— 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. ����’s basically the same they used when explaining their trade for Jaylen Waddle. Essentially: This is a deep roster as is. ����’s 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. ����’s 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. ����’s 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 it����ap 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 that����ap based on the quarterbacks and it feels like it����ap 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. Let����ap 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 it����ap 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, it����ap possible. Sadiq will definitely be off the board and Vanderbilt����ap 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 that����ap 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. ����’s 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, that����ap 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 it����ap 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.

In 2025, it also stands as the closest thing Denver got to an Evan Engram Game.

Coming off a bye week, Engram had season-highs in catches (six), targets (nine) and yards (79). Instead of a jumping off point for the stretch run, though, Engram didn’t log more than four catches or 45 yards in a game the rest of the way and didn’t approach the 54.3% of snaps he played that night.

Despite the modest numbers and season overall, Engram was still Denver’s best pass-catching option in 2025. He finished with 50 catches and 461 yards, which isn’t going to blow anybody away but is the top yardage number posted by a Denver tight end since Noah Fant had 670 in 2021.

The Broncos finished No. 26 in the NFL in tight end receiving yards (719), but that was actually a substantial jump from the club’s totals of 455 in 2024 and 362 in 2023.

At present, Denver’s 2026 group looks exactly like its 2025. Engram’s headed into the second and final year of his deal — he’s guaranteed $5 million in 2026 and has a cap number of $14.14 million — and Denver re-signed Adam Trautman (three years), Nate Adkins (one) and Lucas Krull (one).

On paper, then, the Broncos have moved tight end out of the “must” category because they literally have players on their roster.

Make no mistake, though, it����ap squarely a “need” as the NFL Draft arrives Thursday through Saturday.

“I’ll say this about this class, if you’re looking for a blocking “Y,” there’s a handful available that would be targets,” Denver head coach Sean Payton said Thursday. “If you’re looking for a move — a little bit undersized ‘F’ — they’re out there. So, to each his own. The different types of tight ends are available.

“It’s always a challenge at that position because sometimes you’re projecting from an offense that’s playing them differently.”

The Broncos need to find and develop a difference-maker of their own. The question: What type should they target?

There’s a compelling argument to be made for the “Y” tight end who can play in-line and also be a threat in the passing game. At the same time, Trautman (more of that type of player) just signed a three-year, $18 million contract and Engram — essentially a big receiver — is headed into the final year of his deal.

For a flavor of the variety of options in the upcoming draft, look no further than a pair of players who could be in contention for Denver’s first pick of the proceedings, whether that����ap at No. 62, slightly up or slightly back from there.

The first is Vanderbilt����ap Eli Stowers. There’s every chance he could be gone by the time Denver’s on the board. They may have to try to move up if they want him.

In recent days, there’s been reporting that some teams consider him a receiver rather than a tight end. He’s a proverbial “Joker,” but is his blocking a joke?

“I don’t know that he’s going to be a butt-kicker in there, but he can improve in that area,” NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said this week. “I don’t know how much you’re really going to put his hand in the ground, though. I just think he’s comfortable as that jumbo slot. I used to find it interesting that even some tight ends in the NFL that were flexed every time, you just put tight end next to their name, and way back when, defensive coordinators would match personnel because it said TE in the program. They get treated like, ‘this is a receiver.’

“You can put TE next to his name all you want, but he’s definitely a big slot receiver.”

He’s a heck of a receiver, though. Stowers jumped 45.5 inches vertical at the combine at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds. He had 62 catches for 769 yards in 12 games for the Commodores. Denver got an up-close look at him Tuesday when they hosted him on a top-30visit, one of a number of tight ends who have visited in recent weeks.

“He is explosive. He’s got unbelievable ball skills to track it and go get it down the field,” Jeremiah said. “The highlights are exceptional. He can break tackles after the catch. He’s got burst into and out of breaks. He’s been a little bit inconsistent on some of the combat catches. When you see him in crowds, that����ap something that he can continue to get better at. But he’s my No. 2 tight end. I think he’s a second-round pick all day long.”

