Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - TARGETS: Denver Broncos BEST TRADE Options This Offseason

Starting point is 00:00:00 Will the Denver Broncos look at trading for several positions here in the off season of already proven players? We'll go through and tell you three positions overall on the offense that could help boost Boat Nixon this unit in 2026. You're on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Happy Monday, Broncos country. Welcome into another episode. Locked on Broncos your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the lockdown podcast network. We know it's your team every day. Plus, senior sports podcast network in the country.

Starting point is 00:00:40 And that's all thanks to all you every dayers in Broncos country. Thanks for tuning in and making us your first listen, however you choose to do so. Sarah and I today, we're going to dive through some potential trade candidates that the Broncos could look into this offseason, including some players they had previous interest in going into the NFL trade deadline this past season. We'll take a look some other trade options at the wide receiver position and debate whether or not that be something the Broncos invest in considering the depth of the wide receiver position this year in the NFL draft. Plus, T.J. Hawkinson or Luke Musgrave. Could the Broncos maybe acquire a veteran tight end to help boost that room? And on top of that, we'll tell you why a trade for a running back is unlikely unless the Broncos strike out in the off season.

Starting point is 00:01:22 We'll go through all that here on today's episode of the show brought to you by our friends over there at Fanduil. Use your profit boost on an NBA future and get entered for your chance to win a trip to the NBA finals player game of Fandual, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. I'm Cody Rourke, Credential Broncos reporter from my high sports. It's always by Sarah Bettinger. It's that expert prom. The orange.com. As we go through the offseason blues, really, we encounter our first Sunday without

Starting point is 00:01:45 there being a football game. So what do we do with our time? The best way to deal with all that is to jump on a podcast and talk about every option that the Broncos have this off season. So let's dive into some potential trade candidates. Let's focus on wide receiver first. There's a lot of candidates. out there, Cody. And I think you're right. I mean, when you get to this point of the offseason

Starting point is 00:02:05 blues, you're kind of putting together a shopping list, right? I mean, you're literally going shopping to pass the time. But also as the armchair GM of the Denver Broncos, we're putting together our own shopping lists, our own, you know, what do we got to do? What are the must have this off season? I think we've talked a lot about why a wide receiver trade does make sense for this team. But you mentioned it. I mean, this year, the draft is expected to be very good at wide receiver. So a lot of the listeners might wonder, well, then why don't the Broncos just draft somebody? Well, the Broncos are in a position right now where they've got so many good, talented young players on the roster that really the ingredient that's missing is not necessarily another

Starting point is 00:02:46 young player. It's an established veteran who you know exactly what they're going to bring to the table. And I think it starts off with some heavy hitters. Like if you look at around the league, the names of wide receivers that could potentially be available, this. off season. And these are just names that are being thrown out right now, but you've got the likes of DJ Moore, Jalen Waddle, who we know at the trade deadline last year, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the Broncos looked into the idea of trading for Jalen Waddle of the Dolphins. T. Higgins of the Bengals, folks will say, well, didn't he just get a contract extension with the Bengals? The Bengals have a very clear out in T. Higgins contract, which would save them a ton of cap space,

Starting point is 00:03:28 which they may need to use for, you know, the defense that's been preventing them from getting back to the playoffs a little bit. So there's a ton of names out there, big name players that I think realistically could be available because of the alternatives that these teams have to reset the clock in the draft this year. Well, let's take a look at some of those names that you mentioned. And I want to know which ones you would have high in your preferences, right? You mentioned DJ Moore. Obviously, the Chicago Bears. I mean, after the year that Caleb Williams had, do you see them maybe moving on for, him. I mean, look, they have a very good receiving core.

