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The Denver Broncos are ready to attack the free-agent market, which officially opens on Wednesday, though teams can begin negotiating with players on Monday.
The Broncos have several needs within a roster that is primed to make a run at Super Bowl LXI. As of this writing, the team has $24.4 million in available cap space, according to Over the Cap. Fifteen teams have more.
The Broncos have their own free agents to decide what to do with, but they must be aggressive in approaching players from other teams. One thing the team must find this offseason is a true workhorse at the running back position.
After a solid rookie season, RJ Harvey will be a great change-of-pace runner for the team, who adds a big weapon in the passing game, but the Broncos need to complement him with a back who can carry the load.
Looking at the free-agent market following Super Bowl LX, three names stood out at the top of the running back position. Breece Hall, Kenneth Walker and Travis Etienne. Those were the three names the Broncos needed to target to address their deficiencies in the running game.
But with Hall getting the franchise tag from the New York Jets, it was down to Walker or Etienne. Now, Dan Graziano of ESPN has predicted free-agent contracts for 20 players, including Walker and Etienne, and he has neither of those players signing in Denver.
What will Broncos do at running back in free agency?
Graziano on Kenneth Walker:
"The Super Bowl MVP hits free agency with the benefit of a market full of teams looking for explosive running backs. With Breece Hall having set the market with a $14.3 million franchise tag from the Jets, Walker can play multiple teams off each other and land at just above that number with the first year (and a chunk of the second year) fully guaranteed. He ran for 1,027 yards last season and can make plays out of the backfield as a pass catcher (31 receptions)."
Graziano predicts that Walker will get a 3-year, $44 million contract with $22 million guaranteed from the Washington Commanders.
Graziano on Travis Etienne:
"Much like Walker, Etienne has multiple teams interested and can continue a surprisingly good year for the top of the free agent RB class. Jacksonville drafted two running backs in last year's draft, so it can move on from Etienne. The 27-year-old was 11th in rushing last season at 1,107 yards."
He predicts that Etienne will get a three-year, $39 million contract with $20 million guaranteed from the Tennessee Titans.
Both of those are big contracts, and the Broncos may not be willing to spend up like that. That would leave the team looking at the next tier of players. The top names there include Tyler Allgeier and Rico Dowdle. After that, you're getting into the territory of adding a player who would be a much smaller part of the running back committee, such as Rachaad White or Isaiah Pacheco.
Signing a player from this lower tier would allow the Broncos the space to bring back their own free agent running back, J.K. Dobbins. This is an idea that has been discussed before in relation to signing Allgeier, who is a bigger, grinding running back who would add a different dimension to Denver's rushing attack.
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Broncos Country would still love to see the team sign a guy like Walker or Etienne, but it seems the team will have to win a strong bidding war for either of those players.
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