Broncos predicted to make trade for former first-round pick in exchange for No. 30 pick in draft

The Denver Broncos need to find a true No. 1 wide receiver before the 2026 season and with limited options on both the free-agent market and in the upcoming draft, the best move the team can make is to acquire one via trade. 

That is what the Buffalo Bills did on Thursday, acquiring D.J. Moore in a huge trade with the Chicago Bears. This is the season for big moves and the Broncos can't afford to sit on their hands. 

Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports put forth a list of five trades that we need to see and he has the Broncos trading for a wide receiver on his list. It is a move that has been discussed before, in which the Broncos will send the No.30 pick in the first round to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for former first-round pick Jaylen Waddle. 

Broncos predicted to trade for Jaylen Waddle

The move makes sense. The Broncos were interested in Waddle ahead of the trade deadline last year and he gives them a speedy option on the outside to go with the consummate pro in Courtland Sutton and a growing group of young receivers behind him. The Dolphins are a team in rebuild mode and this move would give them a second pick in the first round of April's draft. 

Here was Sullivan's analysis on the potential deal:

"The Dolphins are tearing it down to the studs. The team has new leadership in GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley, and this regime already started moving on from the old guard, releasing the likes of Bradley Chubb and Tyreek Hill, while also likely to part ways with Tagovailoa in some capacity. Could Jaylen Waddle be next? 

Waddle is still a talented receiver and only 27 years old, so Miami could look to keep him in-house as they rebuild. That said, the guarantees on Waddle's contract run out after the 2026 season, so they'll be looking at a potential contract dispute next offseason. At that point, do the rebuilding Dolphins want to extend a receiver that takes him into his 30s? The savvier move would be to trade Waddle now and get a massive return. If the Dolphins entertain offers for Waddle, the Broncos should be willing to put their first-rounder (No. 30 overall) on the table. Denver sought another top receiver to pair alongside Courtland Sutton and around Bo Nix for quite some time, and seeing Waddle inside a Sean Payton offense could see him reach new heights."

The Broncos need to seriously consider this idea, as they don't want to get left out in the cold when it comes to landing a premier receiver. A.J. Brown could be available, but he would likely cost more. With D.J. Moore off the table, that's one less player for the Broncos to pursue. 

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The front office should be weighing all options, but when it comes to the wide receiver position, this exact trade has to be one of the best potential moves out there. 

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