Starting point is 00:04:00 They got obviously got two really good tight ends and Colson Loveland and Cole Comet, but I mean, would DJ more be on the move potentially? I mean, this could be the year they go out and get him some younger weapons in the NFL draft, as you mentioned with all the debt that is there. Let's talk about J. Lin Wattle here because we've done episodes talking about A.J. Brown, George Pickens. We won't include them in this conversation. But to your point, Jalen Wattle was the name the Broncos called and inquired about at the NFL trade deadline there. But the asking price from what I was told was

Starting point is 00:04:27 significantly too high from what the Broncos wanted to do right now. So knowing how, hey, we didn't want to give up our picks yet, not knowing what our season outlook was going to look like. We didn't want to maybe cut our capital in half a little bit by making a move like that. Though I will say, I'm curious to know your thoughts on this, too, tying into this question about Jalen Wattle, but that the NFL is also looking. I saw Adam Schaefter reporting something along the lines

Starting point is 00:04:52 that there's a lot of discussions about being able to trade draft picks up to five years into the future, I think that would be awful for the NFL. I mean, it would be maneuverable, but for teams that may be like bad and jams that may be on their way out, I don't like that. But J. Laudeau was a very intriguing name. What do you think, like if you add him into this wide receiver room right now,

Starting point is 00:05:13 opposite to Cortland Sutton, does it have the same effect maybe like the guys that we talk about to George Pickens, the AJ Browns in terms of the attention he may see because he would line up a little bit everywhere here for Sean Peyton. I think all these different receiver options bring their own certain flavors to the table, right? I mean, when you're talking about size, you know, height, weight, speed, possession receiver versus, you know, a deep ball guy or whatever the case may be, I think what's nice about all these players that we've kind of been talking about is that they have pretty well-rounded skill sets despite what packages they come in. And we know Jalen Wattle is a smaller receiver compared to guys like A.J. Brown and George Pickens, but he's an offense. creator. And I think that's really what the Broncos need. You need somebody to get open quickly.

Starting point is 00:05:58 Jalen Waddle can do that. You need somebody to win downfield. Jalen Wattle can do that. You need somebody to win a contested catch. Jalen Waddle can do that. Those are all the types of things the Broncos need. It's not necessarily just, well, they need a 6-4 guy for the outside, or they need a really talented big slot player, or they need a really shifty route runner. The Broncos need somebody who can just get open when Bo Nix says, hut, that's what they need to do. Jalen Waddle can do that for you. And I think why the dolphins put such an exorbitant price tag on his name is because when the trade deadline occurred last year, if memory serves me correctly, the dolphins didn't

Starting point is 00:06:36 even have a general manager at the time. I believe they moved on from general manager Chris Greer before the trade deadline. And so the interim, the replacement is sitting there saying, hey, they're going to hire somebody else for this job. And like if they inherit this job without Jalen Waddle and we took pennies on the dollar, we're going to look like morons. And why would a good general manager want to come to our organization after we just dumped somebody for the lowest price possible? So I get why they were asking a lot for Jalen Waddle.

Starting point is 00:07:10 But I think the situation will be different now because obviously now it's the offseason. You have an opportunity to replace that player. But also you have an actual general manager in the building. now with John Eric Sullivan, who came over from the Green Bay Packers, and is running that team now. And he has an opportunity to say, oh, we can look big picture with Jalen Waddle and say, we can get a decent asset or two for him now, as opposed to the previous interim general manager saying, we don't want to screw this up for the next guy, you know, who's going to come fill this seat. Yeah, no, I get you on that, especially considering the dolphins were leaning on whether or not

Starting point is 00:07:49 they were going to keep Mike McDaniel or not now after the fact. I mean, once the season ended, there was nothing. The idea was that McDaniel was going to return. And then after a week or two after the season ended, they decided, okay, we're changing our mind. We're firing him. So definitely does change, like, who could be available. A name that I've seen thrown out is obviously Jacksonville, Jaguars,

Starting point is 00:08:06 receiver Brian Thomas Jr. I want to ask you about him here because I look at that for what we just found over the weekend, Travis Hunter, he's going to play a part-time wide receiver role going forward, full-time corner, part-time receiver here. Well, now obviously, they traded for Jacoby Myers at the NFL trade deadline. We know Travis Hunter ended up getting hurt, but Parker Washington emerged for them. Does it make sense for Jacksonville to trade a player like Brian Thomas right now, especially considering where he's at and the pieces that they got right now in Jacksonwood,

Starting point is 00:08:35 don't you think they want to run it back with a player like him? I would think to me, if I'm Jaguars, GM James Gladstone, I'd be sitting there thinking, if somebody's willing to get me back into the first round, because remember that Travis Hunter trade costs them their first round pick in this year's draft, and that's still a roster that I think you could argue very similar to what the Washington commanders had two seasons ago, right, where kind of out kicked their coverage.

