The Denver Broncos are reloading after a subpar 2023-24 season. Denver selected former Oregon football quarterback Bo Nix with their first-round 2024 NFL Draft pick. However, the moves did not stop there. The Broncos have reportedly engaged in a trade with the New York Jets centered around defensive end John Franklin-Myers.
The Jets are sending Franklin-Myers to Denver, where is he signing a new two-year, $15 million deal, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports. The deal will pay a total of $10 million guaranteed, including $8 million fully guaranteed and a $4 million signing bonus.
New York traded for Pro Bowl pass rusher Haason Reddick in early April. Thus, the team permitted Franklin-Myers to seek a trade partner in the days leading up to the draft, per insight from Fowler. The move to acquire the sixth-year defensive end should bode well for the Broncos. Franklin-Myers will pair up with D.J Jones and Zach Allen as a starter in Denver’s front.
John Franklin-Myers started his professional career with the Los Angeles Rams when the team selected him in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. The former SF Austin star spent one developmental year with the Rams before joining the Jets in 2020.
After one season in New York, Franklin-Myers experienced a respectable improvement. He lept from 19 total tackles and three sacks to 35 tackles and a career-high six sacks in 2021-22. Franklin-Myers followed the season up with two more years of similar production. He comes off a 2023-24 season with a total of 33 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
If there is one major advantage John Franklin-Myers provides the Broncos, it is durability. The 27-year-old has played all 17 regular season games for two straight years. He looks to be a reliable defensive presence for a Denver team looking to make a jump in the AFC West.
Broncos look to leap amid major roster changes
Denver is going through a period of exciting change. They finished the 2023-24 season with an 8-9 record, which placed them third in the AFC West standings. The squad will have a revamped offense for the coming season, headlined by a major change at the quarterback position.
The Broncos were led by veteran QB Russell Wilson for two years. Wilson put up solid numbers, but in the end, Denver’s offense was not postseason-worthy. Wilson departed the team for the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 2024 free agency period.
Now, Denver is ushering in former Oregon standout Bo Nix as the team’s new rising QB. The Broncos selected Nix with their 12th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Nix had a stout college career that blossomed when he transferred to the Ducks ahead of his junior year.
He totaled 3,593 yards and 29 TDs during the 2022-23 season. In the process, he helped lead Oregon to a 10-3 record and a third-place finish in the Pac-12. What followed the next year was highly impressive. Nix threw for a career-high 4,508 yards and a whopping 45 TDs during his final year at Oregon. The team finished the season at 12-2 and advanced to the conference championship.
Nix’s college improvement is a positive sign for a Broncos team in need of growth.
All in all, it will be interesting to see if the Broncos engage in another strategic trade ahead of the 2024 season. With the way things are looking, Denver is poised for great improvement.