Then there’s Michigan’s Marlin Klein. The German national is 6-6 and 248 pounds and has never caught more than 24 passes in a season in his career. Jeremiah, though, thinks Klein could get picked around Denver’s No. 62 and, if not, then by the time Friday ends.

“Just because teams are looking for these hand-in-the-ground, ‘Y’ tight ends that have size,” he said. “That can block but also have some speed and some ability to make plays down the field, which he does. The 4.61 40 is legit. You see that on tape. And he’s another one who, the trend line is going up there.

“He had to wait his turn behind (2025 first-rounder Colston) Loveland. If he was the featured tight end at Michigan for three years, I think we’d be talking about him as a guaranteed lock of a second-round pick.”

The bottom line is the Broncos could use both a potential young upgrade at “Y” and also a homegrown playmaker more in the Joker role. They looked at “Y” players ahead of free agency, but ultimately saw the price tag go to $8-10 million a year for players like Charlie Kolar, Daniel Bellinger and Cade Otton and instead re-signed Trautman at $5.7 million per year.

If that guy, Klein or someone else, is available in a range Denver likes, it����ap a good use of a pick. Given Engram’s contractual status and down year in 2025, though, the Broncos should be thrilled if they somehow end up in a position to land a player like Stowers.

The odds look low from here, but hey, stranger things have happened.

“You talk about that conversation that����ap taken place in Denver forever about trying to find that ‘Joker’ and those mismatch-type players,” Jeremiah said. “(Stowers) definitely fits that bill.”

Broncos draft previews
Offense: Quarterbacks | Running backs | Wide receivers | Tight ends | Offensive line
Defense: Defensive line | Outside linebackers | Inside linebackers | Cornerbacks | Safeties

Broncos’ in-house offseason moves: Re-signed Adam Trautman (three years), Nate Adkins (one year) and Lucas Krull (one year).

Under contract: Evan Engram, Trautman, Adkins, Krull and Caleb Lohner.

Need scale (1-10): 9. The Broncos have turned their roster into one of the strongest and deepest in football over the past three years. They’ve largely hit on free agents, added impact in the draft and done a good job in the trade market. Perhaps Engram will be more productive in his second season in Denver, but overall, the Broncos have lacked playmaking punch from the position since well before Sean Payton was the head coach or George Paton the general manager. They loved Colston Loveland and liked Tyler Warren a year ago, but both were off the board well before No. 20. Now, they’re tasked with finding and developing a mismatch weapon who can also be a plus in the run game.

The Top Five

Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon

Sadiq is likely the lone first-round tight end in this class, but he’s a good one. He’s not 6-foot-6 and 260 pounds, but he’s strong, he’s a willing blocker and he is dynamite in the passing game. Sadiq checked into the NFL Combine at 6-foot-3 and 241 pounds and then ran a blistering 4.39-second 40-yard dash and leaped 43.5 inches vertical and 11-foot-1 broad. His usage in an NFL offense will likely look different than at UO, but once Sadiq is up to speed, he’s a heck of a weapon.

Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt

Denver’s list of targets basically starts here. No guarantee Stowers will still be on the board, but the Broncos could certainly be a landing spot if he is. Stowers is similarly sized to Sadiq (6-4 and 239 at the Combine) and put up high-grade athletic testing marks. He ran 4.51 in the 40 and had incredible jumping numbers at 45.5 inches vertical and 11-3 broad. A converted quarterback, Stowers is further along as a receiver than blocker and he took off the past two years at Vandy, catching 111 passes for 1,407 and nine TDs in 25 games. A Broncos 30-visitor.

Max Klare, Ohio State

Klare is regarded as a more balanced player, but like many collegiate tight ends, he’s more accomplished as a receiver than a blocker at this point. With some development in the run game, he could be an all-around type of guy. He hasn’t had any publicly available athletic testing in the pre-draft process, but is regarded as a terrific athlete at 6-5 and 246. Spent one year at Ohio State and caught 43 passes for 448 yards after a standout 2024 season at Purdue. A Broncos 30-visitor.

