The NFL has gone trade crazy this season. Players are begging to get away from bad teams. The Miami Dolphins have been more than willing to oblige, trading Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Pittsburg Steelers. As we look ahead in the season, the question becomes, will the Denver Broncos end up as buyers or sellers when the story of 2019 is written?
It all depends on how you look at the schedule. As Ian St. Clair and I discussed on the MHR Radio Podcast (Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify), a big factor in whether or not John Elway decides to bring players in, or move players out, depends on where they can find wins.
We took a little trip down the schedule to do some counting. To make a long story short, I was only able to find four wins as we counted. That is with the Broncos continuing to play the way they have in the first two weeks of the season. That kind of stagnation will spell the end for any hope of a run at the playoffs.
It may have been the “Negative Nellie” in me that could only find four victories. But when we factored in the assumed improvement as players got used to the new system it wasn’t like wins started falling out of trees. I was still only comfortable adding three more wins. That puts my ceiling for this team at 7-9. This is, of course, after I had predicted 10-6 and a possible playoff run.
What that should indicate is that Denver will be sellers in the trade market this season. If that happens the question will be, how many veterans with big contracts can Elway move? Denver could become one of those teams that uses trades to build draft capital. And, yes, I am aware that this conversation after just two weeks feels extremely premature.
Premature or not, it looks like the trade market is going to be set. Elway will have some time to figure out what the potential is for the Broncos as they are currently constructed. It will also allow him to see what teams are willing to give up for players.
Names to watch will include Emmanuel Sanders, Derek Wolfe, and Chris Harris, Jr. John Elway has never been a splashy GM in the trade market. If he makes any waves this season, it will likely involve moving on from some veterans.
It might be hard to find a little ray of hope in Broncos Country. After a rough 0-2 start, the season is far from over, but if the struggles continue some of your favorite players may end up wearing a different team’s jersey when it’s all said and done.