Do the Broncos use all seven picks or make more deals?
— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.
Hey Ed, thanks for writing in and getting us going in a draft-a-palooza version of the Broncos mailbag.
Denver is almost certain to move some of its picks around. Will they go up from No. 62? Back from their fourth-rounders? Vice versa? That, of course, all depends and the most likely outcome is we won’t know until Friday evening as the second round unfolds.
Teams move picks, though, and the Broncos have moved them at a high volume recently under general manager George Paton and head coach Sean Payton. Last year alone they made their own selection at No. 20 in the first round — through Paton said they considered trading back from there — and then got busy. They didn’t actually pick at any of their original spots from then on and engineered four trades that included a total of 20 draft picks. They went back from 51 to 57 and then to 60. They went up from No. 111 to No. 101 to draft Sai’Vion Jones and in the process also moved back four spots from No. 130.
Generally speaking, it’d be a surprise if Denver wasn’t similarly active this year. Especially with just one pick on Day 2, it would make sense for Paton and Payton to try to move around. That could mean trying to pick up capital by moving back from their first pick at No. 62. They could get into the third round by moving up from No. 108 or No. 111. It could mean some combination of that or something else entirely.
Paton’s reputation is that of a pick collector, while Payton is more gung-ho about trading up. Paton said last week that their styles have melded together well.
A natural inclination going into the draft with seven picks would be wanting to preserve somewhere around that number, but there’s a pretty good argument for being aggressive and moving up. Itap basically the same they used when explaining their trade for Jaylen Waddle. Essentially: This is a deep roster as is. Itap not going to be easy to make. If they take six Day 3 players as their current cache lines them up for, are all of them going to be on the 53-man roster?
The counter: Do you have to move up to get the players you really want? Payton talked last week about the “spray” of evaluations across the league and how it widens as the draft progresses. The Broncos traded back twice in the second round last year and got the guy they wanted in Harvey. They won’t be needlessly aggressive, but their roster is in such a place where they can go get a particular player, even without the benefit of a first-round pick.
What are the top three things you have learned about the NFL draft?
— David Brown, Silverthorne
Hey David, thanks for writing in and great question. I’m going to take this as this upcoming draft particularly.
1. Many of the best players and deepest position groups in this draft are at what the league generally considers non-premium spots. This is a great draft for inside linebackers and safeties. Itap not teeming with top-end tight ends, but there are a boatload of solid options to work through. Similar at running back after the one true blue-chipper in Jeremiyah Love. Itap another good year for edge rushers and receivers, so those groups will go fast in the first round — and offensive line will, too — but there’s hay to be made at some of those other spots.
2. Related to that point, a team is always better off draft-wise if itap armed with a first-round pick or extra capital, but this weekend actually looks like it sets up fairly well for the Broncos. Their needs — call it tight end, linebacker, running back, safety and offensive line — line up well overall with the deeper parts of this draft class. That doesn’t mean there are going to be Week 1 starters sitting there waiting for them on Day 3, of course, but the Broncos should be looking at their board and seeing realistic options at some positions of need despite having traded away their first- and third-rounders.
3. The 2026 draft is already being colored, to some degree, by next year’s proceedings. You saw it in Denver’s willingness to give up multiple picks this year for Waddle while hanging on to all of its 2027 capital. Teams around the league widely view next year’s class as shaping up to be substantially better than this year’s.
“I think everyone feels like next year is going to be a strong draft and I think thatap based on the quarterbacks and it feels like itap going to be a strong quarterback draft,” Paton said. “We definitely look at that when we’re making trades.”
Paton earlier in the offseason said the Broncos pay attention to the fact that they’re in line for a fourth-round comp pick for next year due to John Franklin-Myers’ departure and perhaps a seventh-rounder, too, but that it doesn’t dictate how Denver operates. Expect a similar approach when it comes to deciding whether to part with 2027 draft capital during the 2026 proceedings.
Extra picks can benefit the Broncos next year in a strong class, but it could also benefit them this week.
“We have 10 picks, we think, next year, including the compensatories,” Paton said. “So it gives us more flexibility if we need to use one of those to help ourselves now.”
Do you think the Broncos will make a splash at the draft?
— Roger, Aurora
Hey Roger, guess it depends on what you mean by splash. Two years ago Bo Nix’s selection got all of the attention, and rightfully so. The Saturday trade they swung with the New York Jets for John Franklin-Myers and subsequent two-year, $15 million extension flew much more under the radar, but obviously ended up being quite consequential.
It would probably be bigger news if Denver acquired a veteran player during the draft — especially if that player were at a clear position of need like tight end — or if they traded a player off their existing roster to acquire more draft capital.
Not saying one or the other is a guarantee, but certainly you can’t count out the possibility of a trade involving an active player one way or the other.
Any chance we move back into the first round? We need a tight end and if Kenyon Sadiq slips, I could see us making some moves to grab him in the late 20s. What say you?
— Tim, Denver
Hey Tim, thanks for writing in. That would be spicy, but it just doesn’t seem feasible without making a dramatic sacrifice either from the existing roster or from the club’s stash of 2027 draft picks. Even then, the math is tough to square. Letap use the Jimmy Johnson trade chart as a guide. There are other ways of valuing picks and every team does so slightly differently, but Payton’s draft trades generally follow the Johnson chart.
