While 6-2 atop the AFC West, the Denver Broncos are ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs and ahead of schedule in their rebuild. Denver made the playoffs in Year 2 of Sean Payton’s three-year window, and they’re poised to make a Super Bowl run in Year 3 due to their battle-tested nature.
It’s a weird space to occupy. A team that is an obvious buyer walking into the store, and the team is also holding a long-term view of the roster in the supposed-to-be third and final season of a rebuild. So, here are three players the Broncos may shed for draft assets in that aforementioned final season.
Alex Singleton
Alex Singleton is a starter on the Broncos’ defense, totaling the No.1 PFSN Defense Impact Score, with a team-high 70 tackles. That said, he is a replacement-level starter doubling as an account ledger due to the nature of the position.
Singleton is No. 31 in PFSN’s LB Impact Score. For reference, there are 64 starting backers, with offenses lining up in 11 personnel: One running back, one tight end, and the majority of snaps.
Fellow backer Justin Strnad is waiting in the wings. He started in place of the injured Dre Greenlaw to start the season. Strnad is No. 40 in PFSN’s grading system. His cap number is roughly $1.3 million, though.
Singleton, however, has a cap number of roughly $6.9 million on the last year of his deal. Denver nets roughly $2.75 million trading Singleton midseason. He’d net a cost-effective Day 3 draft pick.
John Franklin-Meyers
You don’t want to trade multiple starters from a Super Bowl-contending team, but the Broncos are balanced. If traded, John Franklin-Meyers could be replaced by the duo of Malcolm Roach and Eyioma Uwazurike for the rest of the season. In a 3-4 base defense, the Broncos would still have horses on the defensive line. There’s still Zach Allen and D.J. Jones.
It’d take a lot to move Franklin-Meyers, but the Broncos have roughly $5 million in cap space to roll over into 2026. Trading the 3-4 DE nets roughly $4 million. Franklin-Meyers is tied for third on the Broncos with four sacks and four tackles for loss. Franklin would net a fourth-round pick.
P.J. Locke
P.J. Locke lost his starting slot after the signing of Talanoa Hufanga. Now a subpackage starter, Locke’s $5.1 million cap number doesn’t justify his roster spot. The Broncos save roughly $2.5 million by trading him in a Day 3 draft pick swap. All told, these three moves net the Broncos roughly $9 million in cap space to roll over into 2026. Denver has the seventh-fewest cap space.
