Broncos Urged to Trade for Falcons' Former Pro Bowl TE
The 2025 NFL trade deadline (Nov. 4) is still over a month away, but Sports Illustrated already has an idea of who the Denver Broncos should be shopping for.
Proposing
"This would be the biggest move the Broncos could make," Verderame and Manzano argued in an article published Wednesday. "Early on, it’s been a struggle for Bo Nix in his second season, who has thrown seven touchdowns and four interceptions on 5.6 yards per attempt. Furthermore, adding Pitts would free up more space for Courtland Sutton, Troy Franklin and Marvin Mims Jr.
"Pitts is 24 years old and already has 20 catches for 205 yards and a touchdown. Although he has never reached the potential many thought he had coming out of Florida as the No. 4 pick in 2021, Pitts would still be a major upgrade for Denver."
Drafted No. 4 overall in 2021, Pitts has not lived up to his generational billing thus far in his young career. The Florida product earned a Pro Bowl nod and PFWA All-Rookie Team honors after his first season, but — for a variety of reasons — he's steadily declined ever since.
Across 65 career games (59 starts) and nearly 2,900 offensive snaps for the Falcons, Pitts has totaled 216 receptions for 2,856 yards and 11 touchdowns, with his career-high in the latter category (4) coming last season. He's caught 20 balls for 205 yards and one score this year, currently grading out as
While Pitts' situation in Atlanta does appear tenuous, it leans toward unlikely that his resolution will be the Broncos, who invested heavily in the position this offseason by signing ex-Jaguar Evan Engram to a two-year, $23 million contract.
Engram, hampered with a prior back injury, has compiled 62 scoreless yards over six receptions entering Week 5. However, the team's purported "Joker" logged a season-best seven targets and 29 receiving yards in last week's blowout of the Bengals — and with him healthy, it's difficult to justify adding another mouth to feed.
“There are certainly matchups, third down [and] red zone come to mind. With him on the field, we’re a better offense," Broncos head coach Sean Payton said of Engram on Sept. 27.
John Lynch Proves the Critics Wrong with Winning Trade for Bryce Huff
San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch has had his fair share of misses during his time with the team. His aggressive team-building style has come back to bite him more than a few times before.
When he traded for Bryce Huff this offseason, many experts saw the move as his latest mistake. The former Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher had failed to make an impact in the previous season, making them eager to ship him off just one year into his contract.
But just a few months later, it looks like Lynch pulled off a genius move to keep his team in contention in the NFC.
49ers end up quietly winning Bryce Huff trade
More often than not, when an NFL pass-rusher has one productive season in the middle of an underwhelming career, they end up crashing back down to the baseline they had already established. But the importance of pressuring opposing quarterbacks still drives teams to pay up for those players, leading to massive overpays and questionable trades.
All of the evidence around Huff pointed to another example of the same story. He had one season with double-digit sacks with the New York Jets and suddenly became a hot commodity in free agency. The Eagles bit,
After a disappointing 2024 campaign in Philadelphia, the Eagles were quick to put Huff on the trade block. The 49ers bought the dip on the edge rusher,
After Nick Bosa's season-ending injury, the trade might be what saves the 49ers' playoff hopes. Without their superstar defensive end in the lineup, San Francisco lacks pass-rushing talent off the edge. Rookie Mykel Williams is a great run defender, but he hasn't shown the ability to consistently get after the quarterback yet.
Huff could now step into a role as the team's most lethal edge rusher and a key piece of the defense on late downs. He already has two sacks this season, nearly surpassing his total from his year in Philadelphia. He's even quietly showing improvements against the run, earning a
San Francisco is now relying on the edge rusher to step into a full-time starting role. As long as he can hold down that position while Bosa recovers, the 49ers will have definitively won this trade.
