Broncos Eyeing Alabama WR Jerry Jeudy?
We heard last week that the Broncos may be trying to trade up from their No. 15 overall pick in Thursday’s draft, and those reports suggested that Denver would be targeting an offensive tackle with such a move. Although LT Garett Bolles actually performed surprisingly well in 2019 according to advanced metrics, he has not come close to living up to his status as a former first-round pick, and RT Ja’Wuan James saw his first season with the Broncos almost entirely wiped out due to injury.
So a tackle would make plenty of sense for Denver, but if the team does engineer a trade-up, it would be for a wide receiver, not a lineman, per Woody Paige of The Gazette (Twitter link). Specifically, the longtime Denver-based reporter says the club is targeting Alabama WR Jerry Jeudy.
Jeudy is seen as one of the top receivers in a draft that is historically deep at the position, and the run on wideouts is expected to start no later than the No. 11 overall selection, when the Jets are on the clock. As such, if the Broncos want Jeudy, they may need to get up to No. 8 (Cardinals) or No. 10 (Browns). Both Arizona and Cleveland profile as trade-down candidates, so Denver could have a trade partner should they choose to be aggressive.
Denver’s current WR depth chart looks pretty thin beyond budding star Courtland Sutton, and while it may make more sense to wait until the second or third round to nab another pass catcher — after all, a second-rounder in this year’s draft may be a first-rounder in any other year — there’s no denying that a Sutton-Jeudy combo is sorely tempting.
Jeudy is lauded for his route-running, and he averaged for 1,239 yards and 12 TDs over his final two seasons with the Crimson Tide. With him, Sutton, and second-year TE Noah Fant, QB Drew Lock would have a young and talented arsenal at his disposal.
One way or another, Paige does not expect the Broncos to stay put at No. 15. If they cannot trade up, or if they decide the price to do so is too high, Paige expects them to explore trade-down scenarios to further bolster their draft capital. As of this writing, they have 10 picks in the draft.
2020 NFL Draft Picks By Team
The 2020 NFL Draft is just days away and it’s just a matter of time before picks are swapped and shuffled at lightning speed. Before the trading frenzy starts, let’s take a look at the draft picks owned by each team.
[RELATED: 2020 NFL Draft Order By Round]
Updated: 4-17-20 (5:00pm CT)
Arizona Cardinals
1-8:
3-72:
4-114:
4-131: (from Houston)
6-202: (from New England)
7-222:
Atlanta Falcons
1-16:
2-47:
3-78:
4-119:
4-143: (from Baltimore*)
7-228: (from Tampa Bay, via Philadelphia)
Baltimore Ravens
1-28:
2-55: (from Atlanta, via New England)
2-60:
3-92:
3-106*:
4-129: (from New England)
4-134:
5-170: (from Minnesota)
7-225: (from Jets)
Buffalo Bills
2-54:
3-86:
4-128:
5-167:
6-188: (from Cleveland)
6-207: (from Baltimore via New England)
7-239: (from Minnesota)
2020 NFL Draft Capital By Team
Every NFL team automatically gets seven draft picks per season, but thanks to lots of trades and the compensatory pick process, many clubs end up with more (or less) than their original seven selections. After running down the NFL Draft round-by-round, let’s take a look at how much draft capital each club has amassed:
Updated: 4-16-20 (6:00pm CT)
14 picks
- Miami Dolphins
12 picks
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Minnesota Vikings
- New England Patriots
10 picks
- Denver Broncos
- Green Bay Packers
- New York Giants
9 picks
- Baltimore Ravens
- Detroit Lions
8 picks
- Carolina Panthers
- New York Jets
- Philadelphia Eagles
7 picks
- Buffalo Bills
- Chicago Bears
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Cleveland Browns
- Dallas Cowboys
- Houston Texans
- Indianapolis Colts
- Las Vegas Raiders
- Los Angeles Chargers
- Los Angeles Rams
- Seattle Seahawks
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- San Francisco 49ers
- Washington Redskins
6 picks
- Arizona Cardinals
- Atlanta Falcons
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Tennessee Titans
5 picks
- Kansas City Chiefs
- New Orleans Saints
Broncos’ Von Miller Tests Positive For COVID-19
Broncos star Von Miller has tested positive for COVID-19, according to his agent (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). His agent says that the Super Bowl 50 MVP is in good spirits as he recuperates at home. 
[RELATED: Rams’ Allen Tests Positive For COVID-19]
Miller’s camp has kept the Broncos in the loop and the pass rusher plans to speak publicly on the matter tomorrow. Unfortunately, Miller is not the first player to test positive for the coronavirus. Earlier this week, we learned that Rams center Brian Allen has also been diagnosed with the illness. And, early on in the pandemic, Saints head coach Sean Payton tested positive. Allen is symptom-free, Payton has been cleared, and Miller appears to be in okay shape, but thousands have lost their lives to COVID-19. Miller’s diagnosis is yet another reminder to stay safe, practice good hygiene, and stay indoors whenever possible.
