The first wave of NFL free agency is in the books and it's safe to say the Denver Broncos are among the biggest winners. The Broncos entered free agency with big roster holes at linebacker, safety, tight end, and running back, and didn't have another quarterback besides Bo Nix under contract.
A week later, most of those holes have been filled, although one or two persist, depending on whether one considers wide receiver a need. This article isn't meant to break down the remaining roster holes, but in the interest of posterity, the Broncos still need a running back, with starter Javonte Williams defecting to Dallas and a punter, with Riley Dixon taking his talents to Tampa
That being said, the Broncos spent a lot of money over the past week and improved the roster by leaps and bounds. Today, I'm grading Denver's free-agent signings, including the players the team opted to re-sign.
Talanoa Hufanga | S | San Francisco 49ers
- Contract: Three years, $45 million
- Grade: B+
The Broncos badly needed to upgrade the safety spot held by P.J. Locke last season, and Hufanga was the best option available. There were others, like Jevon Holland, who could have fit well, but Hufanga is a special player.
The drawback is the injury concern, but the Broncos have done an excellent job of keeping players healthy since Sean Payton arrived in 2023, so there's reason to believe that Hufanga will be managed with the utmost care. But it's still football.
Hufanga has the potential to become the best safety the Broncos have had since Justin Simmons in his prime. Working in tandem with Brandon Jones, with Locke as the third safety on the field, Hufanga will raise all of the ships around him.
The only drawback is the injury concern, which is why this isn't an A grade. As a 2021 fifth-round pick in San Francisco, he's appeared in 49 of 68 possible games due to injuries, with 37 starts. The one year he played all 17 games (2022), he garnered Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors.
Dre Greenlaw | LB | San Francisco 49ers
- Contract: Three years, $45 million
- Grade: B+
The Broncos signed the best available inside linebacker on the market. Greenlaw comes with some injury risk, but of all the places he could have landed, Denver gives him the best possible chance of fending off the injury bug and staying on the field.
The Broncos needed another sideline-to-sideline linebacker, but beyond that, a guy who can offer some coverage upside. If the Broncos can keep him on the field, Greenlaw can do just that, and he's exactly the type of fiery personality on the field that this young defense needs.
What keeps this grade from being an A is Greenlaw's considerable injury history. Of 100 possible regular-season games, since entering the league as a fifth-round pick in 2019, he's only appeared in 64 games with 56 starts.
Evan Engram | TE | Jacksonville Jaguars
- Contract: Two years, $23 million
- Grade: A
It's already been written in the stars: Engram is this team's joker.
Of Engram's eight NFL seasons, two have been marred by the injury bug, including last year when he missed eight games. However, the year prior, he appeared in all 17 and caught 114 passes for 963 yards and four touchdowns. That's what the Broncos are banking on.
Again, it comes down to health, but in Engram's case, the deal the Broncos gave him is commensurate with his age, accomplishments, and relative injury risk. Yes, the injury history is a concern, but the 30-year-old is poised to enter 2025 as just the 10th-highest-paid tight end in the NFL, with the potential to deliver top-5 production in Payton's scheme and with Bo Nix throwing the ball.
Trent Sherfield | WR | Minnesota Vikings
- Contract: Two years, $6 million
- Grade: B+
The Broncos' special teams ace — Tremon Smith — defected to Houston, so they needed a guy who could replace that production as a gunner. Sherfield steps in as one of the NFL's better third-phase mavens, and he also happens to offer some offensive upside. Although he was a cornerback, Smith did not offer value outside of special teams.
Sherfield produced eight special teams tackles last year. Smith had four. On the other hand, Smith may have offered a little more proven upside as a kickoff returner, but Sherfield will still be nice depth next to the Pro Bowler, Marvin Mims Jr.
It's hard not to like this signing, especially at $3M per year.
Jarrett Stidham | QB | Denver Broncos
- Contract: Two years, $12 million
- Grade: A
The Broncos decided between Stidham and Zach Wilson, erring on the side of Stidham's time spent in Payton's scheme, his ability as a spot starter, and his relationship with Nix. The Broncos gave Stidham a modest raise over his previous contract, and the team got to keep its quarterback room two-thirds intact.
D.J. Jones | DL | Denver Broncos
- Contract: Three years, $36 million
- Grade: C+
The Broncos needed to bolster the defensive line, especially with Zach Allen, John Franklin-Myers, and Malcolm Roach entering a contract year, and Jones is a guy the team knows and loves. Jones garnered an even bigger raise from the Broncos on his new contract, and I'm hopeful that he justifies it on the field.
Jones is a solid run-stuffer but offers little by way of pass-rush impact. However, he's a great locker room guy and a leader, and although I don't love the money, that was the market for his services. Before free agency opened, Spotrac projected Jones' market value at $11M per year.
I was dubious that Jones would actually command that. Those misgivings were misguided. Here's to hoping that he returns to his 2022 level of play after the Broncos first signed him as a free agent from San Fran.
Justin Strnad | LB | Denver Broncos
- Contract: One year, $2.7 million
- Grade: B
Strnad was Denver's 2020 fifth-round pick. After failing to launch over the course of his four-year rookie deal, the Broncos opted to re-sign him last year, and that ended up being a smart decision.
Strnad stepped in as a starter next to Cody Barton after Singleton went down with an ACL tear in Week 3. Strnad exceeded expectations for most of the season, but began to wear down in the final quarter of the season.
He became very unreliable as a tackler, but he knows Vance Joseph's scheme and has been a Bronco his whole career. As a linebacker with starting experience, the Broncos didn't overpay and Strnad gives them a solid No. 3 option in the event of any Singleton setbacks or Greenlaw injuries.
Matt Peart | OT | Denver Broncos
- Contract: Two years, $7 million
- Grade: A
The Broncos put a premium on the offensive line and it comes out in the wash. Denver's O-line was one of the top two units in the NFL last season, Nix was the league's third-least-sacked quarterback, and in the event of the injury bug taking a bite out of Garett Bolles or Mike McGlinchey, it's good to have a swing guy with real NFL experience to turn to.
That's where Peart comes in. Earning $3.5M per year as a swing tackle, the Broncos got good value and a player the offensive staff knows and feels comfortable with. A good move.
Mitchell Fraboni | LS | Denver Broncos
- Contract: Three years, $4.175 million
- Grade: C+
The Broncos made Fraboni the highest-paid long-snapper in the NFL on an average-per-year basis, which I struggle to see the logic in. However, as a specialist, it's important for the coaches and players to have trust in him, and it seems Fraboni has that in spades.
The Broncos lost their punter, but Wil Lutz returns as the kicker. It's hard to justify overpaying a long-snapper, even within the modest context of his salary level, but if it helps Lutz and new special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi sleep better at night, then it's best not to obsess over it.
Fraboni has been with the Broncos since 2022 and has been the epitome of reliable. Plus, he throws in a handful of special teams tackles each year, too. Focus on that.
Overall Grade: A-
Aside from the Broncos taking some injury risks, the outside players the team brought in are enormous upgrades over anything the team had at those positions last year. Not only did the defense take a massive step forward with Hufanga and Greenlaw's arrival, but fans can expect the offense to also take a quantum leap with Engram being plugged in.
With Courtland Sutton and Devaughn Vele on the outside, Marvin Mims Jr., say, in the slot, and Engram at tight end, Nix now has an arsenal to be feared. The only thing missing is a dynamic running back.
The Broncos will have to also get the punter situation figured out. But we're only through the first wave of free agency, and the NFL draft approaches at the end of April, so there's plenty of time between now and training camp for the Broncos to continue to fortify the roster and build the nest around their new franchise quarterback.
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