Broncos Roundtable: Who is one player Denver should sign after the first wave of free agency?

George Paton and the Denver Broncos made multiple splashes in the first week of the NFL’s new league year.

Not only did the Broncos officially make one of the biggest trades in NFL history by acquiring nine-time Pro Bowler Russell Wilson, they also dished out big-time money to D.J. Jones and Randy Gregory.

But the rest of the AFC West came to play, too, with the Chargers, Raiders and Chiefs all making significant moves to create the most difficult division in the entire NFL.

With the first wave of free agency over, what single move should the Broncos make to get the upper hand against their division rivals?

The DNVR Broncos Crew breaks it down.

Who is the one player the Broncos should sign?

Zac: Duane Brown — George Paton has done a great job keeping the defense competitive in the first few days of free agency by signing D.J. Jones and Randy Gregory and re-singing Josey Jewell.

But Denver’s No. 1 priority has to be—and should always be—protecting their No. 1 asset Russell Wilson. So far, the Broncos have signed two backup offensive lineman. That’s not enough.

Denver has a massive hole at tackle that has to be upgraded. There’s no better person to do that then the man who has protected Russ the past five years in Seattle. Not only that, but Brown was a Pro Bowler last year.

At 36 years old, Brown will not require elite money to sign, but his play will be pretty darn close to elite. That’s key since the Broncos have already dished out tens of millions of dollars this week.

On top of all of that, Wilson absolutely loves him.

“He’s one of the best competitors that I’ve ever gotten to play with. One of the greatest guys I’ve ever been around,” Wilson said during his introductory press conference in Denver on Wednesday. “You talk about people staying in the locker room long [and] staying late, that guy would be there every day, every moment until the last minute, to the last hour. I loved playing with him.”

Don’t make this complicated. Go get Russ his Pro-Bowl tackle who, by the way, won’t cost an arm and a leg.

Mase: Bryce Callahan — Paton said Friday that he has been in contact with Callahan’s agent, so this possibility is on the radar. When healthy, he’s arguably the best slot cornerback in the game.

The operative term is “when healthy.” You have to build in the potential time lost when making the Callahan calculus. He has missed at least 3 games in each of his seven NFL seasons and sat out 6 in each of the last two seasons after a foot injury sidelined him for all of the 2019 season. But his presence buys time for the Broncos to figure out whether Michael Ojemudia can step into the No. 3 role on a full-time basis after injuries torpedoed most of his 2021 season.

Defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero is likely to emphasize nickel and dime packages, meaning the Broncos need another good starting cornerback just to be covered before injuries. Callahan fits the bill.

Callahan is also within the Broncos’ budget; they don’t want to commit to too many restructures that kick cap charges into 2024 and beyond, because at that point, Wilson will become far pricier than the $24 and $27 million cap figures of the next two seasons. The Broncos don’t have to pursue greatness in 2022 at the expense of the future; they can walk the tightrope of being in position to contend now and in future years. A value re-signing like Callahan makes that possible.

RK: Tyrann Mathieu — The first thing you think of with Mathieu is his versatility. Of course the Broncos have a safety hole next to Justin Simmons that Mathieu could fill, but the Honey Badger also gives you an additional linebacker when you bring him into the box and even an extra slot corner if you need help on the inside.

More than that, though, I want Mathieu for the attitude that he brings to the defensive side of the ball. In the words of Aqib Talib, you need dawgs out there, and that’s exactly what Tyrann is. This is a guy who always expects to make a big play and knows how to trick the quarterback into letting him make it.

Simmons and Mathieu would be nasty.