Starting point is 00:09:02 They kind of played above their means in terms of, it's not like they lacked talent everywhere, but they played above what anybody really expected them to do. And the roster rebuilding, it was at a point where they hired a new GM, a first year GM and a first year head coach in Liam Cohen. So to me, I would be sitting there saying if somebody blows me away with an offer,

Starting point is 00:09:24 maybe I listen on Brian Thomas, but then again, maybe for the Jaguars, you're looking at the Broncos and you're saying, hey, screw those guys. They can find a wide receiver somewhere else. So I think just even having Brian Thomas on that list sort of reinforces the idea that this is an expansive,

Starting point is 00:09:40 like Chris Olavé, the Saints. I mean, he's entering a contract year. I know the Saints maybe feel like they found their franchise guy. Do they trade him? What about Brandon Ayuk, Cody? I want your thoughts on this quickly too, because IUC hasn't really played a lot of football since 2023. But we know general manager, George Payton, has said,

Starting point is 00:09:59 like the Broncos feel good about bringing guys in who maybe have a history of health stuff that they have going on. They feel confident that not like they have this magic serum to make them just okay because we saw they struggled some with injuries this last year. but Brandon Iyuk maybe could be one of those players available for, I mean, I think people will be surprised at how little he actually gets traded for. If he doesn't just get cut by the 49ers, do you think that's a good idea or would you say too much risk involved with IUC?

Starting point is 00:10:30 I would pass on I you just, I feel like there's too much risk involved. And on top of that, I mean, I think he tanked his overall compensation stock by what he did this past season in San Francisco. I mean, he didn't report. And I mean, Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch, they were trying to get a hold of him.

Starting point is 00:10:44 They were wanting him to be part of the team. But he made it very clear he did not want to do that. And that's tough. Like, fans were giving us crap all weekend in our comment section about George Pickens and AJ Brown. I think Iyuk would be the one guy that probably wouldn't be good for the locker room in a sense. I think those other guys that we talked about would be fine in the locker room. I just don't know about Iyuk considering, you know, where he's at. I mean, he may even be done with football, which would be crazy to say.

Starting point is 00:11:11 But, I mean, sometimes injuries can happen. The circumstances change. But I would pass here on IU. But I think a lot of these interesting name, I know he's had some concussion history, too. It's kind of scary to think about. But Broncos country, if you had to trade for a wide receiver around the NFL, these are some of the names we've heard,

Starting point is 00:11:27 talked about as potential trade candidates. Make sure you let us know which ones you would want the Broncos to maybe call and pick up the phone and ask about here on today's episode of show. But Sarah Benger and myself, we're going to get to the tight end position. We'll talk about guys like T.J. Hawkinson, Luke Musgrave, The Broncos were in a musgrave at the trade deadline. Could they be in on him here this offseason? We'll debate and discuss here on today's episode of the show.

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Starting point is 00:13:26 Play your game with Fandu, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. The Denver Broncos traded once upon a time for Adam Troutman. be in the market for another tight end trade here in the 2026 off season. Well, we're going to tell you a couple of names to keep an eye on as the weeks roll along here in the off season. But Broncos country, there is no off season when it comes to locked on Broncos and especially the everydayer club. Join the group chat right now to talk Broncos year round and get every single episode of your favorite show. Locked on Broncos, ad free and more exclusive content. Head to the show notes to subscribe to that today, everybody. Cody, the tight end position needs attention from the Broncos

Starting point is 00:14:09 this off season. Obviously, we've talked about restricted free agent, Lucas Krull. He could be on the way out. Adam Troutman himself as an unrestricted free agent for this team. And then I believe Nate Adkins even is a restricted free agent as well for the Broncos. So the tight end fullback hybrid, the Broncos need to make some, you know, they need to make some moves at this position. And I think there's opportunities out there. Today we're talking about trades. I think one of the best possible solutions for the Broncos this offseason could be to trade for T.J. Hawkinson, the Vikings, another team changing general managers, right?

