The Denver Broncos sport a top-3 roster in the NFL, and you could argue that it’s the best in the AFC, at least. I would not argue if you said that Denver’s roster wasn’t quite at the level of a few other teams here and there, but that’s not necessarily the point I am getting into.
Whether it’s from trades, draft picks, or free agency signings (or even undrafted free agents), the Broncos have assembled a group plenty good enough to win the Super Bowl this year, and obviously, as we have mentioned a ton of times, the Broncos likely would have at least made the big game had quarterback Bo Nix not suffered a heartbreaking ankle injury in the AFC Divisional Round.
The Broncos won’t be able to keep every single player year after year, as certain players will price their way out of Denver, and we saw this with John Frankin-Myers this offseason, for example. Right now, the Broncos do have a surplus at a couple of positions. Could that lead to a potentially bold trade in the future?
Should the Denver Broncos trade CB Ja’Quan McMillian to the Browns?
Cleveland Browns’ expert Ryan O’Leary of Dawg Pound Daily floated an idea for a trade where the Broncos would ship Ja’Quan McMillian to the team for the price of a 2028 2nd-round pick, which the Browns actually own thanks to the Myles Garrett trade with the Los Angeles Rams:
“They also hold an extra second-round pick in 2028 via the Rams from the Myles Garrett trade, and that could be an interesting place to start with a hypothetical proposal for McMillian.
It’s rare for teams to part with a premium draft pick in exchange for a former undrafted player. McMillian is legit, though, and could prove to be the exception to that rule…
Cleveland’s second-round pick in 2028 via the Rams could make sense for both sides. The Broncos would be extracting max value for an expendable asset, with Barron waiting in the wings, and the Browns could justify parting with a pick that’s likely to fall somewhere around the 60s that’s still two full NFL seasons away.”
Unsurprisingly, O’Leary also mentions that Jahdae Barron is in the mix, so this could be a situation where the Broncos at least pick up the phone and talk to other teams about a potential deal if they are confident that Barron could step into the unofficial starting slot cornerback role.
A second-round pick, even if it were to belong to an elite team like the Rams, would honestly be strong compensation. McMillian was an undrafted player, so the Broncos simply do not have many resources invested into the player.
With that being said, McMillian is a playmaker, period.
Whether it’s a key interception in the playoffs or other big-time plays during the regular season that we’ve seen, McMillian is all over the field and is honestly a top-5 slot cornerback in football, so a trade is surely something the Broncos don’t necessarily want to do here, right?
I guess we’ll never know for sure until a trade does or does not happen, but a team desperate enough to pull off a deal might be at least worth the time. Looking ahead, the Broncos have all of McMillian, Riley Moss, and Brandon Jones slated to be free agents in the secondary, and this could be a scenario where perhaps two of the three are retained, or only one of the three.
But with Barron in the mix, it’s not unreasonable to think that the Broncos envision him stepping into either Moss’ or McMillian’s role full-time in 2027 if the Broncos decide to not retain one of those veterans.
And if the team wanted to get that started early, considering a McMillian trade would not be out of the realm of possibility.