Justin Joly, NC State

If you’re sensing a theme in this class… Joly is 6-3 and 240 and did his best collegiate work catching the football at NC State and UConn. Joly’s got a long track record of production, catching at least 43 balls and going for at least 489 yards each of the past three seasons. He’s got a ton of versatility in the passing game, from screens and quick game to the middle of the field. His tape looks like that of a power wide receiver. If you think there’s blocking upside or want to use him more as primarily a pass-catcher, he’s very intriguing. A Broncos 30-visitor.

Oscar Delp, Georgia

For a guy who played 55 games at one of the preeminent football schools in the country, Delp might be a little bit under the public radar. That����ap likely because he never caught more than 24 passes (2023) in a season and the past two years combined for 41 receptions and 509 yards. All the same, Delp has the league’s attention. He checked into the combine at 6-foot-5 and 245 and ran in the upper 4.4-second range at Georgia’s pro day, according to various news reports. He reportedly played the 2025 season with a hairline fracture in his foot. He’s a candidate to be the mid-round pick that in a couple of years nobody can believe was picked as late as he was. No guarantee he’s available when Denver selects at No. 108.

Broncos options

Eli Raridon, Notre Dame

Raridon is a tall, rangy player at 6-foot-6 and 245 pounds. He, at this point, is not a particularly refined blocker, but given his size and strength, there’s a chance he can be one. Beyond that, Raridon’s a good athlete — 4.62 in the 40 – who caught 32 passes for 482 yards in 2025 but somewhat curiously did not find the end zone in 12 games. A player you can dream on, particularly on a roster like the Broncos, where there’s not necessarily a big rookie year role waiting for a tight end.

Nate Boerkircher, Texas A&M

Boerkircher is a Broncos 30 visitor and, like Raridon, has a frame and skill set that, if you squint, look like a good all-around player down the road. He wasn’t much of a pass-catcher in four years at Nebraska and had modest career highs of 19 catches and 198 yards for the Aggies last year, but he’s athletic and a good blocker at 6-foot-6 and 245. If a team thinks he can develop into a quality receiver, then you’re really working with something.

Marlin Klein, Michigan

Klein is one of the best blockers in the class, and a team that wants to be sold can come up with plenty of reasons why Klein didn’t put up more numbers in the passing game at Michigan. Born in Germany, Klein had 13 catches in 2024 and then 24 for 248 last year. He ran 4.61 in the 40 and jumped 36 inches vertical and 9-9 in the broad jump, measuring in at 6-foot-6 and 248 pounds at the combine.

Sam Roush, Stanford

Perhaps the best blocking tight end in the class, Roush is the opposite of some of the top guys in the group: You know what you’re getting in the run game and you’re betting you can develop the pass-catching part further. That����ap not to say Roush did nothing as a receiver. In fact, he had 49 catches for 545 and two TDs in 2025 and 40 catches the year before. He ran a 4.7 in the 40 at the combine but is a bigger player at 6-foot-6 and 267 pounds.

Carsen Ryan, BYU

If the Broncos make it past the fourth round and haven’t yet taken a tight end, perhaps Ryan is the kind of player who will be available in the later rounds. Ryan wasn’t invited to the combine but is listed at 6-4 and 250 pounds and showed in college he can play in-line or in the slot. Ryan played two years at UCLA, then one at Utah, before catching on at BYU in 2025. He never had more than 13 catches in his first three seasons, but then went for 45 and 620 yards for the Cougars last fall. There aren’t a ton of surefire options in this class, but there are a ton of interesting ones. This project could have been extended to include the likes of Texas’ Jack Endries, Ohio State’s Will Kacmarek, Utah’s Dallen Bentley, Baylor’s Michael Trigg, LSU’s Bauer Sharp and several more. Denver should find a tight end it likes somewhere along the way.

Take a spin around the football internet these days and you will find yourself soaked by a deluge of mock drafts.

Make no mistake, though, NFL front offices do them, too.

Now, they are working with full scouting staffs, extensive visibility into injury and character questions, thousands of human hours of work put into setting the stage for the real thing later this month.

A year ago, perhaps not a single mock draft paired the Broncos and Jahdae Barron at No. 20. That led head coach Sean Payton to describe the wait as Barron fell through the teens toward them and, well, to mock the mocks.

