Denver Could Consider Big Names As Trade Targets

With the first six weeks of the NFL season in the books, that means only three weeks remain until the league's Tuesday, Nov. 10, trade deadline.

With regard to the Denver Broncos, that means GM George Paton has 21 days to decide if or how he needs to improve his 4-2 team.

Ask any Broncos' fan and the side of the ball to concentrate on would be obvious - the offense, with the rushing attack, which has been a big disappointment so far, an obvious area in need of improvement.

Through six games, the Broncos rank 26th in the league with 505 rushing yards, an average of 84.2 yards per game, while averaging 3.4 yards per carry, the 30th-best rate in the league. Continuing with a running game that anemic is most likely unsustainable.

So it should come as no surprise that one outlet highlights three running backs among five possible trade targets for Denver.

Writing for Predominantly Orange on Tuesday, Sayre Bedinger says, "Even though everyone in the Denver Broncos fan base is well aware of the team's offensive struggles right now, there's no mistaking the fact that this team is a Super Bowl contender. And they need to treat themselves as such....[W]e're going to take a closer look at which players could be on the team's radar and who might be among this year's 'wish list' acquisitions."

The writer definitely isn't bashful as two of the running backs mentioned are Saquan Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles and Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts.

Barkley is an interesting case as he has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury with no firm return date yet known. In the four games he has played, he compiled 182 yards rushing on 36 carries, so while the 5.1 per-carry average is good, the 45.5 yards per game is not.

Meanwhile, Barkley's team may be approaching a crossroads. Standing at 2-4, the Eagles found out on Monday that quarterback Jalen Hurts would miss the rest of the season with blood clots in his lungs. With that in mind, is Eagles' GM Howie Roseman ready to close the curtain on his team's current window of contention? If he is, Barkley could be made available.

The bigger swing for the Broncos, according to Bedinger is a doozy. Reach out to the Colts - who just fired GM Chris Ballard on Monday - to see if both Taylor and offensive guard Quenton Nelson might be available, either individually or as a package, which would send seismic shocks through the league.

"Taylor is already up to 655 yards from scrimmage and 7 total touchdowns this season, and presents the type of threat at the running back position that could be an absolute game-changer for the Broncos," writes Bedinger, who adds that Taylor has been "feasting" against both stacked and soft defensive boxes. "If the Colts are willing to move him, the Broncos need to be calling."

Nelson, who will be a free agent after the season, would be the icing on the cake, with Bedinger opining that "a fire sale is coming" in Indy after Ballard's firing. He adds that the Colts don't have a first-round pick in the 2027 draft, so if the Broncos are willing to go there, Indy would have to be tempted.

"[T]he idea of trading for Quenton Nelson to upgrade the interior offensive line has plenty of merit, even if the price to get him is high," he wrote. "The idea of Nelson and Quinn Meinerz at the guard position would give the Broncos the best guard duo in the NFL."

The remaining two targets mentioned by Bedinger are less attention-grabbing. Tony Pollard of the Tennessee Titans has been a solid runner with more than 1,000 scrimmage yards every season since 2021, and more than 1,000 yards rushing every year since 2022, both of which are an upgrade over what Denver's backs have been prodicuing.

The Broncos could also seek an upgrade at tight end, according to Bedinger, via the Los Angeles Rams' Colby Parkinson, who is a better blocker and similar receiver (nine catches for 55 yards) when compared to Denver's current tight end crew consisting of Evan Engram (12 for 134), Nate Adkins (4 for 40) and Adam Trautman (2 for 10).