2025 Free Agency Preview-Positions of Need

As the season has finally ended for the 2024 Denver Broncos, I wanted to take a few minutes to do a preview of the likely names that we might see floating around Denver's free agency acquisition rumors. In my eyes, Denver needs to address these positions the most on both sides of the ball.

  • Offense: RB, WR, TE, C
  • Defense: DL, ILB, S

RB Free Agents: Aaron Jones, Najee Harris, Javonte Williams, Alexander Mattison, Rico Dowdle, JK Dobbins, Kareem Hunt, Khalil Herbert

WR Free Agents: Stefon Diggs, Tee Higgins, Keenan Allen, Amari Cooper, Chris Godwin, Diontae Johnson, DeAndre Hopkins, Marquise Brown

TE Free Agents: Tyler Conklin, Austin Hooper, Zach Ertz, Mike Gesicki, Juwan Johnson

DE Free Agents: DeMarcus Lawrence, Josh Sweat, Chase Young, Charles Omenihu, Marcus Davenport, Clelin Ferrell, Azeez Ojulari

DT Free Agents: BJ Hill, DJ Jones, Javon Kinlaw, Greg Gaines, Levi Onwuzurike, Derrick Nnadi, Milton Williams

ILB Free Agents: Lavonte David, Bobby Wagner, Tyrel Dodson, Willie Gay, Cody Barton, Devin Bush

S Free Agents: Justin Reid, Justin Simmons, Tyrann Mathieu, Jeremy Chinn, Xavier Woods, Jevon Holland, Trevon Moehrig

The following would be the players I think would be the best targets based on their market value at the time of free agency, either due to age or injury/production issues:

  • RB: Aaron Jones, Rico Dowdle, or Kareem Hunt would all be great veteran additions to the RB corps after letting go of Javonte Williams. Denver can and will likely add to this position in the draft with Day 2 round players like Treyveon Henderson, Omarion Hampton, Kaleb Johnson, and Cam Skattebo.
  • WR: Tee Higgins would be the splash signing here and provide Denver with a legitimate WR1 on the team. However, I think the smarter signing would be Chris Godwin who is coming off an elite season in Tampa Bay cut short by injury. Godwin, when healthy, was out producing Mike Evans and acted as a short to intermediate safety valve for Baker Mayfield and could act in the slot role for Denver and Bo Nix. DeAndre Hopkins is another veteran player who could provide depth as a quality starting WR2 opposite Courtland Sutton.
  • TE: I do think Denver will address this position in the draft with players like Colston Loveland, Tyler Warren, Harold Fannin, and Gunnar Helm. However, the free agent pool for TEs this off-season contains a few veteran pieces who would be perfect for Nix to utilize. The two players I love here are Zach Ertz and Mike Gesicki. Ertz had a great season on the Commanders acting as a safety valve for Jayden Daniels and would serve in a similar role in Denver. Both players could be bought for cheap(ish) contracts and instantly provide a talent resurgence to a room that only contained Adam Trautman and Lucas Krull in 2024.
  • DE: Denver already has young talent here but can always look to upgrade and add. The two players I like here are Josh Sweat (expensive) and Clelin Ferrell (average). Both had great seasons on their respective teams and would be immediate impact starters on our front-seven.
  • DT: This may have been our front-seven's strength due to having 3 elite to great players in Zach Allen, DJ Jones, and Malcolm Roach. However, DJ Jones is an UFA this off-season and should be a high priority re-signing. If that does not happen, the two players I would love for us to target are Levi Onwuzurike and Milton Williams. Levi played a similar role to Jones on the Lions this season and is a younger player yet to see his prime seasons. Milton Williams was one of the best run stuffing DTs this season. While expensive to sign, he would be a great addition next to Zach Allen in lieu of DJ Jones' exit.
  • ILB: This is a huge need for a defense that hasn't had elite ILBs since the 2015 No Fly Zone defense with Brandon Marshall and Danny Trevathan. Cody Barton will be an UFA and would be a good, cheap re-signing to pair with a healthy Alex Singleton. I also think the best signing here would be Bobby Wagner who commanded the Washington defense this past season. In a division with both Travis Kelce and Brock Bowers, an ILB that can cover TEs is more than a necessity. Look for Denver to also address this position through the draft.
  • S: Brandon Jones was one of the best off-season moves in recent history and while PJ Locke was good, he was also just that. Better serving as a 3rd safety option, Denver should go after Jevon Holland who had a down year in Miami at the FS position. He is still very young and has shown incredible field range, speed, agility, and coverage ability in the past. A sleeper option here would also be a reunion with Justin Simmons to bring back a veteran presence to the secondary.

Who do you all think we should add in the upcoming free-agency period to better compete next season?