Broncos Have Chance to Make a Splash as WR Trade Market 'Heats Up'

Are the Denver Broncos going to be players on the NFL trade market?

Jan 7, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (10) takes the field against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the first half at Nissan Stadium. / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

The Denver Broncos are 4-3, but the team's passing offense seems stuck in neutral. From the outside looking in, it seems the Broncos are lacking impact at the skill positions, specifically at wide receiver and tight end.

Lucas Krull provided the Broncos with some modest receiving production at tight end in Thursday night's 33-10 trouncing of the New Orleans Saints, but it's a position that still seems to be underachieving. The Broncos believe Bo Nix is their future franchise quarterback, but as a rookie starter, he's yet to become that proverbial "tide that raises all ships" around him.

What could help elevate Nix is an injection of playmaking ability at wide receiver. After all, Courtland Sutton finished Week 7 without even notching a target officially, and in the wake of the Davante Adams and Amari Cooper trades, it seems the wide receiver market is "heating up."

USA TODAY's Jon Hoefling floated a few wide receiver names to monitor as the NFL rumor mill ramps up ahead of the November 5 trade deadline, including DeAndre Hopkins (Titans), Mike Williams (Jets), Christian Kirk (Jaguars), and Diontae Johnson (Panthers). Bleacher Report's James Palmer, who has strong ties to the Broncos, recently floated Hopkins as the next name to be moved on the trade market.

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The opportunity for Denver to make a splash move exists. The question for the Broncos is this: would any of the above names move the needle for Nix and the offense?

Of the feasible names publicly linked in the rumor mill, I'm not sure the Broncos would be any better off bringing one of them in than they would be doubling down on some of the younger receivers whose offensive role has been on the rise. We've even seen an uptick in the second-year Marvin Mims Jr.'s usage by Sean Payton. All it takes is one play for a dynamic player like Mims to bust a short completion into a big gain, or for Nix to complete one moon-ball to him for a big score.

While Sutton failed to make the box score at Caesars Superdome, rookie fourth-rounder Troy Franklin led the team with five receptions (on six targets) for 50 yards. Franklin and Nix have chemistry that dates back three years to their time together at Oregon, so that relationship should steadily continue to bear fruit for the Broncos.

Seventh-round rookie Devaughn Vele led the Broncos with eight receptions in Week 1 before he suffered a rib injury that kept him out until recently. The Broncos have been patient with the 6-foot-4 former Ute, but even his one reception in New Orleans was a 20-yard gain for the Broncos.

Josh Reynolds is on injured reserve for another few weeks. Sutton has been hit and miss thus far, while Lil'Jordan Humphrey has been solid. It's worth mentioning that Humphrey came very close to hauling in a dime from Nix that would have been an explosive vertical touchdown vs. the Saints.

The Broncos' passing game is still out of sync. That will improve as the season marches on, but the Broncos have to be careful not to jump the gun as buyers ahead of the NFL trade deadline.

Any player the Broncos acquire via trade would have to factor into the short-term future. He couldn't be a one-year band-aid. This team isn't one player away from winning a Super Bowl, so single-season mercenaries can't be expected to get the Broncos over the hump.

That means age, cost, and relative production have to be measured and balanced by the Broncos front office before actually consummating a trade. At 4-3, the Broncos have bought themselves some time to decide. Call it a little grace period.

When the dust finally settles on the NFL trade market on November 6, it would be a surprise to see the Broncos on the list of transactions. Next year, if Nix continues to develop along with the team, the Broncos will be in a much more fortuitous position with the resources to be bigger players on the free-agent market, plus the 2025 NFL draft.

Mile High Huddle will continue to monitor all the trade rumors as we inch closer to the trade deadline, though. Stay tuned.

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