“You fatigue real easy,” Payton said after his recovery. “I’d be up moving around, doing something, then you’d want to lay down again. That lasted three or four days. By the time I got the test results back I had begun feeling better. I had my appetite back.”
Miller, 31, is set to enter his tenth season with the Broncos.
And, as Denver 7’s Troy Renck notes, Miller has been dealing with asthma and chronic allergies since childhood. We here at PFR wish Miller a speedy, and complete, recovery.
Broncos’ Mike Purcell, Elijah Wilkinson Sign RFA Tenders
Broncos defensive tackle Mike Purcell and guard Elijah Wilkinson have both signed their second-round restricted free agent tenders, according to Mike Klis of 9News (Twitter link). They’ll each earn $3.259MM for the 2020 campaign.
While Purcell isn’t much of a pass-rusher, he’s excellent as stopping the run. In fact, Pro Football Focus ranked 6’3″, 330-pounder as the league’s best run-defending interior player in 2019. Purcell, who turns 29 years old later this week, played in 13 games (seven starts) for the Broncos last season while posting 48 tackles (eight for loss).
Purcell, an undrafted free agent in 2013, bounced around the league before finding a landing spot in Denver. The Wyoming product spent time with six other NFL teams and the Salt Lake Stallions of the AAF before signing with the Broncos last April.
An undrafted free agent like Purcell, Wilkinson joined the Broncos out of UMass in 2017. Promoted to the starting lineup last season, the 25-year-old played on nearly 90% of Denver’s offensive snaps.
The Broncos have since added free agent Graham Glasgow on a multi-year deal, so it’s unclear if Wilkinson will still have a starting job in 2019. Glasgow can play center as well as guard, leaving Denver with multiple possible combinations up front.
Bucs, Broncos, Falcons Aiming To Trade Up In Draft?
The Buccaneers, Broncos, and Falcons are among the NFL clubs with the most serious interest in trading up in the draft, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated.
Both Tampa Bay and Denver would move up with the intention of selecting an offensive tackle, per Breer. The clubs currently sit back-to-back at picks Nos. 14 and 15, and both could certainly use help along their respective offensive lines. The 2020 draft features a strong class of offensive tackles, with options including Mekhi Becton (Louisville), Jedrick Wills (Alabama), Tristan Wirfs (Iowa), and Andrew Thomas (Georgia).
Having added Tom Brady, the Buccaneers will need to keep the veteran quarterback upright — in 2019, Tampa Bay ranked just 22nd in Football Outsiders‘ pass-protection metric. Donovan Smith will line up at left tackle, but the Bucs could add another lineman to compete with free agent signing Joe Haeg on the right side.
The Broncos, meanwhile, would appear to be set at left tackle with Garett Bolles, whom Pro Football Focus grade as the NFL’s No. 18 tackle, and at right tackle with Ja’Wuan James. Bolles, however, has only one year left on his rookie contract (plus a potential fifth-year option in 2021), while injuries limited James to only three games in his first season as a Bronco.
It’s unclear what position the Falcons would target where they able to engineer a trade up from pick No. 16, per Breer. Speculatively, Atlanta’s offense appears mostly set, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if general manager Thomas Dimitroff attempts to target edge or cornerback help in the first round.
2020 NFL Cap Room By Team
The biggest names in NFL free agency might be off the board, but there are still plenty of noteworthy players on the board and high-profile cuts on the way. And, while some teams did their spending early, others are still sitting on lots of cash.
The latest cap figures from OverTheCap show that several teams are poised to pounce in the latter waves of free agency, starting with the Browns. The numbers also show that teams like the Rams still have work to do in order to sign their upcoming draft class. Also, the Eagles’ 2020 figure doesn’t quite tell the whole story – thanks to high-priced multi-year deals including Darius Slay’s new contract, they’re already overcommitted on dollars for 2021.
