Insider Floats Dynamic Free-Agent WR Duo as Potential Broncos Targets

Despite Sean Payton's protestations and assurances, it should be apparent by now that the Denver Broncos aren't perfectly happy with their wide receiver corps and are looking for upgrades. Not an overhaul to the room, but another well-placed veteran or a receiver who fits in the draft.

How do we know this? Because the Broncos checked in on the status of free agents Cooper Kupp and Stefon Diggs before both signed with their new clubs.

With those cats being out of the bag, even the most mainstream and plugged-in Broncos insider is now writing about available veteran options at wide receiver. The most reliable team insider — 9NEWS' Mike Klis — floated a few names to monitor in the coming weeks, starting with two of the more high-profile guys remaining available.

"There are two still-available receivers on the free agent market who could make sense for the Broncos: Keenan Allen and Elijah Moore," Klis wrote.

Allen has been suggested as a Broncos fit by a few outlets this offseason, mainly as we entered the second and third wave of free agency. The former Los Angeles Chargers Pro Bowler is long in the tooth, but would offer Broncos quarterback Bo Nix another reliable target, and Allen's route-running is still superb, even at 32 years old.

Moore is a different mold than Allen, and much younger, which likely means he'd cost more. A 2021 second-round pick out of Ole Miss, he flamed out with the New York Jets and spent the past two seasons with the Cleveland Browns.

Playing second fiddle to Jerry Jeudy, Moore started 13 games last season and hauled 61 receptions for 538 yards and a touchdown. But he's 5-foot-10, and Payton likes big-bodied guys north of 6-foot as a rule, though Marvin Mims Jr. proves there's always an exception.

Klis also mentioned Diontae Johnson and Tyler Lockett as potential Broncos' free-agent targets. And there are other names out there, but frankly, even including Allen and Moore, none of the names scream upgrade over what the Broncos have.

That's not to take away from Allen's impressive resume over the years, but he's well on the wrong side of 30, and the Broncos already have an X receiver by the name of Courtland Sutton. Allen can be moved around the formation, including the slot, thanks to his route-running prowess, but when it comes to the salary-cap dollars it would take to secure his services, I'm not sure the Broncos would benefit more from asserting him in the lineup over the younger receivers — Devaughn Vele and Troy Franklin— the team drafted and has been developing.

Both Vele and Franklin flashed at times as rookies last year, though the former was far more consistent than the latter, having earned the coaches' trust out of training camp. But, Franklin started coming on strong down the stretch and caught Nix's only touchdown pass in the Broncos' playoff loss in Buffalo.

We know the Broncos were interested in the likes of Kupp and Diggs, though the team didn't pursue them once their respective price tags were revealed. Perhaps the best solution would be to keep the focus on the draft, where the Broncos have set themselves up to have a smorgasbord of options, thanks to how they maneuvered in the first wave of free agency.