“The mocks that you guys read for the last month, what do you want me to say?” Payton said then. “����’s embarrassing sometimes, but it����ap entertaining.”

General manager George Paton last week said the Broncos had narrowed their list to seven or eight players they felt would be available at No. 30 before they traded that pick to Miami for star receiver Jaylen Waddle.

Projecting who will be there at No. 62, where Denver’s first pick now sits, is even more wide open.

That won’t stop us. And no apologies for any embarrassment caused, either.

Round 2, Pick No. 62: Georgia Tech guard Keylan Rutledge

In the Post����ap last mock draft, we slid back a few spots from No. 62 and selected RB Jonah Coleman.

This time around, we decided to stick and pick.

The result is decidedly not flashy but also feels like a realistic outcome for the Broncos.

Rutledge is widely considered a Day 2 player and is one of the better interior offensive linemen in this class. He played right guard in college — the Broncos are set there long-term with All-Pro Quinn Meinerz — but should have the versatility to play left or even center. Essentially, if he didn’t win a job over Ben Powers or make Denver reconsider going into the season with Powers on the roster, he’d be in position to slide in in 2027 or potentially back up multiple spots along the interior.

Offensive line, in general, is a sneaky need for the Broncos. They’ve got all five starters back from one of the best fronts in football, but general manager George Paton acknowledged at the combine that the team is wary of aging out too many players at the same time. Plus, all five players at the moment are on premium contracts.

Also considered: The dream was for tight end Eli Stowers to fall, but he went in the middle of the second round. Another tight end option and the pick at No. 62 in our first Post mock draft, Ohio State’s Max Klare, was still on the board. We passed to avoid too much repetition, but he looks like a potential fit in the second round. Also still on the board, among others: Arkansas RB Mike Washington and Mizzou linebacker Josiah Trotter.

Round 4, Pick No. 114: Oregon inside linebacker Bryce Boettcher

Trade: Broncos receive Nos. 114 and 197. Philadelphia receives No. 111.

The fourth rolled around and the Paton, sans ‘Y’, in the Post����ap drafting team emerged. We were hoping to move back from No. 108 to get an extra pick or two and, sure enough, found enough suitors to land a deal we liked. That trade with Green Bay involved moving back to No. 120 and the details are below.

Then the surprise popped up. Philadelphia wanted to move up and we felt good about sliding back just a handful of spots and still getting our guy. What was Howie Roseman thinking?

At No. 114, the pick is Boettcher from a school Denver is quite familiar with. He’s a physical player and a good leader who had 136 tackles for the Ducks in 2025 and contributed each of the past three seasons to one of college football’s stoutest defenses.

Denver’s had an active offseason at ILB, retaining Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad, releasing Dre Greenlaw and now moving Jonah Elliss inside. Still, here’s a young player who can be a special teamer early and a potential Singleton replacement down the line.

Round 4, Pick No. 120: Boston College offensive tackle Jude Bowry

Trade: Broncos receive Nos. 120 and 160, Green Bay receives No. 108

Is this draft scintillating enough yet? The Broncos have only drafted one offensive lineman on Day 2 in Paton’s five drafts so far — Meinerz in the 2021 third round — but now are up to two in this draft alone. Again, it����ap not an immediate need, but Bowry checks boxes the Broncos like.

Offensive line coach Zach Strief told The Post last fall, “We love guys that can anchor. If you don’t get bull-rushed in this league, you’re 80% of the way there.”

Bowry’s got good strength and he’s a good athlete. He’s got experience at both left and right tackle in college. Ideally, he doesn’t have to play right away.

In this scenario, though, Denver rolls into the summer with a pipeline that includes Rutledge and Bowry out of this draft, plus Alex Palczewski, Frank Crum, and Alex Forsyth. That����ap building to withstand the rigors of an NFL season and also preparing for a future in which the quarterback is no longer on a rookie deal and the front line must be cheaper — but not without some incubation time in one of the league’s best offensive line development programs.

