Broncos free agency target: Isaac Seumalo

They say NFL games are often won in the trenches and there is little doubt that the Denver Broncos have struggled to field a quality offensive line for quite some time.

Under performance, injuries, and overpriced free agent acquisitions gone bad—virtually anything that could go wrong regarding the Broncos’ offensive line has gone wrong over the past several seasons. A gridiron version of Murphy’s Law.

There isn’t much to write home about regarding the Broncos’ offensive line.

Former third-round draft pick Quinn Meinerz appears to be the only player from last year’s starting line who is penciled in as a legitimate starter for next season.

Garett Bolles? Word on the street signifies he is on the trading block. Dalton Risner? Doesn’t appear like he will be retained. Lloyd Cushenberry? He is entering the final year of his rookie contract and isn’t guaranteed to be a starter in 2023. Graham Glasgow? An obvious cap casualty. Everyone else who stepped in and played spots on the line last season? To be determined.

If the Broncos want an immediate upgrade at the position, they will likely have to venture into free agency and spend a bit of coin to acquire a top player. One name that comes to mind is Isaac Seumalo of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Highlighting Seumalo’s career to date

The Philadelphia Eagles drafted Seumalo out of Oregon State in the third-round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Since then, he has played in 81 regular season games with 60 starts.

It took some time to hit his stride after a myriad of injuries held back his potential, but Seumalo is coming off the best season of his career. Without question, he was a key cog in one arguably the league’s best offensive line units. And at just 29 years of age, he still has a few years of good football ahead of him.

Seumalo is a well-rounded offensive lineman whose main draw is power in the run game. Considering the Broncos have struggled with run blocking for ages, getting a player of his caliber in the fold would be a great idea to help jump start their rushing attack.

In order for the Broncos’ offense to be efficient, a strong running game to help take pressure off Russell Wilson makes a lot of sense. That’s something Seumalo can certainly help with.

Why he makes sense for the Broncos

If the Broncos don’t keep Dalton Risner in the fold, finding a starter at left guard will be one of Denver’s biggest priorities this off-season. Seumalo is coming off the best season of his career and is a stalwart in the run game, but also proved he to be a viable pass protector only allowing one sack this past season.

Injury history is the biggest concern with Seumalo, as 2019 and 2022 are the only years of his career where he played in every single game. But when healthy, he has proved to be a top-notch offensive lineman whose power in the trenches would be a boon for any team looking to upgrade their trench warfare.

It’s a classic version of risk versus reward. It will be up to George Paton and the Broncos’ coaches to see if he is worth the investment he will command in free agency.

Examining Seumalo’s free agent market

Top-notch free agent offensive linemen are hard to come by and Seumalo is one of the best on the market.

According to Spotrac, Seumalo is in line for a two-year deal with an average annual value of $12.1M dollars. That would place him as one of the top ten highest paid guards in the National Football League. Given his injury history and the fact he only has finished two seasons starting all games, I’d like to believe his actual mark comes in a bit less than that.

The Broncos have been snake-bitten by high-priced offensive lineman in free agency in the past, but given the uncertainty across the board—I think it’s a virtual lock they spend big on one this off-season. It’s just a matter of who that is.