Teams Have Checked In On Broncos CBs In Trades

The Broncos have also turned to 2024 fifth-round pick Kris Abrams-Draine as a spot starter on the outside. With Barron having the ability to play multiple positions, the defending AFC West champions have a well-rounded secondary. This has led to teams checking in about prospective trades for one of Denver’s corners, ESPN.com’s Jeff Legwold notes.

As we recently discussed in our Broncos Offseason In Review piece, the team is facing a big-picture decision with its Nos. 2, 3 and 4 CBs. Moss and McMillian are entering contract years. Barron would seemingly be plugged in to replace whichever player departs in 2027. It is unrealistic for the Broncos will pay both Surtain supporting-casters due to the expenses elsewhere on the roster — a payroll that includes a big-ticket Surtain deal, one the team just upgraded via an offseason raise.

Entering camp, Barron was given a shot to compete with Moss. However, it does not look like the second-year cover man will wrest the job from the two-year incumbent. Moss has played ahead of Barron recently, according to the Denver Post’s Troy Renck, who notes the latter has looked better as a slot player than a boundary corner. Moss suffered what Sean Payton called a minor rib injury in Denver’s second preseason game, perhaps underscoring why the team intends to retain its full CB cadre.

Barron played 146 slot snaps last season to go with 89 on the perimeter and 94 in the box, according to Pro Football Focus. The advanced metrics site ranked the former No. 20 overall pick 105th among qualified corners, though he barely totaled enough snaps to qualify.

Considering the Broncos have traded four first-round picks since 2022 (for Russell Wilson, Payton’s rights and Jaylen Waddle), they ill-afford Round 1 busts. The team will need to see improvement from Barron this season, but his presence gives Denver a surplus at a premium position. For 2026, it looks likely he will remain the team’s dime back. Two years remain on Abrams-Draine’s rookie deal; the Mizzou alum has logged 333 career defensive snaps.

The team has begun extension talks with McMillian, a player Payton would prefer the team extend; no known talks have commenced with Moss. With pure slot CBs not valued on the level perimeter stoppers are, a few teams in recent years have opted to retain their No. 1 corners and their slot players while letting CB2s walk. Signs are pointing to Denver prioritizing McMillian long term.

Elsewhere on the Broncos’ roster, the team is giving Evan Engram another shot after a mediocre first season. Signed to a two-year, $23MM deal ($16MM fully guaranteed), the veteran tight end said a reunion with Davis Webb — his Giants teammate from 2017-18 — represented the main reason he chose Denver. Engram, who received a similar offer from the Chargers, said Webb texted him shortly after his Jaguars release last year.

“He was probably the No. 1 reason,” Engram said of Webb, via the Denver Post’s Parker Gabriel. “Just knowing his influence on play-calls and his relationship with Sean. The team as well, too. The team was ready to turn the corner.”

PFR’s Broncos Offseason Outlook highlighted Engram as a cut candidate, but the team will let the 10th-year veteran play out his contract. Webb will be tasked with unlocking Engram, who remains Denver’s top pass-catching TE, after a 461-yard, one-touchdown 2025 showing. The team had planned to add a tight end and ended up drafting two — NC State’s Justin Joly (Round 5) and Utah’s Dallen Bentley (Round 7) — in April.