Who Should the Broncos Get in Free Agency

0:00Our yoga instructor challenged us to find inner peace. I found it faster than anyone. After four seconds, I stood up and screamed, I found her, Fanna, I win! They asked me to leave. I guess they don't respect winning. Bet365 does, though. New customers get $365 in bonus bets just for betting $10. Now I must stay losers. Bet365. Winning is everything. Gamely problem-call 1-800-Gambleer, 21-plus-only, must be physically located in Virginia. TNC's apply, in app only. Welcome to The Deep Dive. If you are a football fan, and specifically, if you bleed orange and blue, you already know what today is. It's a massive day. So get your coffee ready. Make sure your phone is charged. Because today is Monday, March 9, 2026. And the NFL's legal tampering window officially opens today. It really is just the best kind of chaos. You have phones ringing off the hook. You've got agents leaking numbers to insiders. And in front offices are just locked in these war rooms,

1:03trying to figure out exactly how to spend their cash without completely destroying their franchises future in the process. Exactly. And we have a massive stack of sources to guide you through all that chaos today. We're pulling reports and data from sports illustrated over the cap, fantasy life clutch points, and NFL.com. So the mission for The Deep Dive is to help you understand the ultimate team building dilemma. Yeah. Imagine you are the one building this roster. How does a team that was literally one single injury away from reaching the Super Bowl pushed themselves over the edge? Right, because we really have to set the stakes here before we get into the actual names and numbers. Yeah. The Denver Broncos 2025 season was, I mean, it was nothing short of spectacular. Incredible. We are talking about a 14 and three regular season record. They locked up the AFC's top seed. They had home field advantage. Yeah. So that's the way to the AFC championship game. And let's be entirely honest with ourselves here. That magical run was only derailed because quarterback Bonix broke his ankle heartbreaking.

2:03Just absolutely gut wrenchingly heartbreak. I mean, you could hear a pin drop in that stadium when he went down. Yeah, it was awful. But as painful as that was, it proved something vital. They are right there on the doorstep. They are a legitimate contender. And that brings us to the money, which is where things get really heated. It always comes down to the money. So let's ground this excitement in some hard financial facts from the cap experts over it over the cap. First of all, the ghost of Russell Wilson's dead cap is finally completely gone. OK, goodness, right? Off the books, you don't have to look at that massive negative number anymore. Plus, right before the tampering window opened, the Broncos did a really smart contract restructure for offensive guard Quinn Miners. Love that move. That move alone freed up $11 million. So right now, as we sit here today looking at the ledger, the Broncos are sitting on exactly $34,743,000 in salary cap space. $34.7 million just sitting there ready to be spent.

3:04So here is the question for you listening right now. With nearly $35 million in your pocket and a Super Bowl window that is scaring you right in the face, do you swing for the fences or do you play it safe? Well, because I say you go big. You go get the absolute brightest stars on the market. And I say that is exactly how you end up in salary cap purgatory by 2028. Smart teams, the ones that build actual dynasties, win on the margins. Oh, we are definitely going to get into it today because I completely disagree. Bring it on. Let's start with the backfield. The running backs. Look, our running back room is currently the third cheapest in the entire league. And J.K. Dovins was a fantastic story last year. When I watched him just going off the eye test, he looked incredible. Whenever he was actually on the field, he felt elite. But as a fan, can we really rely on him to be the bell cow back with that massive injury history? It is a tough pill to swallow because you are right. When he's healthy, he is undeniably elite. And the data backs up your eye test perfectly.

4:04Next gen stats had him at plus 1.3, six rush yards over expected per carry last year. Which is huge. Exactly. That metric basically measures how many yards of back creates on his own after the office line does its job. That number made him the R before in the entire NFL in 2025. See. But you simply cannot ignore the medical red flags. You just can't. And then you have the rookie behind him, RJ Harvey. He had a great nose for the end zone. 896 yards and 12 touchdowns is nothing to sneeze at for a rookie. But watching Harvey, he just felt sluggish at times, didn't he? A little bit, yeah. He didn't have that breakaway gear you really need in January. And again, the numbers validate what you were seeing on the field. The underlying metrics for Harvey are actually kind of terrifying. He had bottom 10 numbers in the NFL in yards per carry at just 3.7. Brutal. Even worse, his explosive rush rate was an abysmal 2.7%. Just to clarify for everyone, your explosive rush rate is the percentage of your runs that go for 10 or more yards.

