Broncos Encouraged to ‘Stand Pat’ Ahead of NFL Trade Deadline

Getty Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton and wide receiver Troy Franklin.

Chemistry in an NFL locker room can be a tricky thing. If it’s going good, just a single player with the wrong attitude or outlook can throw the entire thing off balance. You have to be careful.

The Denver Broncos learned as much following a disastrous 2023 campaign and now, 7 games into the 2024 regular season, they find themselves with a surprising, 4-3 record and their playoff hopes still very much alive.

While the knee-jerk reaction might be to try and add a player via trade to try and embolden those playoff hopes — the Broncos haven’t been to the postseason since the 2015 season — The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider thinks Denver should “stand pat” ahead of the November 5 NFL trade deadline.

“At 4-3, with a winnable home game Sunday against the Panthers, the Broncos are already ahead of where many thought they’d be at this point,” Kosmider wrote. “They have a defense that has the makings of an elite unit, a rock-solid special teams unit and a running game that is starting to show life. While it may be tempting to search for another weapon for rookie quarterback Bo Nix, the Broncos still need to have an eye on the future this season.”

Of the Broncos’ 10 remaining games, only 3 feature legitimate contenders with 2 games against their AFC West Division rival Kansas City Chiefs and a game against the Baltimore Ravens. Of the remaining 7 games, 5 of them are against teams who currently have losing records.

Breaking Down Broncos’ Biggest Needs

Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine listed the Broncos’ biggest need headed into Week 8 at edge rusher, although they seem to have depth at that position with Jonathon Cooper playing some of the best football of his career, Baron Browning returning from an injury and young players like Nik Bonitto and rookie Jonah Elliss waiting in the wings.

Where the Broncos have truly lacked production in 2024 has been at the tight end position, where the trio of Lucas Krull, Adam Trautman and Greg Dulcich have a combined 13 receptions for 117 receiving yards and no touchdowns through 7 games.

Broncos Should Add Talent in Draft, Not Trades

The Broncos need only look to their recent past as evidence they shouldn’t try to change their fortunes via trade. That’s because they orchestrated one of the worst trades in NFL history in March 2022 when they sent the Seattle Seahawks 5 draft picks in exchange for quarterback Russell Wilson that included 2 first round picks and 2 second round picks.

Getting head coach Sean Payton was also costly. In order to obtain Payton’s rights from the New Orleans Saints, it cost the Broncos their 2023 first round pick and 2024 second round pick.

That’s not to mention the 5-year, $242.5 million contract extension the Broncos signed Wilson to that saddled them with $85 million in dead cap money over the 2024 and 2025 seasons after he was released following 2 miserable seasons in Denver.

“(The Broncos) gave up a combined six first- and second-round picks from 2022 to 2024 in trades for head coach Sean Payton and former quarterback Russell Wilson,” Kosmider wrote. “They appear to have found some key contributors with their last two draft classes and need the capital to keep building the team that way.”