Starting point is 00:14:44 So, I mean, you call up the GM there, the interim GM, and you're like, hey, what do you want for Hawkinson? You might be able to get him at a decent price right now. Yeah. And look, I also think, too, I think we've got to look at what do the Broncos need at this position? position, right? I think Evan Ingram, I think Evans got all the tools and all the skills to be able to be an explosive player at the position. The more I think about it, look, how often do we see in today's NFL, I mean, outside of Tucker Kraft before he got hurt this past season, I'm trying to Sam LaPorteur before he got hurt. Outside of that, there weren't, and Brock Bowers,

Starting point is 00:15:21 Brock Bowers obviously had some injuries as well, but there aren't many tight ends in today's game that have the dominant impact the way we used to see with the guys like Rob Bowers. Grunkowski back in the days where the Jimmy Graham, so to speak. And obviously, Sean Peyton knew a lot about Jimmy Graham. Denver has some young guys at the position. They got Patrick Murtog, who's obviously the exemption player for the Broncos, so he doesn't necessarily count against their roster from the international player pathway program. You have Caleb Loner still in the practice squad. He signed a futures deal. He's going to get more of an opportunity to compete in training camp in the preseason this year.

Starting point is 00:15:52 But really, it's just Evan Ingram at this point. So what do the Broncos need to pair up alongside Evan Ingram? You talk about T.J. Hawkinson, obviously, a veteran guy who knows where to be, knows how to beat man coverage, knows where to find the soft spots against zone coverage. He may not have the speed or the impact that he maybe used to have. I know he's dealt with a couple of injuries or the last couple of seasons, but Hawkinson would be, I think, a reliable security blanket to a guy like Bo Nix, almost in the similar sense that we saw Zacherts served that purpose for Jaden Daniels. So that's where I kind of think, like, if you go and you trade for a guy,

Starting point is 00:16:25 is he coming in to be your tight in one or is he just coming in to be a role player, so much has to also do with how is Sean Payton slash Davis Webb? How are they going to incorporate the tight end position in more than just blocking? That has to be a focal point. Hawkinson, he could block. You can also catch the ball too. So I think that serves a purpose there. He does.

Starting point is 00:16:44 He does both of those things very well. And he has for a really long time. And longtime listeners of the show will know that I'm an Iowa Hawkeyes Homer. So when it comes to T.J. Hawkinson, you wouldn't have to ask me twice. but I think he fits exactly what you're looking for at that position, right? You're hot-on Broncos. Yeah, you're hocked on Broncos. If that trade ever happens, just remember that Cody said that,

Starting point is 00:17:07 and we're going to be hocked on Broncos that day. But, yeah, I mean, he brings that in-line element with also the dynamic past catching and after the catch ability. He is that type of player. And so obviously, you know, the Vikings would want decent compensation for him. But I don't think, I think oftentimes when we start talking about guys, who have big names, well, you start to sort of assume as well that it's going to cost an arm and a leg and your third toe, you know, it's going to cost all this to get a guy in a trade.

Starting point is 00:17:37 The NFL offseason is a little bit different. I mean, these days, it doesn't cost as much to get. Not many trades are happening for players like that are going straight up for first round picks these days even. So, I mean, it's really just a matter of, okay, let's figure out, can we make the financials work? Because to me, Cody, I almost feel like the Broncos best path at adding an impact player at tight end is through a trade versus free agency. Because if I'm a free agent and I see Evan Ingram on the roster, well, I'm wondering to myself like, okay, what are the Broncos trying to hire me for? They've got Evan Ingram.