5:07The plays were a back burst through a hole, breaks a tackle, and actually flips the field. Exactly, a 2.7% explosive rush rate. You do not win a Super Bowl with a bottom 10 explosive running game. This is why I'm so passionate about this. I want them to swing big. Go sign Kenneth Walker III from the Seattle Seahawks. Oh, boy. Here we go. Hear me out on this. He is only 25 years old. He is fresh off being named the Super Bowl 60 MVP. He absolutely took over that game. He already has 2 1,000 yard seasons under his belt. He's the ultimate field-fiving game breaker. I'm not denying his talent. You put him in the backfield with Bonix, and this offense is unstoppable. If, for some reason, we can't get Walker, then go get Travis Etienne. He's 27 coming off a massive 1,100 yard season. You have to pay for elite talent to get elite results. Period. I have to push back hard on this philosophy. You are talking about paying what I call these Super Bowl MVP tax. Because he just hoisted that trophy, Kenneth Walker is going to command north of $10 million

6:10annually on the open market. And he's worth every penny. Paying that kind of premium for running back into these NFL is a trap. It is an absolute trap. If you spend 10 million on running back in March, you won't have the money to sign crucial offensive line depth to protect him when November and December roll around. But it's a trap that wins you a championship ring. Elite playmaker is one playoff games. Let's look at the value pitch instead. There's a rumor floating around from predominantly orange that currently has the fan base absolutely panicking. But honestly, it makes a lot of financial sense. The rumor is the Broncos might just bypass the big names entirely and roll with a modest rotation. Dobbins, Harvey, and a manual Wilson. Wait, a manual Wilson. Yes, manual Wilson. Who is that? He is a 226 pound former Broncos undrafted free agent. Undrafted. Hold on, he actually ran for 496 yards in Green Bay last year on a very respectable 4.4 yards per carry. That is exactly what I'm talking about. That is not a championship backfield.

7:11That is settling. That is throwing in the towel on an elite offense. OK, OK. If they absolutely must sign someone from outside the building to appease the fan base, there is a perfect compromise candidate out there. Tyler Algeier from the Atlanta Falcons. Oh, there. The backup. Yes, the backup to Bijan Robinson, which is exactly why he is the perfect target. Because he doesn't play. No, listen, he is only 25 years old. Because he's been stuck behind a generational talent like Bijan, he has very little wear and tear on his tires. He hasn't been taking 30 hits a game. Yet, he still managed 514 yards last year with his limited touches. OK. Gustavol, he is only seeking about $78 million on the open market. You bring in Algeier as your reliable 1B option to rotate with Dobbins. That keeps Dobbins healthy for the playoffs. And it allows RJ Harvey to transition into that versatile Joker role in Sean Payton's offense. Actually, remind everybody what that Joker role looks like on the field. Think of Alvin Kamara during his prime in New Orleans or Reggie Bush.

8:11It's that dynamic hybrid player who is constantly motioning out of the backfield, lining up in the slot and catching passes in space against slow linebackers. That is where Harvey's skill set actually shines. It is smart, highly efficient team building. I want you to think about your own budgets for a second, right now. If you have the money sitting in your bank account, do you buy the luxury sports car that turns heads, goes 0 to 60 in three seconds, and wins the race? Or do you buy the reliable, slightly used sedan that supposedly gets you to the exact same destination just a little slower? Because I want the sports car. We have a Super Bowl window. And I want to be able to afford groceries next week, which is the perfect transition to our next major issue where we desperately need to buy some groceries. The pass catchers, the wide receivers and tight ends. OK, so we both agree on the baseline problem here. The Broncos won 14 games, yes. It was amazing. But Fantasy Life points out that their underlying expected win-loss record, which is based on their point

9:12to furniture, was actually only 11 and 6. We want a whole lot of really close, nerve-wracking, one-score games. And a big reason for that offensive stagnation in the red zone is the receiving core. It is currently the 12th cheapest pass catching group in the entire league. And you get what you pay for. Profitball focus ranked them 26 overall last season with a dismal team receiving grade of just 67.8. It was painful to watch sometimes. Tri-Franklin ranked second to last in yards per target out of 50 qualified receivers over the last two years. When you watch the games, it felt like every single time Bonyx looked his way, the play ended in a harmless 3-yard gain or an incompletion. It was just no explosion. Exactly. And Marvin Mims, as much as we all love his raw speed, is basically just being used as a gadget player on Jetsweeps. We need a true, terrifying weapon opposite Courtland Sutton. And here's where it gets really interesting. I want Alec Pierce from the Indianapolis Colts. Pierce is going to be incredibly expensive.

