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Aug 10, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New Orleans Saints center Erik McCoy (78) against the Arizona Cardinals during a preseason NFL game at State Farm Stadium. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Broncos Could Solve Major Offensive Weakness With Saints Pro Bowler Trade

Originally posted on Denver Broncos on SI
By Thomas Hall | Last updated Oct 2, 2025 3:40 PM ET

The Denver Broncos have Super Bowl aspirations in 2025. That was made abundantly clear by head coach Sean Payton when he revealed in the press this summer that the Broncos' make-up was one of only a handful of teams he has coached that he believed could win a championship.

To bring the Broncos closer to that lofty goal, a major weakness on the roster needs to be fixed. That weakness is the center.

The talent along the Broncos' offensive line has done an admirable job of hiding the weakness that is Luke Wattenberg. That will not be enough in the playoffs.

Wattenberg has trouble holding up when the Broncos run the ball and is averaging one accepted penalty per game. For a team that has a championship on its mind, it's not close to good enough.

The Ideal Solution: Erik McCoy

There is an ideal solution, and it isn’t replacing Wattenberg with Alex Forsyth. The Broncos should trade for McCoy, the New Orleans Saints' center.

The Saints are 0-4 and haven’t been in the lead by a single point this entire season. They're heading nowhere fast and are likely to hold the first selection in the upcoming draft. The Saints must plan for the future.

On top of that, the Saints are in salary-cap hell. In 2026, they're projected to be $18 million over the cap. Trading McCoy alone would get New Orleans under the cap in 2026. It's easy to see why the Saints would entertain a phone call to inquire about McCoy.

Plenty of Salary-Cap Space

The Broncos are in a completely different cap situation. Denver is projected to be under the cap by $68 million and has already extended or re-signed its must-have players. The Broncos could easily absorb McCoy’s large cap hit without restructuring his salary.

McCoy would be a massive upgrade to Wattenberg. A two-time Pro Bowler, McCoy is an all-around better center.

McCoy has been consistently listed as one of the top five centers in the NFL. To top it off, he's only 14 days older than Wattenberg.

Broncos Can't Kid Themselves

The Broncos' coaches are kidding themselves if they think Wattenberg is the answer. Furthermore, he is an unrestricted free agent this offseason, which means they don’t have much invested in his future development.

Payton would be pleased to have McCoy in the lineup since he drafted him in the second round back in 2019 and made him the immediate starter as a rookie. McCoy is familiar with Payton's offensive scheme and would fit right in along the offensive line.

This is an upgrade the Broncos need to make if they want to make a run in the playoffs. The team must shore up a weakness in the middle of the line that it cannot do with what they have on its own roster. This move would improve the offense significantly.

The Takeaway

There have been no in-season trades featuring centers recently to use as a comparison. However, last October, the Jacksonville Jaguars shipped starting offensive tackle Cam Robinson and a seventh-round selection to the Minnesota Vikings for a fifth-rounder.

At the time, the Jaguars were not nearly in the same salary cap situation as the Saints, but Robinson did have a sizable cap hit. If McCoy can be had for anything remotely similar, it would be a no-brainer.

Payton would be wise to get on the phone with his former team and make an inquiry into what it would take to pry McCoy away. The move would immediately help to solve the biggest issue facing the Saints: their terrible cap situation. That should indicate the draft capital needed to get him to Denver would be palatable.

The NFL trade deadline is November 4 at 4 p.m. EST. Get busy, Broncos.