Good morning, Broncos Country!
Yesterday’s soft launch of free agency might have been a little disappointing to Broncos fans who had their sights on a splashier open.
Instead the Broncos chose to spend the first days officially signing back a slew of their own free agents — JK Dobbins, Alex Singleton, Justin Strnad, Adam Trautman, Alex Palczewski, Sam Ehlinger and Nate Adkins.
And in a somewhat surprising move, Denver cut one of last year’s splashy signings — Dre Greenlaw.
In spite of the meltdown that seemed to be happening on Broncos’
Twitter (and MHR, for that matter), I applaud every one of these moves. The money to Singleton is possibly a little steep given his age, and health, but he is such a solid player and major locker room leader that I’m willing to trust the brass on this one. The inside linebacker beat cancer, led the team in tackles and made the defense better whenever he was on the field and wearing the green dot.
In fact, Nik Bonitto and PJ Locke both came to Singleton’s defense on X when one disgruntled fan tried to hate on the beloved player.
I’m also a big fan of keeping Dobbins. I know his injury history is a huge concern — rightfully so. As a three-time fantasy owner with Dobbins on my roster, I know the pain of investing in a guy who has phenomenal talent but cannot finish a season.
But the 27-year-old has such great potential. Last season he rushed 153 times for 772 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games, putting his 772 rushing yards as fourth best in the NFL. So far in his career, Dobbins has averaged 5.2 yards per carry and has 26 touchdowns in 47 games.
So $8-10 million per year in a two-year deal, with an exit strategy after one season if necessary, is both team-friendly and player-friendly.
More importantly, like my point about Singleton, when Dobbins was on the field, the offense was better. A lot better. And keeping him around on a relatively inexpensive contract is a smart move. If he and RJ Harvey can develop their “one-two punch” as planned and predicted, this duo will be better than ever come Week 1.
So do the Broncos still need to sign an elite player to make this team a bonafide contender next season?
As exciting as adding a top-tier linebacker, running back or even wide receiver to the roster would be, it’s clear the Broncos are pretty happy with the squad they’ve had. In fact, “running it back” as is another year and using the draft to add depth seems to be just fine by them.
That’s not to say that a big-splash signing still couldn’t happen.
What it does mean is that Denver really has all its “needs” met and doesn’t have to overpay just to fill a position. With one of the best offensive lines in the league, the Broncos will roll into free agency and the NFL Draft with the luxury of being able to be picky.
I would personally love to add more firepower on defense. The core group from last season remains, despite losing John Franklin Myers and Greenlaw, so Denver still should have a top-ranked D.
But I would never argue about adding another stud on the defensive line or the edge, and who wouldn’t like a stud inside linebacker added to the roster…say, Leo Chenal?