Starting point is 00:18:14 So you might have to figure it out via trade to get a top tier player to come because the assumption should probably be that Evan is going to get his targets, especially because of how much. Davis Webb likes him. Well, and on top of the two, I think you have to have as an organization, a selling point. You mentioned this when we talked about it on the squad show. Sean Payton publicly said, like for Adam Traubman, who just needed five catches, I think, in their regular season finale to activate incentive. He said, I joke to them because that's how many catches he averages per year. So you're going to have to really sell to free agents. Like, you sold it to Evan Ingram. Hey, bring you here. You're going to be this. And then they didn't use him in the way that they sold it to him, right? So I think for any free agent,

Starting point is 00:18:58 right, that's where the challenge is going to be. But if you force a trade or if you have a trade, that player is not going to necessarily have much of a say, so to speak. But Hawkinson, I think he's nitty, gritty does the dirty work for you. Let's talk about Luke Musgrave as well. Luke was obviously a guy that according to multiple reports, the Broncos did have interest in at the NFL trade deadline, but the Packers focus really shifted on keeping him because of the injury to Tucker Kraft. And I would say this. I mean, I don't know. You also do a lot of coverage as well when you write about the Packers. I felt like Tucker Kraft was the best tied in a football last year before he is his ACL injury.

Starting point is 00:19:31 That dude was scary. He was putting up numbers left and right. And so that made it to where Green Bay had to keep Musgrave, but he's very much a possibility now in the offseason. I think so for sure. I think when you have a trade that nearly went down during the season, I mean, that's definitely something that you would come back to in the off season if you really liked that player, which I think back in that,

Starting point is 00:19:52 draft, the Broncos had brought in a number of guys for pre-draft visits at the tight end position. I think it was Musgrave was one of them, a schoonmaker or whatever for the Cowboys, that he was one of them who came to Denver. So I think they were really interested in tight ends. And then last year's draft, quite frankly, they, they, you know, there were reports that they attempted to trade up for Colson Loveland. So it feels like whoever they've liked in the draft that they haven't quite been able to, you know, get a date to the dance, so to speak. And so, you got to go make a trade to make sure this happens. This goes all the way back to even Sean's first draft team, doesn't it?

Starting point is 00:20:28 Because they traded for Adam Troutman. I don't remember who they were looking for at tight end in that draft class, if anybody, but it might have been the same one we're talking about with Schoonmaker and Musgrave. So I think that was their pivot was Troutman, as a matter of fact. So it's kind of funny to think about how many guys the Broncos have brought in at this position for pre-draft visits or you're looking at free agents or what, what have you, and just not been able to get a deal done. So, like, this is the opportunity now with Troutman hitting free agency to utilize those

Starting point is 00:21:01 assets on bringing somebody in. Yeah. No, and I think that there's a conversation to be had about that. Like, do you make that move in March? Do you make that move in free agency? Or do you see if you can maybe get a free agent tight in here? I think if the Broncos strike out on that, I mean, I would much rather them, I mean, I'm very on the record saying, I think that they should trade the three.

Starting point is 00:21:22 pick this year. I think they should use that to acquire a premier talent. You know, at a wide range of different positions, skill player preferably here, probably not a tight end out there that you're going to trade a first round pick for. I mean, unless it was a Colston Love him, but that's a pipe dream. That's unrealistic. Don't think there's anyone available in the tight end market that will go for that right now or that any team would be willing to part ways from. But there is that notion that maybe a trade does happen in the NFL draft because then

Starting point is 00:21:50 it we're talking about hey okay you're maybe giving up two picks so to speak but you're getting a player and maybe a future pick down the road like not necessarily a premium one maybe a fourth or fifth round maybe a six rounder I think what was it a six round pick the adam trotman was essentially trained for so Denver's going to have to figure out how to address this position because I really do think they have the pieces at running back and obviously you think they have to add a guy or re-sign jk. Dobbins this off season but tight end has to be better it was the one position outside a running back that I felt like just lacked so much meat on the bone of what Sean Peyton said last year about the running back position specifically.

Starting point is 00:22:27 I feel that way about tight end from this past year. So I do think that maybe they are more likely to trade for a tight end than any other position right now, probably more so than a receiver. But Broncos Country coming up next. We're also going to tell you why trading for a running back would likely be a very unwise move here for the team and why that is something they should avoid. You're going to get all of that here on today's episode, locked on Broncos. Brocos Country. Today's episode is brought to you by our friends over there at TurboTax. Tax season doesn't have to take over your life this year.

