The Denver Broncos made one big trade while keeping nearly all of their key players, and these comments add clarity.
If you’re an NFL fan trying to get good intel about what your favorite team is doing, this can be a tough time of year. Between the combine, the spring meetings and the pre-draft noise, it can be nearly impossible to figure out exactly what’s going on.
The Broncos are right in the middle of this sort of thing, having pivoted dramatically from locking up nearly all of their important players from last season to making a big trade for receiver Jaylen Waddle. But Mike Sando of The Athletic put together a fascinating piece that contains anonymous comments on each team’s offseason moves, and they definitely help cut through the fog.
The first comment came from an executive who saw regression on the horizon. The Broncos became the 32nd team in NFL history to win exactly 14 games in a season last year, according to Sando, and their point differential (+90) that ranked last is a possible sign that slippage is coming.
“You might fight regression for a year or two with a move like that,” the exec said.
Not surprisingly, the Broncos’ running back situation drew some comments. Specifically, another executive mentioned Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne, who was a possible Broncos target until the New Orleans Saints stepped in and landed him.
“They were shocked,” this exec said.
The most surprising comments were about the specifics of the Waddle trade. The two opinions Sando came up with were wide ranging, to say the least including one that included some negatives about Waddle.
“Denver wants to give Bo Nix his best chance with a new play caller, so take your shot,” another exec said of adding the 185-pound wideout to go with new offensive coordinator Davis Webb. “But you’d better know some of the flaws. Availability is a concern, and Waddle does not exactly exude toughness. Maybe your culture changes that.”
Sando also pointed out that Waddle has been an average starting receiver for the last two season if you go by yards per game (53.4, which is yet another angle that hasn’t been mentioned prominently. Still, some executives get the move and they like what Waddle adds.
“He opens things up,” another exec said. “He is a good complement to Courtland Sutton, who is more of a possession receiver. He is a good stretch-the-field receiver, which they already have with (2024 fourth-round pick Troy) Franklin. Waddle can run all these crossers and beat man coverage, and he’s in his prime.”
There will be plenty of pressure on Waddle to produce, especially given that the Broncos let go of defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers, who signed for $21 million per season with the Tennessee Titans. According to Sando, that move represented the limits to what Denver can do to maximize whatever championship window exists while Nix is still on his affordable rookie deal.