{"id":1035916,"date":"2026-10-24T15:21:34","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T15:21:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/1035916\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T15:21:34","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T15:21:34","slug":"future-broncos-thoughts-on-denver-being-trade-deadline-buyers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/1035916\/","title":{"rendered":"Future Broncos: Thoughts on Denver being trade deadline buyers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Broncos Country, apologies for last Saturday\u2019s hiatus from Future Broncos. I was on a long drive and trip after Denver\u2019s big win against the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football. We will get back in the swing talking prospects soon.<\/p>\n

For this installment, I wanted to discuss some potential pre-trade deadline moves that have been floated and whether or not the Broncos should be interested. It\u2019s something we haven\u2019t covered here yet, so I thought this would be a wise time to do so with the deadline just a few weeks away.<\/p>\n

With the Colts starting off the season 2-4, their front office made a bold move and decided to fire<\/a> long-time General Manager Chris Ballard. That has caused quite a stir across the media waves with many well-respected analysts believing that Indianapolis could be big sellers prior to the deadline.<\/p>\n

The two major players often discussed are running back Jonathan Taylor and left guard Quenton Nelson. First and foremost, there are no doubt these two are tremendous players. Secondly, I think it\u2019s safe to say Denver could use a boost at the running back position since J.K. Dobbins has struggled, Jonah Coleman has been hurt, and RJ Harvey hasn\u2019t had a lot of carries or reps in his second season.<\/p>\n

However, some reports have suggested the Colts are looking to recoup their first-round pick they gave up to the New York Jets to acquire cornerback Sauce Gardener. If that\u2019s the price tag, there is no way the Broncos should be interested. It\u2019s not just the draft capital that matters\u2014it\u2019s the fact Taylor has a massive two-year contract thereafter Denver would have to absorb.<\/p>\n

\"INDIANAPOLIS,<\/a><\/p>\n

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – OCTOBER 5: Jonathan Taylor #28 of the Indianapolis Colts celebrates after a 2-point conversion with guard Quenton Nelson #56 during an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Lucas Oil Stadium on October 5, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Todd Rosenberg\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n

Yes, the Broncos are scheduled to receive a fourth-round compensatory pick for John Franklin-Myers. Moreover, will have an additional seventh-round selection from the New Orleans Saints to finalize the Devaughn Vele trade. That\u2019s extra Day 3 capital which will be nice, but let\u2019s be real. The Broncos aren\u2019t in a position to trade away another top draft selection\u2014especially for an aging running back.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s happened three of the last five years due to acquiring Jaylen Waddle, Head Coach Sean Payton, and Russell Wilson with a total of four first-round picks involved. The truth is, Denver has a lot of long-term and future needs to address. It doesn\u2019t seem wise to toss away a top pick on a short-term and expensive rental at running back.<\/p>\n

With respect to Nelson, he is in the final year of his contract with the Colts. He\u2019s an All-Pro player and one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL. He would certainly be an upgrade over Ben Powers who has had an up and down tenure with Denver.<\/p>\n

Though I\u2019d imagine his price-tag will also be high. It would also come under the condition the acquiring team would offer him one of the largest contracts at the position. You can\u2019t just trade off premium draft capital for a half a season rental. And honestly, the Broncos already have one of the highest paid offensive lines in football. It\u2019s truly an area where they need to get younger and start saving money against the cap.<\/p>\n

Another player that has been floated potentially is Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta. I\u2019m not so sure the Lions are even remotely interested in trading him off. He has been a productive player for them, but the nagging injury history is a concern. They are still in the thick of it in a tight NFC North battle, so I don\u2019t even think he is a realistic option for Denver.<\/p>\n

Acquiring him would also mean finding a way to extend him since he is in the last year of his rookie contract. I guess I\u2019m not certain he would be much of a needle mover. How quickly could he even pick up Payton\u2019s offense and find a way to be a meaningful contributor? Would he even be a frequent target on offense? How quickly would he get chemistry with Bo Nix? Quite frankly, I\u2019d rather see Denver invest a top pick to address their big need there than attempt to go this route.<\/p>\n

\"CHARLOTTE,<\/a><\/p>\n

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 4: Sam LaPorta #87 of the Detroit Lions reacts against the Carolina Panthers prior to an NFL football game at Bank of America Stadium on October 4, 2026 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Michael Owens\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n

All things considered, I just don\u2019t see the Broncos being huge buyers before the deadline. I could be very wrong about this. It\u2019s fair to say they should be aggressive because these moves may line up with the idea of maximizing their Super Bowl window. Though if they don\u2019t pan out, it would also be at the expense of drafting and building for the future\u2014which they\u2019ve done far too often over the past few seasons.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m curious to know what you all think. Should the Broncos be buyers? What type of draft capital would you be willing to give up in the event these players were really on the market before the deadline?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Broncos Country, apologies for last Saturday\u2019s hiatus from Future Broncos. I was on a long drive and trip…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1035917,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2062],"tags":[232,231,258,1152,2426,7,6],"class_list":["post-1035916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-denver-broncos","tag-broncos","tag-denver","tag-denver-broncos","tag-denver-broncos-draft","tag-denverbroncos","tag-football","tag-nfl"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117496570799292569","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1035916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1035916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1035916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1035917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1035916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1035916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1035916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}