3 Reasons Broncos Should Say No to Trading for Jets WR Garrett Wilson

In the wake of the abrupt end to the Denver Broncos' season in Upstate New York, the focus has shifted to the offseason and the roster-building phase. That means free-agent rumors, NFL draft speculation, and let's not forget about the trade market.

Last year, the Broncos made two trades with the New York Jets, acquiring quarterback Zach Wilson and defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers. Wilson stuck around as the No. 3 quarterback, while Franklin-Myers produced a career season with seven sacks and upgraded the defensive line.

Amidst the Jets' ongoing organizational morass, the team's future is clear as mud. The Jets are on the hunt for a new head coach while the NFL world waits to see how things ultimately shake out with Aaron Rodgers.

With the stage thusly set, the Broncos are being urged to transact even more business with the Jets. If New York is primed to sell off assets and rebuild under a new head coach with a fresh vision, one of its key assets is fourth-year wideout Garrett Wilson.

From the fans to the local and national press, people want to see the Broncos make a play for Wilson to give Bo Nix a next-level playmaker on the boundary. However, on the heels of three straight 1,000-yard receiving campaigns to open his NFL career, Wilson would not come cheap.

Let's examine three reasons for Denver to hit pause on trading for Wilson.

1. Cost

Denver Sports' Cecil Lammey reports the Jets are looking for a right tackle. The Broncos have a proven, highly-paid right tackle in Mike McGlinchey, who also happens to be a team leader, and a young, inexperienced Alex Palczewski, who's been equal to the limited opportunities afforded him thus far.

The Broncos could kick the tires on a Wilson trade with the Jets, knowing they've got modest depth at right tackle. But even if Denver were willing to include McGlinchey in such a deal (which I highly doubt), it would take much, much more to pry Wilson away from New York unless the Jets priced him at a discount (unlikely).

Based on Wilson's age and relative production, as well as the NFL rumor mill, any trade negotiations with the Jets would likely start with a first-round pick — and then some. The Broncos have a mostly full complement of draft picks this year, so the assets are there, but...

2. Foundational Player Awaits (in the Draft)

Nix was the Broncos' first day-one draft pick since All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain II in 2021. And in Nix and Surtain, you see how transformational a first-round pick can be for a franchise.

And yet, first-rounders bust every year. I hear you.

On the flip side, we have Broncos GM George Paton's draft resume, which is replete with one success story after another, from the early rounds to the late. He's only made two day-one draft picks as Broncos GM, and both were foundational to the franchise.

3. Greater Needs

Holding the No. 20 overall pick this year, the Broncos not only have needs at wide receiver, but also running back and tight end. That's just on the offensive side of the ball.

Defensively, the Broncos need inside linebacker help, as well as an infusion of depth on the defensive line. It wouldn't hurt to add another safety, either.

The Broncos have selections in the first, second, third, fourth, and sixth rounds (two), entering the 2025 NFL draft sans a fifth and seventh-rounder. With six total selections currently, the Broncos will need every one of them to continue their accelerated rebuild around Nix.

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Quick Fix? It Ain't Broken

Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton and quarterback Bo Nix. — December 3, 2024, Denver, Colorado, USA: Broncos WR COURTLAND SUTTON & QB BO NIX talk on the sideline during warm-ups before the 1st. Half at Empower Field at Mile High Monday night. The Broncos beat the Browns 41-32. | Hector Acevedo / IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Some might say that Wilson would offer a 'quick-fix' solution at wide receiver to complement Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims Jr., Devaughn Vele, and Troy Franklin, but Nix has already proven the Broncos' receiving corps isn't broken. Nix made a historic amount of hay with the guys Denver already has, half of whom were rookies themselves. The Broncos' receiving corps will grow with Nix in 2025, regardless of any additions made during the offseason.

Let's not forget; Nix passed for the second-most touchdowns by a rookie in NFL history, and re-set every franchise rookie record for a quarterback. The NFL cliche is that a franchise quarterback is "the tide that raises all ships."

Franchise Growth Spurt

If we're to use that common maxim as a metric to judge Nix's franchise quarterback worthiness, he passes with flying colors. Sutton produced the second 1,000-yard receiving campaign of his career with Nix in Year 1, while Mims finally became a bonafide playmaker on offense down the stretch.

Vele developed a little faster than Franklin, but by season's end, both young wideouts displayed a tantalizing preview of future production with Nix as the triggerman. The Broncos offense underwent a quantum growth spurt in 2024, not because of an offseason trade, but because the team drafted and developed (quickly) its offensive role players.

Offensively, the Broncos are still far from where they want to be, but if anything held Nix and company back in 2024, it was the dearth of talent at running back and tight end. Hello, NFL draft.

Arguably, acquiring Wilson would help to further accelerate Nix's rise, and that of the Broncos offense. But we have to wonder what the Broncos would be giving up by relinquishing the capital required to get Wilson out of the Big Apple.

Considering Paton's resume and Sean Payton's record of developing young talent, it makes more sense for the Broncos to hold onto their right tackle(s) and premium-round draft picks. This franchise went two long years without a first-round pick as a result of the Russell Wilson and Payton trades, and there's no question that it held the team back.

Meanwhile, the 2025 draft class offers plenty of options for the Broncos to upgrade the roster and build the nest around Nix. Wilson would be a tremendous asset to any NFL team, but for a Broncos squad still digging itself out of a hole made from draft-pick depletion and salary-cap hell, Nix's emergence should give Paton and Payton the confidence to continue restocking the shelves the old-fashioned way.

Bottom Line

The Broncos aren't one trade away from the Divisional Round of the playoffs. But they're not that far out, either. Just like on gameday, this young team's margin for error in the offseason is also thin. The front office has to be smart and beware the omnipresent and seductive quick-fix fallacies.

With $48 million in projected salary-cap space, six draft picks, and a young franchise quarterback, the Broncos are loaded for bear on this offseason hunt — so long as they don't trade away all of their ammunition.

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