10:13But look at his profile. As a fan watching Bonyx gain confidence throwing the deep ball, Pierce is the dream. He is six foot three. He is only 25 years old. And he has led the entire NFL in yards per reception two years in a row. I get that, but he is the ultimate deep threat to take the top off the defense. Or if we want to get really crazy and go all in, go after Debo Samuel, bring in Debo for that elite yards actor catchability in Sean Payton's system, especially now that Davis Webb is calling the plays and dialing up those creative screens. If we connect this to the bigger picture, you are being completely unrealistic about the reality of an NFL salary cap. You just spent 10 million on Kenneth Walker a few minutes ago. And now you want to hand out a massive top of the market contract to Alec Pierce or an aging superstar like Debo Samuel, you are out of money. We have 34.7 million. We have the cash. That money goes so incredibly fast when you start paying retail prices for big names. Let's look at realistic value. The Broncos should take a $6 million flyer on Christian Kirk.

11:16Christian Kirk? Yes. He has a proven high end ceiling. Do not forget his incredible 2022 season in Jacksonville. 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns. A change of scenery and a great quarterback could unlock that exact same production again for cheap. Or they should look at Romeo Daubs from the Packers. He had 724 yards and six touchdowns last year. Wait, wait, wait, wait, start right there. Romeo Daubs, you honestly want to bring in Romeo Daubs to fix our offense. Yes, he's a big body target. He's very reliable in the red zone. His stats are almost exactly identical to Troy Franklin's. You are pitching a completely lateral move. It's not a lateral move. It's about consistency. How does swapping one guy who gets you 700 yards for another guy who gets you 700 yards help us beat the Kansas City Chiefs or the Baltimore Ravens in late January? It doesn't. It just shuffles the deck chairs. It provides reliable depth without hamstring the franchise's financial future. You can't have superstars at every single position. And remember, you still have to pay the tight ends too.

12:17The Broncos just resigned Adam Trotman to a three year, 17.5 million dollar deal to be that familiar face in the locker room. But they still desperately need a true white tight end. Let's quickly define the why for everyone listening. So we are all on the same page. The white tight end is the traditional guy who lines up in line right next to the offensive tackle. And is primarily there because he can actually block defensive ends. Evan Engram is a fantastic receiving tight end. But he's basically a big wide receiver. He's not an elite in line blocker. They need a gritty compliment to Engram who can run block. OK, so who is your value pick there? Because I actually agree we need to protect bone necks in the run game. KDOT and from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is the absolute dream fit. He is only 26 years old. And he is a phenomenal blocker who is just starting to emerge as a reliable receiver over the middle. He's ranked as the number 18 overall free agent by NFL.com. I like him. If his market gets too pricey, you pivot and look at Chico Zimo Conco or reliable veteran like David and Joku.

13:19See, I can completely get behind KDOT and that makes sense. But you know what, I can't get behind bargain hunting when your defense is bleeding yards in the middle of the field. We absolutely have to talk about these linebackers. The defense was undeniably elite last year. Let's give them their flowers. They only allowed 18 point three points for game. But you are right. They had one glaring undeniable weakness. They were one of only 10 defenses in the entire league to give up over 1,000 receiving yards to opposing tight ends. They need coverage linebackers so badly. Just look at the room right now. We have Alex Singleton. And look, we all love him. His story of overcoming to stickular cancer to return to the field was without a doubt the most inspiring thing of the entire 2025 season. He is a warrior. Absolutely. But the harsh football reality is that he is 32 years old. And he has become a massive liability in past coverage when teams isolate him. And they just gave Justin strain at a three year, 18 million dollar extension. But his primary role is as a downhill blessing piece.

