Denver Broncos free agency 2020: Top 5 targets

Everybody wants to land themselves a piece of a Super Bowl champion in the offseason. Given that the Broncos play in the same division as the Kansas City Chiefs, surely they have had their eyes on a few players of theirs they’d like to not play against them twice annually. Better yet, what about getting a guy or two to cross the line and join up with their former rival?

The biggest player of note hitting free agency this spring from the Chiefs is their defensive end Chris Jones. Because he was a second-round pick out of Mississippi State in 2016, the Chiefs do not have the luxury of using the fifth-year option on such a talented player. While they would want to, all they can do is either offer him a long-term deal or slap him with the franchise tag.

Using the franchise tag on Jones would be worth it, as he’s one of the better defensive linemen in the NFL. Doing so would cost the Chiefs roughly $18.9 million. Jones is worth it, but that number roughly equates to what Kansas City has available going up against the cap. Given that they have other issues to address, it feels like a long-term, team-friendly deal is the better play here.

It will take some maneuvering for the Chiefs to free up enough cap space to re-sign Jones, as well as bring back a few other big contributors from their Super Bowl-winning team. But if the Chiefs can’t figure out a way to bring back their disruptive defensive lineman, then maybe the Broncos can use some of their available cap space to make their team better and Kansas City worse.