The Denver Broncos have compiled one of the league’s most complete rosters ahead of the 2026 season and will be seen as one of the top Super Bowl contenders when play kicks off in about four months.
The roster is so deep that the team may have several players who are expendable at the end of the preseason. Rather than cut these players and get nothing in return, the Broncos could look to be proactive, adding future draft picks in their place, even if they are late-round choices.
Looking at the team’s complete 90-man roster as it currently stands, these players could be moved before the start of the season.
Players the Broncos could trade in 2026
Troy Franklin, WR
The addition of Jaylen Waddle gives the Broncos a deep wide receiver group and one of the younger players (Troy Franklin, Marvin Mims Jr. or Pat Bryant) may not see the field as much with Courtland Sutton also on the roster.
The team should not consider moving Mims due to his contributions on special teams and Bryant is still in the early stages of his career. While the Broncos used a third-round pick on him, most teams wouldn’t have taken him until Day 3 of last year’s draft and as a result, won’t give much in return.
The most tradeable wide receiver on the roster is easily Franklin. Bo Nix’s former college teammate has shown signs of being a top playmaker in the future, but he could easily get lost in the shuffle with this group. If the Broncos could recoup the fourth-round pick they used to get him in 2024, it would be worth considering.
Tyler Badie or Jaleel McLaughlin, RB
The Broncos added Jonah Coleman in the fourth round of the draft to go along with RJ Harvey and J.K. Dobbins. Those are going to be the top three backs on the team and either Tyler Badie or Jaleel McLaughlin will be lucky to dress on most gamedays. The other could easily be cut at the end of the preseason.
Badie is better on special teams and pass protection than McLaughlin and the Broncos preferred him last season for those reasons. Neither player would fetch anything more than a seventh-round pick, but that would be better than nothing.
Drew Sanders, LB
It was announced last month that the Broncos are planning to switch Drew Sanders’ position again, moving him back to outside linebacker. This seems like a last-ditch effort to take advantage of his athleticism and see if he can give the team something as a rotational rusher off the edge.
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The Broncos used a third-round pick on Sanders in 2023 but have gotten almost nothing out of him in three seasons as he has battled injuries. Sending him to another team would likely net no more than a seventh-round pick, but that might be the team’s only option at this point.
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