The Denver Broncos are 6-2 and sit atop the AFC West. But room for improvement is perpetual. One of the avenues to do so — trading — reaches its deadline Tuesday. Ahead of that, one ESPN analyst thinks the Broncos should fix a weakness on the offensive side of the ball.
Broncos Have a Weakness on Offense
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell wrote a long-form article sizing up all 32 teams ahead of the trade deadline on Tuesday. He split up the teams into five categories. The first group of teams should definitely add players. Full stop. This is the category to which the Broncos were assigned. Barnwell listed the Broncos’ biggest needs as guard, cornerback, and linebacker. With the most emphasis on guard.
“The Broncos are down a starting guard (Ben Powers) and a key offensive line reserve (Matt Peart), so although they’re probably not going to land a starter to take over until Powers returns from his biceps injury, a utility guy who can serve as the sixth or seventh lineman on game day would be a nice find for GM George Paton,” Barnwell wrote.
The Baltimore Ravens’ Ben Cleveland is a name to watch out for if the Broncos make a move at guard. The Broncos, ranked 9th in PFSN’s OFFi, are a balanced team, which is why Barnwell placed them in the first group. You don’t want a lack of depth to be the reason why a Super Bowl run stalls in the playoffs. Speaking of depth, Barnwell added analysis on the Broncos’ CB situation, with Pat Surtain II expected to miss time as well.
“There’s no replacing Pat Surtain II at corner, and I suspect the Broncos will move forward over the next month with a larger role for first-round pick Jahdae Barron, who has played just 24% of the snaps so far.”
Barron recorded his first career interception in Week 8. More playing time is on the horizon. But, it is fellow CB Kris Abrams-Draine who’ll get the first crack at starting opposite Riley Moss with Surtain II sidelined, though. Head coach Sean Payton said that Abrams-Draine did a good job filling in after the game, while alluding to the team’s decision to stay in man coverage with Surtain II out.
