NFL Insider Believes Broncos Made Run At Jonathan Taylor Trade

The Denver Broncos were surprisingly inactive at Tuesday's NFL trade deadline. 

The Broncos acquired Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley, although both sides said on Wednesday that the trade didn't go through. 

The Broncos said it wasn't finalized, and they didn't provide a reason. 

It's an unfortunate turn of events for Denver. And, apart from that, a big need was at the running back position. 

Denver had been linked as a team to watch for a potential trade of Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor. In the end, the Colts held on to Taylor, but ESPN's Jeremy Fowler believes that Denver did make a run for the Pro Bowl ball-carrier. 

"I believe Denver gave it a run this week but wasn't comfortable with the return Indianapolis was seeking," Fowler wrote in his latest intel piece. 

The Colts reportedly were eyeing a first-round pick for any Taylor deal, and that makes sense, especially since he is one of the best running backs in the league and still under the age of 30. 

The Broncos need some help at the RB position, and Taylor would've been a monster boost to this offense. 

The other issue is that Taylor isn't a rental, so the Colts didn't need to trade him, and they didn't need to let him go for cheap, especially given his production over the past few seasons. 

Benjamin Allbright, a well-known Broncos reporter, said before the deadline that the Broncos "did call about Taylor," but the team wasn't interested in meeting Indianapolis' asking price. 

That lines up with what Fowler suggested in his intel piece, so at least it seems that the Broncos tried to upgrade the RB position. 

Denver is currently in first place in the AFC West, so it wasn't a desperate situation. And, they are relying on their rockstar defense once again, and that has been the team's calling card all season, as the offense has had a rocky beginning to the campaign. 

In a perfect world, the Denver offense would've consisted of Bo Nix, Jaylen Waddle and Jonathan Taylor as the QB-RB-WR trio. 

But, the Broncos trades a first for Waddle in this past draft, and having to send another future first for Taylor seems to be more than what they were hoping for. 

Denver now will roll with the JK Dobbins-Jonah Coleman combo at running back, but it wouldn't be surprising to see a Taylor trade surface this offseason in one form or another.