The Denver Broncos have been very active in the months between the end of the season and the beginning of free agency next week. They completely revamped their coaching staff, traded for Joe Flacco, traded Case Keenum, and informed multiple veteran starters that they would be released.
As they approach the legal tampering period, it is estimated that their salary cap after removing the draft pool will near $40 million. That is some serious firepower.
Predicting who they will target is something of a mission of ours as we throw down our free agent profiles every day this week through the weekend. One writer from The Athletic, Sheil Kapadia, caught my eye with a post predicting where the Top 50 free agents will end up.
Only two went to the Broncos.
Adrian Amos: Denver Broncos
Amos was a perfect fit in Vic Fangio’s pattern-matching coverage schemes last year with the Bears. Chicago should try to bring Amos back, but if they’re unable to do so, he can rejoin Fangio, now in Denver, and plug a hole for an already talented defense.
Sheldon Richardson: Denver Broncos
They’re loaded on the edge with Von Miller and Bradley Chubb, but could use some interior pass rush. The Joe Flacco trade signaled that the Broncos believe they can be a contender in 2019. They would probably have to create some cap room, but signing Richardson to a one- or two-year deal could be attractive to them.
I love the Amos pick. He would be the perfect solution at safety for Denver after cutting Darian Stewart this week. As for Sheldon Richardson, I’m not so sure. There was a report a few weeks ago that Denver intends to heavily pursue Johnathan Hankins instead. Either way, Kapadia got the position right, just maybe not the name right.
Also, being the Broncos are top 10 in cap space, I would have to think there is going to be at least one more name on this list. There are pre-draft needs at inside linebacker with the impending release of Brandon Marshall, along the offensive line as they expect to lose Matt Paradis to free agency, and at cornerback where Bradley Roby is leaving for greener pastures.
While $40 million in cap space is a lot, it isn’t likely enough to score more than 2-3 top tier guys and another 2-3 second tier guys. We’ll just have to wait and see how that all plays out next week.