Denver Broncos are being asked to trade for New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara

The Denver Broncos have a problem with offensive firepower.

After six weeks of play in the regular season, the Broncos' offense ranks 26th in Offensive EPA/Play, 27th in Offensive Pass EPA/Play and 22nd in Offensive Rush EPA/Play. In half the games they've played this year, the Broncos haven't scored a goal in the first half.

This was likely always going to be a rebuilding season for the Broncos, particularly bringing in a rookie quarterback and dealing with the salary cap implications of the trade and subsequent release of former quarterback Russell Wilson. Still, it's still shocking how bad the offense has been so far this year.

Some of this can be explained. The Broncos were always going to have trouble playing a rookie quarterback. Bo Nix has objectively struggled in his first six starts in the league, but that's neither shocking nor entirely his fault.

However, the book is far from written on Denver's first-year quarterback. The Broncos also suffered numerous injuries along the offensive line, with Quinn Bailey, Mike McGlinchey, Luke Wattenbery and Alex Palczewski all missing. Denver's injury rate in 2023 could not be repeated this season.

Still, Denver's offense as a whole fell short of expectations – the arms and running backs' play in particular wasn't up to par overall. Can the Broncos alleviate these issues by making a move before the trade deadline?

NFL Network's Maurice Jones-Drew has a move to Denver in mind and begs Sean Payton to get his ex New Orleans Saints Gun, Alvin Kamara, in the Mile High City.

“Kamara will face his former head coach Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football this week in what is expected to be an emotional and competitive matchup. Except for the Saints fans who wouldn't like to see the five-time Pro Bowler in Payton's performance.” On offense again? The Broncos appear to be on the rise, having won three of their last four games, while the Saints have lost four straight games and are without their starting quarterback despite recent success. “They are ranked 29th overall and 23rd in Week 7 . place in rushing. There is so much room for improvement and there is no doubt that Kamara would provide a huge boost,” Jones-Drew wrote.

The Broncos could undoubtedly utilize Kamara's talent on offense. Considering how often the passing game opts for the checkdown and the inconsistencies of Denver's current backs in the running game, Kamara could add a fun element to the overall offense and help make the team more consistent, explosive and easier for the rookie quarterback to play to make a team. But is it likely to happen?

“Still, the Saints are unlikely to trade their best offense midseason. Additionally, Kamara has been adamant about wanting to retire a Saint, despite ongoing, tumultuous contract negotiations. Even though this probably won't happen, you can dream,” Jones-Drew concluded.

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Such a move would have consequences for the upper limit for both teams. Accordingly Spotrac, The Saints would save $8.07 million, a record of about $8.08 million in 2024 and about $10.14 million in 2025.

Denver would have to cover Kamara's base salary and per-game roster bonus at the same time. The above figures are not accurate as games have already been played this season and money has already been paid out.

Given the Saints' salary cap constraints and the Broncos' current placement in the league landscape, Denver should trade resources in both picks and cap space for a soon-to-be 30-year-old running back with plenty of resources to work with last seasons?

If Denver were undoubtedly in a Super Bowl window, the answer would change, but is this team Super Bowl or bust? Squad? My vote would be the latter.

If the Broncos are still desperate for a running back in the offseason and let Javonte Williams walk, and if none of the young backs on the roster step up for the rest of the season, And The organization isn't interested in the free agent crop, so maybe it's worth revisiting Kamara.

Additionally, the 2025 NFL Draft is reportedly a much weaker class according to the league as a whole, but could be a phenomenal running back draft. Would it be better for Denver to trade for Kamara in the final year of his 30-year contract and forgo a mid-round pick, or simply use that pick on a back in the draft?

Kamara would undoubtedly raise the level of play of the Broncos offense and be a unit desperate for players to step up and help them get out of the offensive cellar this season. As it stands, however, it would be far wiser to give those already in the company enough opportunities to see if they can prove to be long-term options for the team, rather than foregoing future resources and flexibility if the employees are getting older and getting injured while running back.

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