Broncos' Trade Targets Should Be These TEs

The NFL trade deadline is on November 4, and the Denver Broncos are sitting pretty at 6-2. However, there is one spot the Broncos could look for more help in building more consistency on offense, and that's the tight end position. 

To be more specific, the Broncos should be looking to the trade market to add more of a Y-tight end to better complement what they have in Evan Engram and Nate Adkins. The Broncos don’t need that slot tight end receiving weapon, as Engram fills that role, and Adkins is a versatile blocker who lines up in-line and in the backfield, but he also suffered an injury in the win against the Dallas Cowboys. 

Denver has Adam Trautman, but he has not been great this year and has seen a decrease in snaps over recent weeks, which was only a matter of time based on his play. When on a more limited snap count, Trautman has been better and more effective. Fewer snaps give him fewer chances to have a negative impact on the play. 

The Broncos also have Lucas Krull, who was eligible to come off injured reserve this week, but he opted for a surgery that's going to keep him out another two months, and he isn’t an in-line blocker. Caleb Lohner and Patrick Murtagh sit on the practice squad, but they're both developmental players who shouldn’t see the field this year. 

This means the Broncos should look elsewhere for help, especially if the injury news isn’t positive regarding Adkins. The Broncos need help, even if Adkins was 100% healthy, as they're missing a clear impact role on offense, and it has created a negative impact on the unit's consistency. 

When it comes to exploring a trade, the Broncos don’t have a lot of wiggle room with their available salary-cap space, as they sit under $6 million and still need the funds to get through the rest of the season. While it's still doable, it's much harder to make bigger contract players work. 

So, while players like David Njoku, T.J. Hockenson, or Pat Freiermuth are incredibly enticing, they may be out of the range financially for the Broncos. Baltimore's Mark Andrews also fits into that, but he has the added concern of medicals due to his type-1 diabetes, which has raised concerns about him playing in Denver before. 

That leaves the Broncos mostly looking at players on rookie contracts, and while many of those tight ends are either extremely cost-efficient, their current team isn’t keen on moving them, or they’re playing so terribly that the team is looking to move them. So, Denver has to find the right balance of a team looking to sell some young talent on rookie contracts who are playing decently well. 

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