Here’s the complete rundown for all 32 teams, in descending order of cap space:
- Browns – $40.2MM
- Lions – $29.5MM
- Eagles – $27.1MM
- Colts – $24MM
- Dolphins – $23.9MM
- Redskins – $23.8MM
- Chargers – $22.3MM
- Titans – $21.5MM
- Bills – $20.9MM
- Texans – $18.6MM
- Broncos – $17.5MM
- Giants – $17.1MM
- Jets – $15.5MM
- Jaguars – $14.6MM
- Cowboys – $13.6MM
- Buccaneers – $13.5MM
- 49ers – $13.4MM
- Seahawks – $12.6MM
- Vikings – $12.3MM
- Ravens – $11.3MM
- Packers – $11.08MM
- Bears – $11.03MM
- Panthers – $9.4MM
- Raiders – $8.8MM
- Bengals – $7.3MM
- Steelers – $7.2MM
- Cardinals – $7MM
- Saints – $5.3MM
- Chiefs – $2.9MM
- Falcons – $2.4MM
- Patriots – $1.2MM
- Rams – (-$5.3MM)
Broncos Pursued Aldon Smith
The Cowboys shockingly pulled Aldon Smith out of football purgatory a couple weeks ago, and they apparently weren’t the only team in on the former All-Pro. The Broncos pursued Smith and the two sides had mutual interest for a while, sources told Mike Klis of Denver 9 News.
Klis points out that Broncos head coach Vic Fangio was Smith’s defensive coordinator during his best seasons in San Francisco, which explains the connection. Ultimately, financials led Smith to go with Dallas. Klis reports that the Broncos only made a “vet-minimum/incentive-laden offer” to Smith, while the Cowboys gave him a one-year contract with a base value of $2MM and an additional $2MM available in sack incentives.
If Smith had been able to get anywhere close to his old heights, he would’ve formed a scary pass-rushing trio in Denver alongside fellow former first-round picks Von Miller and Bradley Chubb. The seventh overall pick of the 2011 draft, Smith was one of the best defensive players in the league before a series of arrests and substance abuse issues derailed his career. He led the league in sacks in 2012 with 19.5.
He hasn’t played in a game since the 2015 season, so it’ll be very interesting to see what the 30-year-old looks like when he steps on the field. The Broncos lost Derek Wolfe, who had seven sacks last year, in free agency, so Smith would’ve been a nice high-upside addition to bolster the defensive front.
NFL Contract Details: Lions, Seahawks, Vikings, Jets, Broncos
Let’s take a look at the details of a few recently-signed NFL deals:
- Tony McRae, CB (Lions): One year, $1MM. $200K guaranteed. $100K signing bonus (Twitter link via Justin Rogers of the Detroit News).
- Phillip Dorsett, WR (Seahawks): One year, $1.048MM. $138K guaranteed. Qualifies as veteran minimum salary benefit deal (Twitter link via Brady Henderson of ESPN.com).
- Ameer Abdullah, RB (Vikings): One year, $910K. $45K signing bonus. $45K roster bonus. Qualifiers as veteran minimum salary benefit deal (Twitter link via Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune).
- Anthony Zettel, DE (Vikings): One year, $910K. $45K signing bonus. $45K roster bonus. Qualifiers as veteran minimum salary benefit deal (Twitter link via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press).
- Joseph Jones, LB (Broncos): One year, $825K. No guaranteed money (Twitter link via Mike Klis of 9News).
- Bennett Jackson, DB (Jets): One year, $725K. $100K guaranteed. $50K signing bonus (Twitter link via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com).
Contract Details: Zuerlein, Bills, Cardinals
Here are the latest details from the second wave of free agency. All links courtesy of the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson, unless otherwise noted.
- Greg Zuerlein, K (Cowboys): Three years, $7.5MM. $1MM signing bonus; 2020 base salary of $1.25MM is guaranteed. Zuerlein’s non-guaranteed 2021 and ’22 salaries are each $2.25MM.
- Tyler Matakevich, LB (Bills): Two years, $7.15MM. Matekevich will receive $3.45MM guaranteed, which includes his $1.75MM 2020 base salary. His $3MM 2021 base is non-guaranteed.
- Sam Martin, P (Broncos): Three years, $7.05MM. $2MM in guarantees, which includes a $1.45MM signing bonus. $550K of Martin’s $1.05MM 2020 base salary is guaranteed, Mike Klis of 9News tweets. Martin’s $2.3MM and $2.25MM 2021 and ’22 salaries are non-guaranteed.
- Andrew Sendejo, S (Browns). One year, $2.25MM. Sendejo will receive $2MM guaranteed, which includes a $1.05MM base salary.
- Taiwan Jones, RB (Bills): One year, $1.75MM. Jones will receive $700K guaranteed; $300K of his $1.05MM base salary is guaranteed.
- Brett Hundley, QB (Cardinals): One year, $1.05MM. $887K of the deal is guaranteed. Because of the Cards using the veteran salary benefit, Hundley will count that amount on their cap.
- C.J. Goodwin, CB (Cowboys): One year, $1.05MM. Goodwin will receive $337K guaranteed; $200K of his $910K base salary is guaranteed.
- D.J. Foster, RB (Cardinals): One year, $825K.
- Will Redmond, CB (Packers): One year, $750K.