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Starting point is 00:24:04 We want to hear from you on today's episode of the show as we were talking about potential trade candidates for the Denver Broncos this offseason for players that may be on the chopping block for other teams. Sarah, I'm curious for your thoughts on this because we could take a look at maybe some potential players out there. I think for a veteran player, so to speak, unless you're trading for what, a Josh Jacobs, so to speak, he's like the one guy that I would trade for, essentially, if he were available.

Starting point is 00:24:31 But Josh Jacobs is not available, and guys like him aren't necessarily going to be available. Free agency contains the next crop of pretty good running backs. I think that's why I feel more likely about, I would rather Denver sign a running back. running back in Francy, then trading for a veteran running back of any status. I mean, where are you at on this? Do you share the same opinion or do you have a different one?

Starting point is 00:24:52 I'm kind of with you. I feel like, you know, unless you're getting a Jacobs type or you have Bijan Robinson or a Sequin Barclay type of player. I mean, why would you trade prime NFL draft real estate for a running back? I think there's, you know, there's opportunities for everyone and there's exceptions to everything, right? It's not like you say, well, I wouldn't trade, you know, third round pick for Christian McCaffrey or, you know, whatever, whatever the 49ers traded for

Starting point is 00:25:18 to get him years ago. I mean, there's certain things that you think about and there's certain players that I think raise your eyebrows and you're kind of like, okay, what, would I do that? You know, so like you mentioned, star players, notwithstanding. I think that there's just too many good running backs in free agency who can really help this team that won't cost you a draft pick to sign. And they won't really cost you that much in terms of salary cap space, right? I mean, we know the running back position, other than a couple of superstars, has been pretty devalued over the years in the NFL. So you're kind of getting production for pennies on the dollar when it comes to free agent

Starting point is 00:25:54 running backs. And you're getting those, you have to go after that type that I think this is where maybe you could argue in favor of a trade, but I would say there's still plenty of guys in free agency. You are the Broncos. You need somebody to be at top that depth chart. You're not just talking about somebody that, oh, well, this guy would be nice for the rotation or oh this would be nice to pair with rj harvey no you need somebody that you can say going

Starting point is 00:26:20 into the season if this guy's getting 20 carries a game he's going to be a stud for us he's going to be somebody that we can lean on because that's what the broncos need right now is a running back that they can consistently lean on and then they need another one probably in the NFL draft and i just think that's that's where you okay don't remove your draft assets for somebody that you could get comparable production in the draft, right? That's kind of the catch 22 there with the running back position is that you can kind of just draft these guys and find them. I know sounds easier said than done.

Starting point is 00:26:53 This would be the third straight year the Broncos draft a running back if they do end up drafting one and they still haven't figured it out. So it is easier said than done. But giving up those assets in the draft when there's free agents available, I think that's the point that you and I are trying to make that the Broncos shouldn't be doing that. Yeah. One, you could take a look to a spot track and they have, if you look at their free agent running backs are unrestricted.

Starting point is 00:27:14 The market value for a lot of these guys, it's not, it's not groundbreakingly high, so to speak, in comparison to other positions. Whereas you get rid of draft capital, that actually proves to get rid of you have more, you're giving away more assets than you are by just spending money on the position of free agency. Like, for example, let's take a look at veteran Austin Adams coming off in Achilles under his previous average annual values around 4.2 million. Now it's 2.8 million, right? It depreciates over time.

