Broncos next move LEAKED...

A Broncos wire writer just listed four players the Denver Broncos should target before the trade deadline. Three of them are running backs. The fourth player is a linebacker and he's on the field for five percent of his team's defensive snaps. Yeah, that might be the one name on the list that matches a big problem the Broncos have been worrying about since training camp So is Cole Holcomb actually the answer? Or is he the cheapest way to look busy before the November 10th deadline? Let's start with the room Denver has. The Broncos are 5-2, half a game behind Kansas City. In the middle of that defense is Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad. And to be fair, they've been holding their own. Singleton leads the team with 84 tackles, more than twice Strnad's 36. He was even named AFC Defensive Player of the Week on October 28th. But here's the problem. After four games, the Broncos' defense was 18th in points allowed and 28th in yards allowed. And on run stops, PFF had Strnad tied for 44th out of 77 inside linebackers And Singleton 61st. So the tackles are piling up, but the stops are not coming at the line. Sternad is one they paid for his upside. Last season, he had 58 tackles, four and a half sacks, and eight starts. He got $10 million guaranteed. And here's what makes a trade tricky. Both are locked in. Singleton on a two-year $15.5 million deal, and Strnad on a three-year $18 million deal. So nobody is replacing those two. Whoever comes in is depth and maybe a push, which brings us to the cheap name. And this hole didn't come out of nowhere. It's been a major story at this position from the offseason to the summer to now throughout the season. Behind Singleton and Strnad, the camp depth was Jordan Turner, Kareem Reed, and Red Murdoch, a 7th round rookie. And Denver used to have a real 3rd option at this spot in Dre Greenlaw. The Broncos released him and marked saving about $6 million. And he's back with the 49ers now with... 49 tackles, and Denver is still carrying 2.17 million of his dead money this season and again next year. That doesn't mean it was the wrong call. Greenlaw is 28 and plays on a contender in San Francisco, so he isn't a trade target. He's just the reason the depth chart looks the way it does right now. Now, Cole Holcomb has been a stealer since 2023, and he's gotten 487 career tackles. He signed a two-year $5 million extension in March. This season he cost Pittsburgh a $2 million cap hit, and Denver has $24.1 million in cap space, so the money is not the issue here. Wakeman says Denver could get him for nearly next to nothing, and the reason is on the field. Holcomb isn't in Pittsburgh's top 12 in tackles. Peyton Wilson leads them at 59, Patrick Queen is 47, and he didn't play a single defensive snap in the last 5 games of last season, including the playoffs. This season, he was also fined $11,000 in week 3 for a blindside block on the opening kickoff against the Bengals. And if you've watched this far, be sure to hit the like button and the subscribe button. Our best video of the month was last one, and you guys are absolutely killing it with the support. I want to beat it on this one here. There's also the knee. He tore it in 2023 and missed all of 2024, so he isn't a player you plan around. But here's the other side. Wilson said this on Thursday. Quote, Holcomb is... One of the smartest players I've ever been around. And he was a Steelers captain for the Browns game earlier this month. So he's not a spare part to Pittsburgh. He's a captain who mostly plays special teams, is a leader they'd miss, and that means cheap isn't the same as free. And there's one more thing worth pointing out, is that this is simply just right now discussion. There has been yet to be a call, but this is a legitimate option for the Broncos. They look to add depth in their linebacker positions. And it's not a new idea either, the same writer pitched Holcomb to Denver for a day 3 pick last year, and nothing happened then. And you gotta ask yourself, why is a linebacker sitting on a list with 3 running backs? Jonathan Taylor in Indianapolis, the Colts look like they're sellers after trading Quinton Nelson and DeForest Buckner, but Taylor has said he's proud to be a Colt and isn't looking to be traded, and is a little bit on the older side. Saquon Barkley in Philadelphia, the Eagles at 2-5, lost Jalen Hurts to the season, With a blood clot, so Wakeman suggests Patton call Howie Roseman to ask the price, but it is a very similar situation with Jonathan Taylor where he's not necessarily a guy that would help out crazily. And Alvin Kamara in New Orleans who's been linked to Denver since Sean Payton took over, and Wakeman says his best days are behind him, which is true, but the history with Payton could be worth a late round pick. Even Wakeman doesn't expect Patton and Payton to chase Taylor because they seem happy with Jonah Coleman thus far. So most of that list is ideas, but the linebacker is one name that fits a major need on this roster. But Payton's history says be careful. At the 2023 deadline, he said, quote, we're not openly or even remotely shopping anyone, and Denver stood pat on that. So if depth isn't enough, who is out there right now? Who else could the Broncos go and get? And I think we start at the top and go for Zach Bond in Philadelphia. He has two years left on his salary. Under 1.4 million on the base, and he was a first-team All-Pro in 2024 with 151 tackles. Last year, he had 123 tackles and made the Pro Bowl. Denver's two run stoppers ranked 44th and 61st of 77. Think what he does for that run defense. The Eagles are 2-5, so he is a name to watch, but... No one has reported Philadelphia are shopping. There's been a lot of reports and a lot of rumors surrounding the idea, but there's been nothing concrete, and a player like him will cost legitimate and real draft capital. Next, a name