Broncos ship former third-round pick to NFC South in preseason trade prediction

Jul 16, 2026 - 01:35

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Broncos ship former third-round pick to NFC South in preseason trade prediction originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

As of this writing, the 2026 NFL season will kick off in 55 days. That is less than two months until the season starts.

Between now and then, there will still be a flurry of moves made by every team in the league as rosters must be cut down to 53 players, which always brings about some interesting strategies as far as how to best put those rosters together.

Moe Moton of Bleacher Report has taken a look at each team and come up with one trade to make before the season starts for each of the 32 teams in the league. He believes that the Atlanta Falcons should send a late-round pick in next year's draft to the Denver Broncos in exchange for Marvin Mims Jr.

"The Falcons don't have a clear-cut No. 2 receiver. Jahan Dotson, Olamide Zaccheaus and rookie third-rounder Zachariah Branch will compete for targets behind lead wideout Drake London.

Atlanta can fill that role with outside help from a receiver who's buried on the Broncos' depth chart. Denver acquired Jaylen Waddle from the Miami Dolphins. Courtland Sutton and Troy Franklin have a strong rapport with quarterback Bo Nix. The coaching staff could look to further develop second-year wideout Pat Bryant.

Mims knows this year could be his last in Denver. Atlanta can speed up the process and acquire him to address a glaring roster need".

There is a lot to consider here. As Moton points out, this could be Mims' final year in Denver as he is set to be an unrestricted free agent at season's end. The Broncos did gain room to make a move with one of their young wide receivers following the trade for Jaylen Waddle, but to suggest that Mims is buried on the depth chart is not quite accurate.

Sure, he hasn't been the most potent offensive weapon for the Broncos. But as discussed here, his true value to the team is on special teams, where he is one of the league's most dangerous return men, having been selected to the Pro Bowl twice in his first three seasons for his efforts returning kicks.

The Broncos should instead be focused on how to extend the contract of Mims while looking at ways to make him more of a weapon on offense. Though he hasn't put up the biggest numbers as a receiver, he has been the most consistent deep threat on the roster. The Broncos have tried to use him as too much of a gadget player, calling his numbers on bubble screens and wide receiver reverse plays, and that has hindered his development.

With that said, any time a player who is set to hit free agency is able to be traded, any reasonable offer should be heard. The Falcons make sense as a destination for Mims, but this is a trade that would make much more sense later in the year than before it starts.

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While Mims may be set to hit free agency, the Broncos still have him for the 2026 season and should use him to their advantage. Things will look much different for both of these teams as we hit the trade deadline later in the season, and that's when the Broncos would have the necessary information needed, by seeing how the season has gone to that point, to pull the trigger on this kind of offer.