The Denver Broncos sit at 7-2 with some big decisions to make — and fast — before Tuesday's NFL trade deadline.

The Broncos have been linked to several players in the trade rumor mill over the past few weeks, including Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor and Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride. However, the Cardinals shut down Denver's "ambitious" and "outrageous" McBride inquiry, per Adam Schefter.

But one thing the Colts and Cardinals have in common is a woeful sub-.500 record. The Cardinals began a rebuild earlier this year by letting quarterback Kyler Murray walk and hiring head coach Mike LaFleur, while the Colts are facing one as a new reality after firing GM Chris Ballard.

Both will need the draft assets to effectuate a rebuild, so never say never. What the Cardinals need is a true franchise quarterback, and trading McBride at the peak of his market value could provide them with the draft capital to land such a signal-caller.

With rumors flying left and right, Broncos head coach Sean Payton was asked about his plans after his team defeated the Carolina Panthers 26-21 on Sunday. Payton was asked point-blank whether the Broncos would be "active" ahead of the trade deadline.

"I mean, that's impossible to predict. We'll discuss what's out there, and I think we'll see what happens, but I like this team," Payton said.

"There's room for us to get better, but I like this team a lot. We just got to take advantage of the position we're sitting in right now."

The Intrigue: Trade Discussions Imminent

It's no coincidence that Payton ended his post-game presser immediately after fielding that trade-deadline question. He's trying to avoid being put on the spot, perhaps because there's a lick or two of flame at the base of all this recent trade smoke.

However, Payton did acknowledge publicly that he and GM George Paton will "discuss what's out there." But they already know what's out there, for the most part. Sunday's slate of games may have changed the outlook somewhat for a few teams, but the far-below-.500 teams are still what they are, including the Colts and Cardinals.

If the Broncos are going to be anything this year, they'll be buyers, though it's worth mentioning that running back J.K. Dobbins's name has reportedly been "discussed" in trade talks over the last week. It's unclear whether that's due to the Broncos actively checking his trade market or teams calling to check on him.

I can't imagine it's the latter possibility, given how bad Dobbins has looked this season. He's a far cry from the back who boosted the Broncos' offense for 10 weeks last year before a Lisfranc injury ended his campaign.

Coleman's Emergence: What it Means

Meanwhile, rookie running back Jonah Coleman has emerged as a bona fide difference-maker since returning from injured reserve in Week 7. As great as Coleman has been, the Broncos can't expect the rookie to carry the offense's entire rushing load coming out of the bye. He needs help.

Now, the Broncos expect to get RJ Harvey back after Week 12, but that's still a ways off, and he's more of a receiving weapon out of the backfield than a true runner who could help shoulder the between-the-tackles load. That being said, Payton is getting fed up with all the questions about running back roles and playing time.

"Yeah, Jonah did good. Those runners are going to be important," Payton said on Sunday. "I'm not going to answer running-back depth questions, and certainly our running backs are not going to sit in front of a 15-minute interview about their playing time."

If the Broncos viewed Week 9's game against the Panthers as a referendum on their run game or a deciding factor on whether to make a trade, it may have pushed Payton and company closer to pulling the trigger, because he wasn't happy with his team's ground attack in Carolina, finishing with just 82 yards and averaging 3.0 yards per attempt.

"J.K. played, Jonah played, RJ will be back here shortly, and I'm glad we got both of them," Payton said. "I didn't feel like we ran it particularly well with either of them, and it wasn't back-driven. It was ‘Oh, that was a Buffalo front.’ Like, it took us a minute. And now, we threw it better for chunk plays than we ran it, but we got the runs when we needed it later."

Yes, the Broncos got the runs they needed in the fourth quarter — from Coleman. The rookie had 17 carries against the Panthers to Dobbins's four. The writing is on the wall in the Broncos' running back room: Coleman is RB1.

And that's great. The best guy should be the top guy, and that's clearly been Coleman.

But as a rookie who has already been injured badly enough this season to spend four weeks on IR, how much do the Broncos really want to push their luck with Coleman's workload, especially after being forced to rely on Harvey in that way last year to frustratingly inconsistent results?

The Takeaway

My education guess is that Payton and Paton will spend much of their time over the next 36 hours focused on and discussing trade targets. Paton will work the phones, but whether the Broncos are willing to pay Indy's asking price of a first-round value for Taylor remains to be seen.

Remember: the Broncos have made a first-round pick in just two of the past five drafts. That can catch up to a team in the long run, especially a rapidly aging squad like the Broncos.

I'd put the chances of the Broncos acquring a running back via trade before the deadline slightly above 50/50. Say 60/40.

As for trading for a tight end? 10/90. And if the Broncos do make a move, it should be for a tight end with a reliable run-blocking skill set.