Round 5, Pick No. 160: Notre Dame tight end Eli Raridon

Now things are heating up at the offensive skill positions. Teams across football have found ways to identify tight ends on Day 3 that end up making a real impact. Not everybody can land George Kittle, of course, but there are going to be quality tight ends from this draft class that don’t hear their name called until Saturday.

Raridon’s got a chance to be one of them. He’s enormous at 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds. He’s got a good blocking foundation to his game — though like most young players, he’s not a finished product — and he’s athletic enough to believe he’s going to be a good receiver, too.

Like it or not, Denver’s going to play Adam Trautman and Evan Engram a ton this fall. The Broncos trust Trautman and they’re hoping to get more from Engram as a receiver in his second season in the offense. Could a rookie tight end blow up that plan? In an outlier scenario, perhaps. More likely, a young player gets a chance to carve out a role as a rookie with the hopes that he blossoms late in the year, if injuries arise or in 2027 and beyond.

Round 5, Pick No. 170: Indiana running back Kaelon Black

Black fits the Payton running back threshold of “short but not small” at 5-foot-9 and 210 pounds. He’s a physical runner who was second on the national champs’ offense in carries at 180 behind Roman Hemby (230). Black averaged 5.6 per carry and, though he wasn’t used at IU in the passing game, he did have 44 catches and six receiving touchdowns his last two years at James Madison.

At Indiana’s pro day, Black reportedly ran 4.45 in the 40-yard dash and jumped 37.5 inches vertical. He’s taken a top-30 visit with the Broncos. Black isn’t a prototypical third-down back, but he could carry some of that load and would be an intriguing fit with J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey.

Round 6, Pick No. 197: USC safety Bishop Fitzgerald

In looking for safety depth, the Broncos here lean on the connection to USC in new defensive backs coach Doug Belk. Belk had Fitzgerald, an undersized safety, in his room for one year after Fitzgerald transferred from NC State.

Checked into the combine at 5-11 and 201 pounds and ran 4.55 in the 40-yard dash. He produced takeaways throughout his college career, with five interceptions in 2025 for USC and five combined in two seasons at NC State before that.

Denver’s got special teamers galore in its safety room behind starters Talanoa Hufanga and Brandon Jones. Fitzgerald could add to that and perhaps push toward more.

Round 7, Pick No. 246: North Carolina cornerback Marcus Allen

Round 7, Pick No. 256: Kansas wide receiver Emmanuel Henderson

Round 7, Pick No. 257: IPP outside linebacker Josh Weru

In the seventh round, as Paton said last week, teams are often trying to get a jump on post-draft free agency. If you don’t think you’re going to win a battle for a player or don’t want to risk a bidding war in the post-draft chaos, this is the time.

Denver’s had success recently in the seventh round, finding contributors in WR Devaughn Vele and OL Alex Forsyth, plus players with still-interesting development arcs in OL Nick Gargiulo and TE Caleb Lohner.

In this rendition, a trio of seventh-rounders begins with Allen, who is 6-2, ran 4.5 in the 40, and comes from a program now led by a coach Payton really respects: Bill Belichick.

Denver’s receiver room looks pretty darn full, but Henderson is a receiver plus a special teams asset. He’s a good returner — even if Marvin Mims Jr. doesn’t see an uptick in playing time, NFL teams have realized you need two good ones given the kickoff rule’s evolution — and can handle other duties, too.

Mr. Irrelevant? Try Mr. Freak. Weru hasn’t gone mega-viral like IPP classmate and defensive lineman Uar Bernard, but make no mistake, he’s a ridiculous athlete. The 6-4, 244-pounder reportedly ran 4.45 in the 40 and jumped 41.5 inches vertical at the HBCU showcase. He’s training with Javon Gopie, who also works with Nik Bonitto and trained Que Robinson last spring. Gopie told The Post recently, “I think he’d be a no-brainer fit in (the Broncos’ scheme).”

It was his 71-year-old brother Tom, wanting the scoop. There was no scoop. A different plan was brewing behind closed doors, one that finally brought star receiver Jaylen Waddle from Miami to Denver after months of expressed interest.

