JL Skinner, Matt Henningsen, Seth Williams, Netane Muti, Juwann Winfree, Sam Jones, Keishawn Bierria, De’Angelo Henderson, Will Parks and Darius Kilgo. Those are the players the Broncos have selected in the sixth round during their last 10 drafts.
A decade of selections. One career sack. Twelve receptions. Four interceptions. Total. Out of 10 players.
But everyone is supposed to be excited that Denver secured a sixth-round pick from Arizona in exchange for Baron Browning? It’s laughable.
Browning was third-round pick in 2021 out of Ohio State. The linebacker has appeared in 43 games, starting 28, despite battling a litany of injuries. During that time, he’s chalked up 9.5 sacks, 114 tackles and 15 tackles for a loss.
Those aren’t great numbers, but they’re certainly something to build upon. Browning is a part of a young trio of pass rushers, along with Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto, that the Broncos were building their up-and-coming defense around.
They inked Cooper to a new deal last weekend, ensuring that he’ll be in Denver for the next few seasons. And a new contract for Bonitto, who is having a breakout season with six sacks through nine games, is probably forthcoming.
That left Browning as they odd man out. His contract is up at the end of the year, so there’s a chance he might be leaving for nothing this offseason. As a result, George Paton and Sean Payton decided it was better to get something in return.
But did they? The list of names above suggests not.
Sure, a sixth-round pick is better than nothing. But not by much. At least not historically.
And it’s not as though the Broncos didn’t give up anything. After all, they took a player who could produce this season off of their roster.
Yes, Browning has struggled to stay healthy in 2024. And when he hasn’t been on the field, he hasn’t been great, failing to record a sack and only tallying seven total tackles (one for a loss). But there’s potential there. As he gets healthy, there’s a chance he can produce.
There’s certainly more opportunity for Browning to help on the field this year than a future day-three draft choice. The Cardinals certainly seem to think so.
That’s why Arizona acquired the linebacker. They’re trying to win the NFC West, so they’re adding pieces. The Broncos are doing the opposite.
Despite having a 5-4 record and currently holding the No. 7 playoff seed in the AFC, Denver isn’t doing all they can do improve the current roster. Instead, they’re kicking the can down the road.
On one level, that might make some sense. After all, the Broncos aren’t a Super Bowl contender this season, so adding assets to continue the rebuild in 2025 is an idea with merit. But not much.
Odds are that the sixth-round pick acquired for Browning won’t have much of an impact in the Mile High City. Unless he turns out to be a once-every-quarter-century aberration (see Terrell Davis), he’ll be nothing more than a footnote in team history. Heck, the chances that he’ll be as good as Browning are slim.
So what’s the point? Why add a pick just to add a pick?
The Broncos haven’t had a winning season since 2016. They haven’t made the playoffs since 2015, the second-longest active streak in the NFL. They have a good chance of ending both of those trends this season.
Does Browning get them over the top? Maybe, maybe not. But he certainly has a better chance of helping the Broncos cause if he’s in Denver instead of Arizona.
It’s been nearly a decade since the Broncos reached the postseason. The organization owes it to the fan base to try to end their years-long run of misery.
Had someone made the team an offer they couldn’t refuse for a contributor, taking the deal would’ve made sense. Some focus on the long game is necessary when a team is still in rebuild mode. But a pick that’ll most likely never contribute anything of significance? That doesn’t make much sense.
It’s an overstatement to say that the Broncos threw in the towel on this season with the Browning trade; he hasn’t been good enough this season to warrant that kind of reaction. But they certainly sent a message with the move.
Finances and draft capital mean more right now than making the playoffs in Denver. And given the relatively small financial savings (the Broncos save $1.56 million this season) and borderline worthless pick (see the list of 10 names at the beginning of this column), that’s a bit insulting to Broncos Country.
Others will spin it, arguing that other young players are emerging (something they said about Browning two months ago), he’s a pending free agent (they’ve could’ve signed him) and he’s injury prone (there are others on the roster who fit that bill). But the reality is that the Broncos waved the white flag a bit on the 2024 season with Monday’s trade.
