The Denver Broncos will continue hammering away at tweaking their roster for the future, and they should ensure these three players are gone before 2025. The Broncos do have every single reason to load up their roster. Now yes, they do not need to go out there and make several high-profile signings just to do it.
They should be calculated, but also aggressive. Denver shocked the NFL world this year by going 10-7 and making the playoffs with a rookie QB and a roster that is seriously lacking talent on offense. But when you look at the entire roster on both sides of the ball, it’s clear that there are players who simply should not be a part of this team going forward.
These three players have to be gone before the 2025 season begins.
3 Broncos players who need to be gone before the 2025 season begins
PJ Locke III, S
I think PJ Locke III is a very good player in more of a rotational role, but in my opinion, he is absolutely a player that the Broncos need to upgrade from in 2025 and beyond. The team essentially swapped out Justin Simmons for Brandon Jones, and it paid off instantly. Denver needs to have the same mindset with PJ Locke, and it’s not like Denver doesn’t have money to spend. They also don’t have a ton of money wrapped up in their safety room to begin with.
Denver should pursue and upgrade over PJ Locke II.
Luke Wattenberg, C
The Denver Broncos should actually look to upgrade their center position. Luke Wattenberg wasn’t bad, but it’s clear that he excelled a lot more in pass blocking than he did in run blocking. Denver could absolutely bring him back into the starting lineup for 2025, but he’s the weakest link along that OL. With Denver now hitting on a rookie QB and having every reason to upgrade what they can, them acquiring a new starting center should be near the top of their list.
While most NFL teams don’t have three good starters along the OL, let alone four, the Broncos should try for five. We have seen just what five good OL could do for a team – the Detroit Lions are five-OL strong and are probably making it to the Super Bowl this year. The free agent center market is solid, and Denver should look to make a move there.
Riley Dixon, P
It felt like Riley Dixon was performing well for the Denver Broncos when the stakes weren’t all that high, but I distinctly remember several punts late in the season where Dixon just didn’t produce what was needed. Against the Cincinnati Bengals, Dixon averaged just 41.5 yards on four punts, for example.
A sneaky position that the Broncos should look to upgrade is at punter. Being that the team plays have of their games at high altitude, there really is no reason why they should not have top-tier punting, and I am not sure Riley Dixon is anything more than average. Denver should move on and let Dixon sign with a new team in free agency for 2025.
This article was originally published on predominantlyorange.com as 3 Broncos players who need to be gone before the 2025 season begins.