Broncos Urged to Explore Trade for AFC Rival’s Stalled 1st-Round Pick

The Denver Broncos’ main focus must be building around Bo Nix, giving the rookie the proper infrastructure and supporting cast to be successful. There is still plenty of room for improvement and trade could be in order.

The lack of contributions from the team’s younger players could foster the need for a trade. Tennessee Titans wideout Treylon Burks could make a worthwhile flier.

“If Tennessee decides to pull the plug on the [Will] Levis experiment, it could also punt on the rest of the 2024 season. That could lead to the dispersal of potential trade chips such as wide receiver Treylon Burks,” Bleacher Report’s NFL Scouting Department wrote on September 25.

“The 2022 first-round pick out of Arkansas simply isn’t working out in Tennessee. He’s been targeted six times through three weeks this season but has only caught two passes for 11 yards. If he is ever going to develop into a functional NFL receiver, a change of scenery may be necessary.”

Burks would be a project for the Broncos’ coaching staff.

“The Denver Broncos might … want to consider Burks as they look to build a quality receiving corps around rookie quarterback Bo Nix,” B/R’s scouts wrote. “He isn’t a proven receiver, but he’s young enough to be a long-term building block if he can develop.”

Burks has 51 receptions for 676 yards and 1 touchdown on 90 targets in his two-plus-year NFL career.

His catch rate has dropped in each season.

Treylon Burks a Potential Low-Cost, High-Reward Trade Target for Broncos

Burks caught 61.1% of the passes thrown his way as a rookie, per Pro Football Reference. That number is down to 33.3% in 2024. The No. 18 overall pick of the 2022 draft, he could be a low-cost trade target for the Broncos.

The Broncos have a highly-paid offensive line with four out of five starters on big-money contracts.

Their running attack is coming along, sparked by former Baltimore Ravens draft pick Tyler Badie, while the defense has been one of the NFL’s top units in points and yards allowed through three weeks.

But they have the third-worst receiving grade through three weeks, per Pro Football Focus.

The lack of production from the tight ends is a big reason for that. They have caught seven of 15 targets for 47 yards combined, led by Greg Dulcich’s five grabs for 28 yards on the season.

Running back Javonte Williams – whose starting job is being threatened by Badie – has the highest receiving grade on the team. WR2 Josh Reynolds has the highest grade among the Broncos’ receivers.

Only three players have grades above the 60.0 – which is considered average – mark.

Reynolds and fellow wideouts Courtland Sutton, the team’s No. 1 option, and rookie seventh-round pick Devaughn Vele make up the group.

Burks is far from a finished product. But he was highly touted coming out of college. His situation also changed, with the Titans undergoing a regime change in the front office and coaching staff since his arrival.

A change of scenery via trade could benefit him and the Broncos could capitalize.

Broncos Need to Upgrade Pass-Catching Options Around Bo Nix

Reynolds (29) and Sutton (turns 29 years old in October) are older. And while the contributions of Vele have been nice, he has not played since the opener while dealing with a rib injury. The Broncos have gotten very little from Marvin Mims and even less from rookie Troy Franklin.

Mims was expected to take a big step forward this season.

The 2023 second-round pick earned All-Pro honors as a return man as a rookie. Broncos head coach Sean Payton suggested Mims would step into the void left by the Jerry Jeudy trade.

Mims has two catches for 19 yards in four targets through three weeks. Perhaps even more telling, he is logging half of the offensive snap share that he saw as a rookie, down from 38% in 2023 to 19% in 2024.

Franklin was the team’s fourth-round choice in the 2024 draft and Nix’s college teammate.

Franklin has two receptions for 11 yards on six targets through three weeks. He has played in two of the Broncos’ contests after being inactive in the regular season opener. A trade could lift the entire group.