Starting point is 00:27:40 Travis E.TN. His has risen a little bit, right? His previous AAV was 3.2 million. Now it's 6.8. Javante Williams, previous average annual value was 3 million. Now it's around 7 million. But you're talking about guys that can shoulder a heavy workload, so to speak, not just play at a specific role. Breece Hall probably right now, as I'm looking at spot tracks there, he has the highest average annual value of any other running back right now on the market. I imagine that will change because of Kenneth Walker winning Super Bowl MVP. But his AAV is around. down 10.3 million when you look at the average annual value, that's a four-year, $41.5 million deal with an average annual value of $10.3 million right there. That's what the projection is. I would much rather spend that than get rid of capital. Like I said, I'm on board of being forget them picks, but not at the running back position. Use those picks if you're going to

Starting point is 00:28:32 offset for players that we talked about. Like it could be linebacker. It could be tied in. It could be wide receiver. Those would be the only positions I would be serious about the Broncos offsetting their capital for. Right now, I think trading for a running back, just not worth it at the end of the day. And for all the things that you also mentioned, this is one area of this team that is a question mark. You've got R.J. Harvey, who I think is going to be a fantastic player. He's probably not going to be the RB1, but he's going to have a role.

Starting point is 00:29:00 What is the running back outlook, the rotation, the role is going to be like in 2026 because we've seen the lack of commitment to the run game. we've seen a past heavy offense, despite the fact that the Broncos have runners that are capable, so to speak. This is where I am so caught up on like, I would avoid trading at all costs if it has to do with running back because you're going to give up capital. And if we're following the recent trend, the recent trend suggests by Denver specifically that they're not going to use these guys at an extensive rate. Right. And to your point in that, I mean, like for example, Brees Hall, right? I mean, he's pretty much been a lock for 1,300 to 1,500 plus yards from scrimmage over the last handful of years, right?

Starting point is 00:29:44 So when you look at those figures and you think in terms of, hey, this guy is giving you 1,500 yards from scrimmage, possibly between 7 to, you know, 11 or 12 touchdowns total, and you think about 10 point something million per year. Think about a wide receiver that is giving teams 1,500 yards in a season. That wide receiver is probably going to be getting normal. worth of $30 million on another contract. So that's where I say, I mean, for a fraction of the cost, you can get one of these guys in free agency who's going to make a substantial impact

Starting point is 00:30:17 to your offense. The Broncos had one player who went over 1,000 yards from scrimmage this past season, and it was Cortland Sutton. So they need another player that they can lean on. J.K. Dobbins, he missed seven games and he was hurt in the 10th game that he played. He still finished third on this team. Third, in total yards from scrimmage. And he wasn't even that far behind RJ Harvey.

Starting point is 00:30:40 He was less than 100 yards behind. So that to me indicates that there is a problem with who you can truly lean on in this offense on a week-to-week basis. To your point about the Broncos utilizing players, I mean, I think at the end of this season, what do you want? You want your running back duo to have some kind of nickname from the fan base because you're using two guys and they're producing at a high level. That is the goal is at the end. end of the season, that running back duo, they better have a nickname from the fan base. And if that's the case, it means that you pulled the right triggers at that position. All right, I might go back on what I said a little bit because I just thought of a guy who could

Starting point is 00:31:18 potentially be a cap casualty. He could get cut essentially. But what if he were to be traded, David Montgomery. Absolutely. I would trade for him. Trade a late round. If you can get a guy for a late round pick, now that, now what we're talking about, I think is saying, hey, one of your top three or four picks, like don't spend those.

Starting point is 00:31:35 when you could draft a back that's going to give you a rookie contract at that value. But if you could trade a late round pick for somebody, I mean, now we get the wheels in motion a little bit. Yeah. Broncos country. Hey, let us know your thoughts as well on the running back position. Is this one you think that they'd rather assign and free agency? Would you rather draft a player or would you be open to trading for a potential back here in the offseason? Make sure you let us know here on today's episode.

Starting point is 00:31:59 Lockdown Broncos, Sarah Bender, myself. We're going to have you covered all week long all throughout the entire offseason. You get a brand new episode every day Broncos country, so make sure you become an every day or part of the Everydayer club. It's in the show notes down below. That way you get access to our group chat discord with other members of Broncos country, plus an ad-free episode of the show.

Starting point is 00:32:16 But for you, every day, is tomorrow's episode Lockdown Broncos, Sarah and myself, we're going to sit down, and we're going to take a look at three potential franchise tag candidates here for the Broncos, and will they finally use it this year after not using it over the last handful of years? We'll look at all that more in tomorrow's episode of the show.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - TARGETS: Denver Broncos BEST TRADE Options This Offseason

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