Broncos Free Agency: Top-10 Safeties to Upgrade the Position

While there's a lot of talk about upgrading the offense to get more playmakers to aid quarterback Bo Nix, the Denver Broncos defense needs some upgrades as well.

Although the Broncos have one of the better defenses in the NFL, some important flaws came to the surface down the stretch. If the Broncos are going to remain a consistent playoff contender, they can't ignore improving the defense.

One position in particular is safety. While Brandon Jones was a great free-agent signing during the 2024 offseason, P.J. Locke got exposed down the stretch.

The Broncos do have JL Skinner, but he seems better suited for special teams. Devon Key showed promise but may be better as depth. And while the Broncos will have Delarrin Turner-Yell back from injury, he's unproven as a starter.

Free agency might be the place to find a safety who can start and be an upgrade over Locke. Let's look first at my top 10 unrestricted free-agent safeties.

Jeremy Chinn
Tre’von Moehrig
Justin Reid
Jevon Holland
Julian Blackmon
Camryn Bynum
Andre Cisco
Xavier Woods
Harrison Smith
Marcus Williams

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You'll notice a range of player types, from younger safeties who were either on one-year deals or have shown improvement over multiple seasons, to veterans who could still contribute at a high level, to somebody like Williams, who had a disappointing 2024 season but could be motivated to prove himself again.

If one looks at what the Broncos will consider in a safety, though, it's that the Broncos aren't likely to overpay for one. They parted ways with popular veteran Justin Simmons, who was one of the highest-paid safeties at the time, and went with a less expensive option in Jones.

Should the Broncos sign a free-agent safety, it wouldn't surprise if they look for somebody like Jones, who has plenty of experience but would come at a lower cost than a bigger name might.

Somebody like Bynum might be that type of player. Bynum may not be as well known as teammate Smith (whose contract voids in 2025 and would be a free agent unless extended), but he could be that player who signs a lower-cost deal but delivers a lot of value.

The other thing to keep in mind is the Broncos will likely look for younger players to add to the safety room, which means older players likely aren't on their list. And if they do add a younger player, that could allow them to move on from Locke and save about $4.2M in cap space.

If Broncos fans are looking for a big name or big money when it comes to a free-agent safety, I wouldn't expect that to happen. And as Jones demonstrated, sometimes it's better to look for value in a player that doesn't have name recognition.

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