The Denver Broncos have only re-signed its own free agents since free agency opened Monday, but WR Deebo Samuel would be the perfect "offensive playmaker."
The Denver Broncos haven’t done anything but re-sign several free agents since the free agency negotiation period opened on Monday.
Bringing back key players that helped lead you to the American Football Conference Championship after a dominant 14-3 regular season is perfectly fine. It’s the fact that many voices within the organization have stated the need for an offensive playmaker or two and the Broncos have yet to bring in an external free agent.
In fact, Denver is the only team in the National Football League that hasn’t signed a player from outside of the organization. Continuity is great for teams that go all the way and have won the big game, but the Broncos came up short and lacked offense down the stretch.
Yes, losing starting quarterback Bo Nix to a season-ending ankle injury certainly played a huge part in that, but the offense was inconsistent and stagnant for much of the season. The defense deserves a lot of credit for keeping the Broncos in games and allowing the offense to be able to mount fourth quarter comebacks.
Although many of the top free agents are no longer available, there are plenty of impactful offensive players still on the market, including a former first-team All-Pro wide receiver.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell believes former Washington Commanders WR Deebo Samuel is a “dream fit” for Denver’s offense.
“Samuel is a dream fit for the Broncos' offense, where Bo Nix wants to get the ball out quickly when he has a numbers advantage or throw the ball on digs and deep crossers off play-action,” Barnwell wrote Friday.
Barnwell does mention that the Broncos do have a crowded WR room, especially after re-signing Lil’Jordan Humphrey, but Samuel offers a bit more toughness and ruggedness than any other wideout.
Because Samuel has shown effectiveness as a rusher, head coach Sean Payton could use him in several goal line packages to keep defenses on their toes.
But why is Samuel still unsigned? Barnwell attributes this to never being 100 percent despite only missing five games over the last three seasons. His snap share has dipped below 50 percent during that stretch and he has also struggled with ball security in his career – he has 15 fumbles in 97 games.
However, he can be the “joker” that Coach Payton has been yearning for since arriving in Denver. Samuel has only eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards once in his career (1,405 in 2021) and hasn’t hit the 900-yard mark outside of that season, but his ability to create on the ground and after the catch would be an immense boost to Denver’s offense.
Samuel has 406 receptions for 5,519 yards and 27 touchdowns with 13.6 yards per reception to go along with 219 carries for 1,218 yards and 21 touchdowns with 5.6 yards per attempt in his career.