14:21Drake Greenlaw is fantastic when he plays. But he has struggled heavily with injuries spending a lot of last season standing on the sideline. They absolutely need an off-ball linebacker who could drop back into coverage and run with tight ends. Which is exactly why they need to back up the brinkstruck for Devon Lloyd. Pay the man whatever he wants. I am rolling my eyes so hard right now at your spending habits. Listen to me. He is a 27 year old Jaguar. He is a true, every down, three down linebacker. He just earned second team all pro honors. He is a premier coverage guy. He literally erases the only flaw on an otherwise elite championship defense. And he is going to cost 15 to 17 million dollars annually. You cannot afford him. The Broncos have a documented track record of letting their own internal defensive lineman walk because they don't want to overpay. John Franklin Myers is hitting free agency right now. And all the insiders say they're probably going to let him leave. So what? Replace him. They might. There's talk of a reunion with Dremont Jones to replace Franklin Myers. But the broader point is if the front office

15:23won't pay their own homegrown guys 15 million to stay, they certainly aren't paying a shiny outside linebacker 17 million to come in. You have to find the value. So who is it? Who is your magical value savior for the middle of our defense? Devon Bush. Devon Bush. Are you kidding me? The guy who tours ACL years ago look like he's running in quicksand and completely washed out. Did you even watch football? Yeah. Devon Bush had a massive unbelievable resurgence in Cleveland. He looked completely rejuvenated. He recorded 125 combined tackles and you want coverage. He had three interceptions last year and he took two of them back for defensive touchdowns. He led the entire NFL with 164 interception return yards. Okay. That is actually an incredible stat line. I didn't realize he bounced back that hard. Right. It's an amazing comeback story. He brings the exact coverage skills they need, but without the massive Devon Lloyd price tag attached to him or look at Kaden Ellis from the Atlanta Falcons.

16:24He had 107 tackles and three and a half sacks last year. Plus there's great storyline there. He is the older brother of Broncos Ed rusher Jonah Ellis. The family connection is already in the building and the production is there on the field. I hear the stats. I really do. I just worry it's not enough to put us over the edge. Well, let me share the real fan nightmare with you then. According to a recent report in the Denver Post, there are rumors that the Broncos might just completely bypass the top of the linebacker market altogether. They might just sign someone like Alex Antelone or EJ speed on a dirt cheap deal just to wear the green dot on their helmet and call the defensive plays. Oh, absolutely not. I just can't stomach that idea. Because wildly underwhelming for a true contender, I can't stomach the idea of Patrick Mahomes coming to town in a playoff game and we've got a bargain bin free agent wearing the green dot trying to call our defense against Andy Reed. That's a recipe for an absolute disaster. This raises the most important macro question in all of professional sports though. What actually makes a super bowl contender?

17:25Is it having five superstars and a bunch of minimum wage players filling out the rest of the roster, hoping nobody gets hurt? Or is it having a deep solid roster from top to bottom with absolutely no glaring weaknesses to exploit? I think we've made our positions abundantly clear on that front today. Let's bring this heated debate to a simmer and synthesize our takeaways. The Broncos are sitting on $34.7 million in cap space today to fix their running back room, their wide receivers and tight ends, and their linebackers. I firmly believe that when your window is open, you have to pay the Super Bowl tax. You go get Kenneth Walker, the third, you go get Devon Lloyd, you pay for the elite talent that makes the game changing plays in January when the lights are brightest. And my stance remains that smart front offices win on the margins. You let other desperate teams overpay for past performance. You find this sneaky good value signings. The Tyler Allgeyers, the Devon Bushes, the Christian Kirks, the guys who give you 85% of the superstar production for just 40% of the cost.

18:26That keeps your salary cap incredibly healthy for years to come. Well, for you listening right now, the legal tampering period is open. Your phone is probably going to start buzzing with ESPN and NFL network notifications any minute now. But the really great thing is you are now perfectly equipped to understand the strategy, or maybe the lack of strategy, behind every single move the Broncos make today. You'll know immediately if they are swinging for the fences or playing the value game. Exactly. When you see a contract number pop up on your screen, you'll know exactly what it means for the rest of the roster and who they can no longer afford. And we want to leave you with a final, provocative thought to chew on today as you watch these signings roll in, something we haven't even really touched on yet, but it's looming over everything. Think about this. If the Broncos do go out and spend all 34.7 million this week on shiny new toys, what happens to Bownecks? In just two years, his cheap, rookie contract is going to be up. And if he keeps playing like he did before the injury, he's going to want a leap top

19:29of the market quarterback money. Are the aggressive moves Denver might make today going to accidentally guarantee that they won't be able to afford their own franchise quarterback tomorrow? It is the ultimate tight rope walk. The next 72 hours will tell us everything we need to know about how the Denver Broncos view their own timeline. We can't wait to see how it all unfolds. Thank you so much for joining us on this deep dive. Keep your phones close. Keep refreshing those social media feeds and we will catch you next time.