Broncos Still Likely to Trade Jeudy or Hamler in 2023
While the Denver Broncos made two trades ahead of the NFL trade deadline — dealing away rush linebacker Bradley Chubb and acquiring pass rusher Jacob Martin from the New York Jets — the team stood pat at wide receiver. Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler's names were floated out of the rumor mill in the weeks leading up to the deadline.
After the deadline passed, buzz emerged on the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers having interest in Jeudy. According to GM George Paton, there were other teams interested in Jeudy and Hamler, but the Broncos wanted more for them than what the rumor mill was saying, especially with respect to Jeudy.
“We received a number of calls on our receivers and some other positions. We wanted to keep our young, talented receivers,” Paton said on Tuesday following the Chubb trade. “We started to get some rhythm in the last game versus Jacksonville and we just feel good with where we're going. We're trending in the right direction with Jerry, Hamler and Courtland. We didn't want to break that up. We have a good thing going. We're in it to win it moving forward and so we kept all of our receivers.”
That so many teams coveted Denver's receivers is good news. After all, the Broncos' wide receiver room has widely underperformed this season after being hyped up as a deep unit when Tim Patrick went down with a year-ending injury in training camp.
If the Broncos want to turn things around this season, they'll need Jeudy and Hamler to consistently produce more as they did in the team's Week 8 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, even though the Broncos kept these wideouts, for now, it doesn't mean it will last through the offseason.
In fact, expect to hear reports about Denver trading away at least one of these receivers after this season. It wouldn't be surprising to see movement with at least one of them. The Broncos' wide receiver unit is in a similar situation as the edge rusher room, which led to the Chubb trade.
The Broncos have invested in Courtland Sutton and Patrick, and will likely add more to the room in the offseason. Unless the Broncos pick up Jeudy's fifth-year option, he and Hamler are free agents after the 2023 season.
Potentially trading Jeudy or Hamler depends greatly on how the rest of this season plays out for Denver. Through the first eight games, there has been inconsistency with getting Hamler involved in the offense.
A sheer reticence to even look Hamler's way has cost the Broncos games. As for Jeudy, he and Wilson finally got on the same page against the Jaguars without it being the result of a broken coverage.
Denver would love to see these young receivers increase their value to try and get more in a potential package by trading at least one of them away in 2023. While it would weaken the room, the 2023 NFL draft class has a good group of wide receivers to analyze, and free agency is also an option.
With only six picks in the 2023 draft, trading Hamler or Jeudy would help add more ammo to Paton's stockpile, especially if these two wideouts continue to suffer from a lack of usage by Russell Wilson and the coaching staff.
However, trading one away would create another hole on the roster, but wide receiver is a need either way. It's a position where you want to have multiple options, and Denver is lacking there. A lot was lost when Patrick got hurt, but no one expected the depth to perform this badly.
Kendall Hinton has had his moments, but that's it. We question weekly why Tyrie Cleveland is even on the roster, as his play has been that bad, when he's healthy. He made the roster as a gunner and blocker, but both have been consistently terrible.
So the wide receiver need is already there, and Jeudy and Hamler were picks of the old front-office regime. That 2020 Broncos draft class could be two coaching staffs ago, depending on what happens with Nathaniel Hackett as his staff at season's end.
So are Jeudy and Hamler safe for the 2023 season? No.
There could be another turnover with the coaching staff, and Paton loves to have draft picks to work it, which makes for a pretty significant incentive to trade one of these players that obviously have a demand on the trade market, as evidenced by the calls Denver fielded ahead of the deadline.
As good as Jeudy and Hamler are (or could be in the right hands), the Broncos still have to think about the finances, even with all that Walmart money that was brought in with the Walton/Penner ownership group. The Broncos are at a point where they may need to pay two more receivers, so if Hamler or Jeudy show out to end the season and a good offer comes, that could ease some of the financial burdens.
Who knows? Each could fetch a significant offer and lead Denver to rebuild its receiver room depth.
There is a lot of time between now and then, but trade rumors with Jeudy and Hamler have only been temporarily muted.
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