Broncos Could Add Edge Rusher Depth With Former First Round Pick

Getty Washington Commanders linebacker Jamin Davis.

One thing you can count on with the Denver Broncos as we head toward the NFL trade deadline is that very few players on the roster are safe from being dealt if head coach Sean Payton thinks he can improve his roster in any way.

While the Broncos might look to be buyers in a trade, they can make a move that doesn’t force them to give anything up and might give added value to their defense by signing former first round pick Jamin Davis, a fourth-year linebacker who was surprisingly released by the Washington Commanders on October 21.

“(Davis) becomes the fifth first-round pick since 2019 who is no longer with the team,” ESPN’s John Keim wrote following Davis’ release. “The Commanders traded their 2022 first-round pick, receiver Jahan Dotson, to Philadelphia in August. They traded two previous first-rounders — ends Chase Young (2020) and Montez Sweat (2019) last season to San Francisco and Chicago, respectively. Quarterback Dwayne Haskins, who was drafted in 2019, was cut in 2020.”

Davis would be a low-risk, high reward free-agent signing for the Broncos because he can play multiple positions — he left Washington as an edge rusher but spent his first 3 seasons at inside linebacker and led the team with 104 tackles in 2022.

Edge Rusher ‘Biggest Weakness’ For Broncos

Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder listed edge rusher as the “biggest weakness” for the Broncos headed into a Week 9 road game against the Baltimore Ravens.

The fact that the Broncos are still actively looking to improve their roster at the midway point underscores the bigger storyline this season — that the Broncos even have a reason to try and make moves. After starting the season 0-2, Denver has won 5 of 6 games, including 2 consecutive wins following a 28-14 win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 8.

That edge rusher is being singled out as a weakness for the Broncos might also be a bit unfair — they’re currently second in the NFL with 30 sacks through the first 8 games — just 1 sack behind the New York Giants.

The Broncos haven’t made the playoffs since winning the Super Bowl following the 2015 season and haven’t had a winning record since 2016.

Davis Should Get Chance to Reboot Career

Washington had already turned down the fifth year option on Davis’ rookie contract that would have paid him $14.4 million in 2025. Still, Davis was thought to have more value than just any random backup and if the Commanders could have gotten anything back in return for Davis by the November 5 NFL trade deadline — anything — that might have been looked at as a win.

Davis was a healthy scratch for the Commanders in a Week 6 loss to the Baltimore Ravens but was back on the active roster in a win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 7 in which he had 1 tackle. In the 5 games he played in 2024, Davis had 13 tackles and no sacks.

In 2022, Davis started 15 games for the Commanders and finished with a career-high 104 tackles, 3.0 sacks, 9 TFL and 2 fumble recoveries. He missed four games with injury in 2023 but still had 89 tackles, 3.0 sacks, 8 TFL, 4 pass deflections and 2 forced fumbles.