Denver’s pick at No. 62 is worth 284 points. San Francisco’s pick at No. 27 is worth 680. So even if Sadiq made it that far and the 49ers were willing to deal the pick rather than take him, the gap is 396 points. Denver’s pair of fourth-rounders (Nos. 108 and 111) are worth 150. Not even close, so now you’re talking 2027 capital. Maybe 108, 111 and a 2027 second-rounder gets you there. Given the way teams generally value future year picks and the fact that Denver is likely to be good this fall, the 49ers wouldn’t be out of line asking for No. 62 and next year’s first-rounder. Maybe with a later-round pick this year coming back in return.
That just seems like an awfully steep price, which Paton said himself last week.
“You never say never, but itap unlikely,” Paton said about getting to the first round. “It would cost quite a haul for us to get up there. Most of our draft we would have to trade and then something next year.”
Do you think we’ll find our answer at tight end in the draft? Kenyon Sadiq is expected to go in the first round, so I know it’s not him. How about someone like Eli Stowers or someone else who’s under the radar in the middle of the draft?
— Mike, Denver
Hey Mike, itap possible. Sadiq will definitely be off the board and Vanderbiltap Eli Stowers may well be, too, by the time Denver’s pick rolls around. There will be options, though.
The terrific draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah has an interesting clump of tight ends graded right in Denver’s range. His top 150 includes this run: No. 66 Stowers, No. 71 Oscar Delp (Georgia), No. 81 Max Klare (Ohio State), No. 83 Sam Roush (Stanford), No. 84 Marlin Klein (Michigan).
Stowers and Klare are pass-catchers first. Roush and Klein are more accomplished blockers than receivers in college. Delp is tantalizing as an all-around player but never had more than 24 catches in a collegiate season. There are others that could go in the Day 2 range, among them NC State’s Justin Joly. It’ll be fascinating to see if Denver is set on one of them or if they take the view that the group’s depth will present a quality option somewhere along the way.
Parker, what do you think about the Broncos picking up Washington RB Jonah Coleman? He’s got a little shake-and-bake. I’m not sold on RJ Harvey being our back of the future and J.K. Dobbins is a liability with his injury history.
— Mike, Denver
Hey Mike, I like Coleman and my beat partner, Luca Evans, is even higher on him. The 5-foot-8, 220-pounder — Coleman, not Luca — certainly looks like he fits what the Broncos like and what they need in that room. He visited the Broncos last week, too.
Coleman’s not the only option, of course. Does Denver feel the need to use an early pick on a running back after taking Harvey in the second round last year? Or are they looking more for a late-round add or even a post-draft veteran? One of many questions we’ll soon learn the answer to for certain.
I still don’t understand why they let John Franklin-Myers walk in free agency. I think he was a very good defensive end, an important spot next to Zach Allen, and they re-signed everybody else on the defensive line, why not him? Another thing I don’t get, if Adam Trautman is such a good blocker, how come RJ Harvey couldn’t get more than 2 or 3 yards? And if he is in the game instead of Engram, aren’t you telegraphing a running play?
— Anthony, Venice, Fla.
Hey Anthony, thanks for writing in and for the questions.
First question: Franklin-Myers got as much per year from Tennessee as the Broncos gave D.J. Jones and Malcolm Roach combined, so thatap part of the equation. They could have paid him, but they knew he was going to make a ton of money and they’re planning around having already paid a bunch of other players while knowing that they may well be looking at a massive Bo Nix extension a year from now. Plus, they like their depth on the defensive line. And they get a fourth-round comp pick in next year’s draft. Doesn’t guarantee that letting him go was the right move, of course, but they didn’t wake up one day in early March and say, oh, dang, we can’t pay JFM. Itap been part of the plan.
Second question: Easy to point at Harvey’s numbers, but if Trautman is such a bad blocker, then how did Dobbins go through 10 weeks as one of the most effective and efficient rushers in football?
And last: Yeah, thatap got to be part of Denver’s calculus as it goes through the offseason and puts together its plan in Davis Webb’s first year as the team’s primary playcaller. They have to find ways to play one, the other or both TEs without being too predictable.
Hey Parker, I’ve been hearing rumors about the Broncos being in the mix to sign De’Von Achane. How serious are these talks and do we have the money to sign him?
— Raj P., Centennial
Hey Raj, thanks for writing in. Achane sure is fun, but reporting out of Miami recently is that he showed up for their offseason program in part because extension talks have progressed. Seems like he’s going to be staying in Miami a while.
Who’s making the biggest jump in 2026? My money’s on Jonah Elliss. I think he’s due for a breakout year.
— Adam Miller, Fort Collins
Hey Adam, thanks for writing in and interesting question. If Elliss broke out while making the switch to inside linebacker, that would have present-day and future ramifications for the Broncos. They’d undoubtedly welcome that.
With the caveat that itap very early, I’ll put some early breakout chips in for the guy who currently stands to benefit the most from Elliss’ move inside: Second-year outside linebacker Que Robinson. Paton said after the season that Robinson has as much upside as anybody Denver drafted last year. That combined with the flashes on the field are enough to pique substantial interest.
What are the odds that we would bring back some Broncos favorites in Justin Simmons and Von Miller that are available in free agency? We are very deep at outside edge, so probably a harder sell for Von. Safety seems to be a point of some need. Is the price just too high for both of them?
— Michael Horn, Westminster
Hey Michael, thanks for writing. I guess you never say never never, but neither seems at all likely at this point. Miller, of course, would be a tremendous story, but if the Broncos end up adding a veteran edge rusher after the draft I wonder if longtime New Orleans star Cam Jordan is a more likely option.
