10 nightmare targets for the Denver Broncos in free agency

9. Greg Joseph, K

The Broncos need a new kicker as Brandon McManus crashed back down to earth this year after being nothing more than a league-average kicker.  He made less than 80% of his kicks this year and is getting paid like one of the NFL’s best.

Outside of a couple of strong years in 2015 and 2019, McManus has been average at best.  His 77.8% field goal percentage this year is terrible, but the Broncos need to steer away from Greg Joseph, the kicker for the Minnesota Vikings over the last two seasons.

A signing team may look at his 2018 and 2021 seasons making at least 85% of his kicks and hope that he can keep that form up with a new team, but his 78.8% field goal percentage in 2020 along with going 4/10 from 50+ yards is simply not something the Broncos need to invest in.

10. Bradley Pinion, P

Besides needing a new kicker, the Broncos also need a new punter, as Corliss Waitman was inconsistent in 2022 and was not able to provide competent punting from week to week.  The Broncos actually released Sam Martin in favor of Waitman, but that backfired on them.

Bradley Pinion has been punting in the NFL since 2015 but has not put up punting numbers to write home on.  His best year came in 2022 when he averaged just 45.9 yards a boot and only 41.2 net yards per punt.

He’s punted the rock 564 times in the NFL, so you’d think that he’d be better than he is, but what it seems to me is that Pinion has been average at best during his NFL career, so I’m not sure Denver should look to Pinion in free agency.

Rather, they should look to the 2023 NFL Draft to try and find a punter they can keep with the team for the long term. Pinion is not the answer.