Broncos analyst has a questionable idea to put even more on Bo Nix's plate right away

Even if this projects to be another challenging year for the Denver Broncos, there are still reasons to be optimistic about the future of the franchise. Head coach Sean Payton still has a decent reputation as an offensive guru, although he may be living on borrowed time in that regard. Bo Nix was a proven college passer, but it remains to be seen if he has what it takes to elevate his teammates in the NFL.

All the while, as long as the Broncos are finally pulling in the same direction, they can either finally get right, or fail faster. Either way, that is what you want in a league driven by parity, especially when you've been at the bottom of the bag since Peyton Manning road off into the sunset. So when I came across Rich Kurtzman's proposal on Mile High Sports to trade for Brandon Aiyuk, I let out a big laugh.

Aiyuk is a great player, but Denver still has Courtland Sutton and doesn't need a mercurial personality.

"Aiyuk has become increasingly frustrated with a lack of a deal and has even helped build the trade rumors," writes Kurtzman. "And the Denver Broncos should be on the phone with San Francisco about him. But are they?"

Even if 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has sentimental attachments to Denver from his youth, and his father Mike coaching the team to two Super Bowls in the late 1990s with John Elway, this is a hard pass for me. Despite the fact that general manager John Lynch finished his legendary playing career in Denver, this is should be a firm no. Sutton may work in San Francisco, but Aiyuk may not in Denver.

Even though I loved the front-office hiring of David Shaw, I still don't trust George Paton even one bit.

Denver Broncos should not be in on trading for WR Brandon Aiyuk

To me, this feels like Brandon Marshall all over again. A tremendous talent, but a total headcase. Maybe not all that much of the latter with Aiyuk as it was with Marshall before he got the help he needed, but this feels way too combustible of a situation to get involved in. There are three teams I think can take on Aiyuk in Arizona, Atlanta and Washington, but Denver is definitely not among them.

Teams like Arizona, Atlanta and Washington are all trying to make the leap from bad to being playoff contenders. Jayden Daniels may be a rookie in Washington, but he should be ready to rock in Kliff Kingsbury's offense. As for Arizona and Atlanta, Kyler Murray and Kirk Cousins are proven commodities and stars in this league at the quarterback position. Nix is a promising rookie. That is it.

Since Denver is likely to be picking in the top 10 next spring, why try to finish in the middle of the pack in the AFC? If all goes according to plan and the New York Jets actually make the playoffs, guess who will have the longest active postseason drought in the NFL? Denver is miles away from the upper tier of the AFC. To make the climb, they need to focus in on setting up Nix for success without distraction.

Simply put, Denver is not at the right stage in its competitive life cycle to trade for a player like Aiyuk.