed last season that he could run the offense well enough to keep them in games. Bridgewater started 14 games for the Broncos last season, throwing for just over 3,000 yards and 18 touchdowns. He did throw seven interceptions for the Broncos. However, three came in the week six loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Teddy Bridgewater would continue working with an expansive receiver room that he has already had a year of working with and could build on the connections he already has. Bridgewater is a 29-year-old quarterback that has bounced from team to team since tearing his ACL with the Minnesota Vikings in 2016.
Haason Reddick
After the loss of Von Miller, the Broncos will be looking to sign an edge rusher who is very efficient at getting to the quarterback. Haason Reddick has proven over the last two seasons that he is one of the more efficient edge rushers in the league, as he has tallied double-digit sacks in each of those seasons and would add to a Denver defense that didn’t have anybody reach that milestone this past season.
Reddick would be the opposite of Bradley Chubb, who wants to have a bounce-back year. Haason Reddick had a pass rush win rate of 23% this past season, a category that the Denver Broncos finished dead last in with a team percentage of 31%. Landing Reddick would be a colossal offseason get for the Broncos and would immediately help elevate an already good defense.
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Emmanuel Ogbah
Emmanuel Ogbah would be another excellent grab for a Denver defense looking for pass rushers. Ogbah has had back-to-back nine sack seasons for the Miami Dolphins. He showed the ability to apply pressure late in games, with four of his nine sacks last season coming in the fourth quarter. The Broncos found themselves unable to close out games last season, and a pass rusher that thrives in the fourth could be just what Denver needs.
Ogbah has also improved his ability to knock down passes causing him to use his almost 84-inch wingspan even when he cannot get to the quarterback. Ogbah was able to have a career-high 12 passes defended, an improvement from five the previous season.
Trent Brown
Trent Brown is one of the biggest linemen in the league, standings at 6’8, 380 pounds, and that massive frame allows him to be one of the better right tackles in the league. Protecting the quarterback is something Denver needs to improve on, and Brown did a great job of that last season, starting nine games for the New England Patriots and giving up just 1.5 sacks in 489 offensive snaps. Brown also was flagged just once during those nine games.
A tackle combination of Trent Brown and Garrett Bolles could be just what Denver needs as they will want to do anything they can to keep whoever they have at quarterback standing upright next season. Denver ranked in the bottom half of the league in sacks allowed and knows that they need to do a better job protecting the quarterback from being successful.
While these would be great additions to the team, we will have to wait until free agency to see who they do sign. The organization will do everything to sign the best free agents while not overpaying. If Denver can make a splash via trade, they could then spend whatever cap space they have left on the offensive and defensive line.
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