Broncos Roundtable: Which position will Sean Payton and George Paton invest in the most this offseason?

Now that Sean Payton’s coaching staff is set, it’s time for the Denver Broncos to shift their sights to rebuilding their roster.

And don’t look now, but free agency begins in just over a week.

With the combination of free agency and the NFL Draft, which position will the Broncos invest the most in this offseason? Will it be an obvious choice, or will Sean Payton and George Paton have a surprise position they dump resources into?

The DNVR Crew debates.

Which position will the Broncos invest the most in this offseason?

Zac: Offensive line — Don’t overthink this. Not only is it clear from an outside perspective that it’s the position the Broncos need to invest in, but they’ve already admitted it from inside the building.

“We need to upgrade at the offensive line,” George Paton stated at the NFL Combine. “We do expect [T] Garett [Bolles] to be healthy. There’s a lot of different ways to acquire any position—free agency, the draft. It just kind of depends on what’s stronger. Is free agency stronger or the draft stronger? Obviously, we need to upgrade there on the offensive line.”

Paton didn’t just say it once. He said it twice. And he didn’t say this about any other position during his press conference at the NFL Combine, other than running back in which the general manager said they need to “add” to the position.

The only reason to doubt that the Broncos will significantly invest in the line is because of what has, or hasn’t, happened in the last few years. Despite having clear holes on the line in the past, the team has yet to draft an offensive tackle since Garett Bolles in the first round of the 2017 draft. That—or a significant investment in free agency—has to change this offseason. And it will.

RK: Interior offensive line — The Broncos likely need to find two starters on the interior of their offensive line offensive line. It seems all-but settled that Dalton Risner is going to walk and it’s long past time that Denver gives up on the Lloyd Cushenberry experiment.

Denver could very well end up spending north of $10 million per year on a guy like Ben Powers or Issac Seumalo and more than $5 million per on a center. That grand total of, lets say $17 million, will almost certainly eclipse the spending anywhere else on the roster.

If they were able to pull this off and replace two starters in the middle with high-level free agents, it will be money well spent.

Hank: Right Tackle — Outside of quarterback, the Broncos’ biggest need hasn’t changed in nearly a decade: right tackle.

The Broncos haven’t had the same opening-day starter at right tackle in back-to-back seasons since Orlando Franklin left town in 2014.

• In 2015, Ryan Harris took a small one-year deal in the Broncos’ Super Bowl season.
• In 2016, Donald Stephenson took a three-year, mid-level deal and started 16 games in two seasons before being released.
• In 2017, Menelik Watson signed a three-year deal and was cut after appearing in seven games. He cost the Broncos more than twice as much cap space after he was cut than he did for the season he played.
• In 2018, the Broncos patched the hole with serviceable veteran Jared Veldheer.
• In 2019, the Broncos made Ja’Wuan James the highest-paid right tackle in NFL history with a four-year, $51 million contract. He played in three games, then opted out of the 2020 season for COVID reasons. The Broncos were able to void $10 million in guarantees because he tore his Achilles away from the team facility but still owed $10 million in dead gap. His contract comes off the books fully this offseason.
• In 2020, the Broncos made Demar Dotson the 75th highest-paid tackle in the NFL to be their starter.
• In 2021, Calvin Anderson beat out Bobby Massie (whom the Broncos made the 66th highest-paid tackle) to be the starter. Anderson was in his third season after entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent.
• In 2022, the Broncos brought in Billy Turner (the 62nd highest-paid tackle) but signed Cam Fleming (80th) to patch the hole when Turner was injured.

Outside of Ja’Wuan James, and maybe Menelik Watson and Donald Stephenson, the Broncos haven’t invested in the right tackle position and the results reflect that.

With all of their past contracts off the books, landing Mike McGlinchey or Kaleb McGary will be a priority entering free agency.