that Broncos fans know, Cody Barton in Tennessee, former Bronco. He's on a three-year $21 million deal with an $8.2 million cap hit this season, and a second-round rookie, Anthony Hill, is blocking him. One outlet floated a mid-round 2027 pick. And then Blake Cashman in Minnesota, he's 30, he's on an expiring deal, and the writer floated about two day three picks back in July, but the Vikings, undefeated, likely aren't going to be moving him. But a rental on an expiring deal is the opposite of what Payton has reportedly liked. So- He's the least likely fit. The Chargers have Deion Henley in the final year of his rookie deal, and Sportsnet listed him as an interest draw, but nobody said he's available. A few edge rushers get called linebackers in the trade list, like Khalil Mack, Josh Sweat. They're not. They'd fix a different problem, but not the one we're addressing here. You put them side by side, Holcomb is the cheapest. Cashman is a rental, Barton is a familiar face, and Bond is the big swing. And every price here really is a columnist guess, not anything we for sure know right now, and not firmly a report, so... They may be available, but we just can't confirm it right now. Before the verdict, let's do the math, because this is where cheap options stop looking cheap. Holm could cost $2 million this season, but his deal runs through next year, so Denver would also take on a $3 million cap hit in 2027 for a player who barely plays right now. Barton is the same shape, just bigger, an $8.2 million cap hit this season through 2027 with a $4.9 million of dead hit cap if Denver were to ever cut him. Now, Zach Bond is the opposite. His base salaries are under $1.4 million for the next two years. The cap is easy. The price is the picks that Philadelphia would be asking. And with the selling they're going to be doing, they're going to be asking for quite a bit in return. And Cashman is the cleanest of all. He's expiring. So a few months of cap, and then he's pretty much gone. So the cap space is never the limit. I mean, Denver has $24.1 million, and Pittsburgh has $18 million. The real cost is going to be a pick, a roster spot, what the player does after. 4 p.m. on November 10th is going to be the real telltale sign. So I keep coming back to the same question. Is the goal going to be depth for the next 10 weeks? Or is it going to be a linebacker who changes how this defense plays come January? And that brings up another question that Broncos fans are asking. Is it going to be linebacker or tight end if we had to choose from one? Denver's tight end has 19 catches for 186 yards through 7 games. That is 31st in the league in both catches and yards by our count of the NFL vs. numbers. Evan Ingram on a two-year $23 million deal has 13 catches for 136 yards and one touchdown. His 22 targets are fourth on the team behind Waddle at 45, Sutton at 33, and Harvey at 28. And the money makes that tricky. Spotrac has $10.33 million of dead money if Denver releases him, but $5.33 million if they trade him. Now the defense, opponents are running 4.57 yards a carry against Denver, 24th in the league, and 133 yards a game, which is 28th in the league. So both holes are real, both are noticeable. Back in September, Sean Payton said of the tight end, quote, I kind of like where we're at. And here's the thing. These two moves don't compete. Denver holds every one of its picks from 2027 through 2029, plus an extra seven in 2027 from the Saints. A linebacker like Holcomb, Cashman, or even Barton is a day three conversation. You got rounds four to seven through there. That doesn't really touch any of the picks that you would need for a big name tight end, maybe one like Trey McBride. Now, Trey McBride does have 59 catches for 472 yards and four touchdowns in seven games. That's more than three times Denver's entire tight end group. He's on a four-year $76 million deal through 2029 with a cap hit of $8.7 million this season, and Arizona is two and five. And I'll be straight with you here, because nobody's confirmed this yet. Nobody's confirmed if Arizona is actually shopping Trey McBride. And we've seen a writer heavy float in June with a caveat of no first round pick. So it's an idea right now, but one that I think the Broncos would be completely willing to do. So here's where I'm going to go with the debate being kind of a false choice, because a linebacker cost of a day three pick and a few million dollars doesn't really affect anything that would have to be spent to get Trey McBride or the cost that he would have, especially Doing the first doesn't take the second off the table. If I can only make one move, it's probably a tight end, because 186 yards in 7 games is just a massive hole, and something that you cannot actually be okay with, and if Patton is making calls, you gotta make 2 regardless, try and get both. So here's my verdict, and it's because the clock matters, because Kansas City is a half game ahead of them in the AFC West, and the Broncos are playing them on Sunday. So here's my take on a linebacker. Holcomb is insurance. He's not an answer. If he's a day three picker later or less, you can get him. You get a veteran who knows how to lead. That's completely fine. And here's how I'd rank him. Cheapest is Holcomb. Smartest is Barton because he knows the building. Tennessee has a rookie in the way. Highest ceiling is Zach Bond for sure. With the Broncos of 24.1 million of cap space and five wins in seven games. If you're going to make a call, Before, and you're making one call, before 4pm on November 10th, it's Philadelphia about Zach Vaughn. Singleton and Sternad aren't going anywhere, so the move that matters as a linebacker who gets stopped at the line, Holcomb is depth, Vaughn literally changes this defense. So I want to know, who would you call, or if you were the Broncos, who should you call? Holcomb, Vaughn, or Barton? Tell me in the comments down below.