Broncos Could Trade One of Russell Wilson’s Top Weapons: Report

Tim Patrick, Jerry Jeudy, and Courtland Sutton

Getty Tim Patrick, Jerry Jeudy, and Courtland Sutton running onto the field.

Since the Denver Broncos only have five draft picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, there’s been some speculation as to how the Broncos could add more draft picks.

According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, there’s a chance that the Broncos could move on from wide receiver Jerry Jeudy.

“He actually was available in October, November. Nobody was willing to give the Broncos what it would take to get him.”

Per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, the Dallas Cowboys made an offer to Denver for the former first-round receiver before the trade deadline, but the two sides could not agree on a deal.

Entering the 2022 season, Jeudy was not performing to the level of a first-round talent. Jeudy had yet to have at least 900 yards in a single season and didn’t score a single touchdown in his sophomore year after catching three in his rookie season.

The former standout out of Alabama kicked off the 2022 season with one of the best games of his career going for 102 yards on just four catches and a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks.

Over the next five games, Jeudy didn’t perform well. Averaging just 37.6 yards per game, Jeudy and the Broncos were both getting frustrated. Then in Week 7, Jeudy kicked it up a notch and finished his last nine games of the season averaging 75.8 yards per game and found the endzone four times.

For the first-time in his career, Jeudy was playing like a No. 1 receiver in the NFL.

Denver has until May 1 to pick up Jeudy’s fifth year option or they can try and trade him for better value than he had at the 2022 NFL trade deadline to add more draft picks.


Sutton Could Be a Trade Option

If the Broncos decide they want to keep Jeudy, the team can look to try and trade away wide receiver Courtland Sutton.

According to Lindsay Jones of The Ringer, there’s some buzz that the Broncos might be shopping Sutton.

“There’s been some buzz around in Denver lately, could Courtland Sutton be one of those guys.” Jones continued saying the Broncos, “Have some larger contracts and trying to figure out what actually is going to work with whatever the Russell Wilson offense is going to look like. Sutton’s a guy whose name has been buzzing around a little bit as maybe a guy who could get moved.”

After being drafted in the second-round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Sutton was expected to be a deep threat for the Denver offense by making plays on 50/50 balls, but that hasn’t been the case.

Sutton had over 700 receiving yards as rookie and followed it up with over 1,100 yards the following year. In 2020, Sutton missed nearly the entire season with a torn ACL and didn’t look the same the following season.

Since his 1,000-yard season in 2019, Sutton has yet to come close to the milestone.

On November 22, 2021, the Broncos and Sutton agreed on a new four-year deal worth $60.8 million, but Sutton has not played up to the level of the contract.

Since signing his deal, Sutton has only caught two passes and they both came in the 2022 season.

It’s unlikely that the Broncos would be able to get any draft picks within the first three rounds for Sutton because of his high cap hit.

In 2023, Sutton has a $18.2 million cap hit followed by over $17 million in 2024 and 2025.

Over the last two full seasons, Sutton has four touchdowns and 1,605 yards averaging out to just 50.4 yards per game.


Broncos Need Draft Picks

General manager George Paton has always talked about how much he likes his draft picks and has always wanted to enter each draft close to 10 picks. Entering the 2023 NFL Draft, it seems unlikely that Denver will come close to owning 10 picks unless they make some trades.

The Broncos do not have a player currently on their roster that will bring back a first or second-round pick. Even quarterback Russell Wilson wouldn’t bring back that kind of value after he had the worst season of his career.

Another option is the Broncos can forget about the draft this year and try to trade their draft picks for known players that teams are looking to move on from.

One example could be to send a third-round pick to the New Orleans Saints for running back Alvin Kamara who can clear up cap space since the Saints are $44 million over the cap.

Taking on a $16 million cap hit wouldn’t destroy the Broncos’ salary cap, but it would put a decent dent into their cap situation. Denver needs all the help they can get on offense.

After trading for Wilson and head coach Sean Payton, the Broncos are in a position to win now, but they also need to build a roster that can succeed for years to come. A quick reboot is expected to happen.