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LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 04: Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts celebrates after the NFL match between Indianapolis Colts and Washington Commanders as part of the London NFL Series 2026 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 04, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Jonathan Taylo<\/a>r trade rumors have overtaken the rumor mill, and the latest one sends him to the Denver Broncos<\/a> right when they are preparing to face the Arizona Cardinals<\/a>.<\/p>\n On paper, the Cardinals<\/a> shouldn\u2019t be that dangerous an opponent for the Broncos. Denver would easily be the odds-on favorite over Arizona.<\/p>\n However, the Cardinals\u2019 massive 18-16 upset over the Rams<\/a> in Week 6 sends a clear message that Sean Payton shouldn\u2019t underestimate them. And the Cardinals don\u2019t even need to look any further to identify where to press to hurt Denver the most. It\u2019s right in front of them.<\/p>\n The Broncos\u2019 offense ranks near the bottom of the league in rushing efficiency, posting a sluggish 3.4 yards per carry. Lead back J.K. Dobbins has struggled to find daylight, averaging just 3.3 yards per attempt. That lack of backfield production routinely puts young quarterback Bo Nix in obvious passing downs, neutralizing Payton\u2019s preferred play-action flow and leaving the door wide open for an opportunistic Arizona defense to stack the box and force mistakes.<\/p>\n Broncos Jonathan Taylor Trade Pitch Threat to Cardinals<\/p>\n \n That internal flaw explains why the Jonathan Taylor trade chatter carries so much weight. Adding a proven power runner gives Payton a back capable of grinding out clock, sustaining drives, and completely neutralizing Arizona\u2019s upset script.<\/p>\n Multiple trade pitches have linked Taylor to Broncos, and it makes sense looking at the exhausted condition of their offense.<\/p>\n Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report points out that Taylor\u2019s addition is the instant fix for the offense leaking efficiency, stopping the ground game\u2019s steady decline and keeping Denver from falling behind the chains on every drive.<\/p>\n \u201cAdding Taylor would help stabilize Denver\u2019s offense while Nix works through whatever issues have been behind his lackluster play,\u201d Knox writes<\/a>. \u201cAnd the Broncos could treat his addition as a long-term investment since Dobbins looms as a likely 2027 cap casualty\u2014cutting him in the spring would save $2 million in cap space.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPairing Denver\u2019s defense with a backfield led by Taylor, Harvey, and Coleman could make the Broncos a formidable force for the next few seasons. Taylor, meanwhile, would get the chance to play for a perennial contender in a Sean Payton offense that would maximize his skill set.\u201d<\/p>\n More than just the Cardinals matchup, the Broncos need a player like Taylor to back them up in he weeks to come.<\/p>\n Broncos Need a RB Like Taylor to Stop the Bleeding<\/p>\n \n Already ranked 2nd in the AFC West, it\u2019s only going to get harder with kickoffs against the heavyweights, and teams with the potential for an upset even bigger than the Cardinals. They face the Chiefs<\/a> in Week 8 after the Cardinals in Week 7. Week 9 is against the Carolina Panthers<\/a>, whose massive upset over Detroit is still haunting other future opponents.<\/p>\n They get a breather in Week 10, their bye, before they take on the Raiders<\/a> in Week 11 and the Steelers<\/a> in Week 12.<\/p>\n Cap space is something they will need to work out, though, because Taylor signed a fresh two-year, $44 million extension with $39 million guaranteed. Any team trading for him absorbs a premier cap hit for a running back.<\/p>\n For a Denver roster building around Bo Nix\u2019s rookie contract, committing massive financial cap space to a non-premium position goes directly against modern cap management, making him a costly long-term anchor.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tPankti Parmar<\/a> Pankti Parmar is a Heavy Contributor. Specializing in college football and the NFL, her reporting work includes extensive coverage for The Sporting News, FanSided’s Ole Hotty Toddy, Fly War Eagle, and Glory Colorado, Notre Dame On SI, Roundtable Sports, Pro Football and Sports Network, and more. More about Pankti Parmar<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 04: Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts celebrates after the NFL match between…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1036582,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2078],"tags":[375,390,2604,1327,7,6],"class_list":["post-1036581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arizona-cardinals","tag-arizona","tag-arizona-cardinals","tag-arizonacardinals","tag-cardinals","tag-football","tag-nfl"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117500892376912147","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1036581","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=1036581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1036581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1036582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1036581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1036581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2296316612_9746c9-e1792738996809.jpg\")
GettyColts Jonathan Taylor\n<\/p>\n![\"Seattle](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/seattle-seahawks-v-denver-broncos-denver-colorado-october-15-head-coach-7.jpg\")
GettyBroncos head coach, Sean Payton\n<\/p>\n