The Bourbon Belly Up March 23rd – March 29th
By Adam Uribes
· General
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· 2 min read
"We break down the Jaylen Waddle trade, where the Broncos are when it comes to draft picks and a under the radar signing bolstering the special teams group? "
The Belly Up is back after a one-week layoff that had nothing to do with the fact that the main author was tied up with other things last week. For this week, we break down the Jaylen Waddle trade, how savvy Denver has been when it comes to the salary cap, and an under-the-radar signing bolstering the special teams group. Read on and be impressed by all the football goodness.
*Jaylen Waddle, YOU are a Denver Broncos.*
In a move proving that George Paton is not just a hologram at Dove Valley, the Broncos packaged a 2026 1st and 3rd round picks for the former Miami Dolphin. While there have been some snickers about the compensation that was sent to the Dolphins, especially when Michael Pittman was acquired by the Steelers for just a 6th round pick, getting a receiver of Waddle's quality for essentially a 2nd and 4th round pick is probably the going rate. Most importantly, the Broncos get another weapon for Bo Nix, and the offense as a whole gets a playmaker to pair with Courtland Sutton on the outside.
**SHOW ME THE FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, err, I mean, MONEY!!**
This week, Offensive Player of the Year winner Jaxson Smith-Njigba signed a new deal with the Seahawks for a whopping 168.6 million dollars, making him the highest-paid receiver in the game at the time of writing. However, let's put that in perspective a bit. The two highest-paid receivers on the Broncos for 2026 (Sutton and Waddle) figure to make 23M and 17M, respectively. The free-agency era makes it impossible for any team to keep all its stars, and the Seahawks are the latest example of champions having to make hard financial decisions. Kudos to the Broncos for being smart with their money so far.
**Special Teams gets a new gunner.**
It’s a three-phase game, and everyone forgets how special teams impacts the game until it's too late. Enter Tycen Anderson, formerly of the Bengals. While not a sexy move, Anderson is a special teams demon and definitely flashes his athleticism on the outside, leading the Bengals in special teams stops with 10. Combine that with servivicable backup safety, P.J. Locke leaving this summer, and Anderson’s size (6ft 2in/210 lbs) and speed off the edge, and the Broncos shored up a spot that doesn’t get as much attention as it should.
Just because it’s the offseason does not mean that Bourbon, Broncos, and No BS are resting until the start of next season. Listen up every Tuesday as we go into the most important topics of the day, giving you something to tide you over until this fall.
Tags: Broncos, Broncos Country, NFL, Denver, Football, NFL, Blogs