“I do think patience is important,” Payton told a table of reporters on Tuesday morning at the NFL’s annual spring meetings.

At that moment, NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero strolled past. Payton pointed and guffawed.

“Free-agent frenzy!” Payton cracked, . “Right here. You’re the ‘frenzy’ guy.

“And if it’s ‘frenzy,'” Payton continued, turning back to reporters at the table, “that’s not good. But it sells.”

After a month of local and national chatter around the Broncos’ lack of free-agency activity — giving way to local and national praise around the Broncos’ eventual splash deal for Waddle — an animated Payton sold his own version of events on Tuesday morning. Speaking to media members at the AFC coaches’ breakfast, Payton said Denver’s retention-heavy approach was the plan all along. He repeatedly chastised the NFL’s marketing of the “frenzy” of free agency. And ran a verbal victory lap on the Waddle trade, which he called a “real fair deal.”

Payton dug his heels in, too, on the cornerstones the Broncos re-signed.

“(J.K.) Dobbins was a priority,” Payton said on the return of Denver’s lead running back, carefully enunciating his words to follow. “Ahead of all others. Now, that’ll anger people. We know he’s been injured. We understand. And the issues haven’t been soft-tissue driven. But he’s someone that����ap one of those, compound multipliers. Like, he brings 10 others along with him, in a positive light.”

Broncos coach hints at RB, TE options in NFL draft

For all Payton’s conviction on Tuesday, though, there was a contradiction to his messaging. Denver is betting on the locker-room chutzpah that was established in a dream 2025 season, when late-game execution and the power of friendship led to 12 wins in one-score games. The Waddle trade was made with the Broncos’ emphatic belief that the star former Dolphins receiver will be a culture fit. Beyond that, Payton made clear the Broncos valued bringing back what they knew as opposed to searching in the free-agent market for a relative unknown.

“Just go do the analytics — lopsided, in your favor, one-score games,” Payton said. “Which, certainly, 11 of 13 would be. And then track the next season, and there’s nothing that correlates (to improving). And so that����ap why I said to you, I never feel good. You always understand the next challenge. We have a tough schedule.”

The Broncos’ current antidote to expected regression in close games, then, is Waddle, a speedy and precise receiver who should raise the ceiling. But at present, the same weaknesses that existed on last year’s roster still exist, by virtue of widespread retention at other positions. The Broncos have the exact same four-man rotation at running back under contract for 2026, which largely underwhelmed in the run game after Dobbins’ season-ending injury in Week 10.

When reminded he’d emphasized the need for run-game improvement back in late January, Payton acknowledged Denver could likely look at running backs in the NFL draft.

“That could be a position that gets addressed, if the opportunity presents itself,” Payton said.

Payton, too, lauded the Broncos’ re-signing of veteran tight end Adam Trautman when prompted, calling the 29-year-old Trautman “one of the better blocking tight ends in the NFL.” Denver was “leery” in free-agent evaluation, as Payton said, of any tight end that could simply pop on a few frames of tape. The staff knew exactly who Trautman is as a player, Payton said. And didn’t take him for granted.

But on the flip side, again, Payton said point-blank that the Broncos could take a tight end in April.

“Hopefully we can get to know ‘em,” Payton said of this draft class, “and possibly have a target in there.”

Overall, across a 30-minute sit-down, Payton straddled the fence between bullishness on his current roster and an eye towards April’s draft. The head coach said the Broncos’ offseason process is to first conduct an initial evaluation of the draft class, then look at free agency, then return to the draft to “address this must,” as Payton put it.

And Payton hinted that Denver preferred to address those musts with a new crop of rookies, rather than this year’s free-agent market.

“Look, we never get to live in a perfect world,” Payton said. “But you’d love to always be drafting the best player. And sometimes, there’s a lot of times that can happen. So, George and I, we’re all sitting there going through the puzzle.”

Waddle fit Payton’s puzzle. The Broncos will attempt to find draftees that fit that puzzle. For better or worse, the majority of free-agent prospects didn’t.

“If you can train and are like-minded like us, come on in,” Payton said, referring to Waddle. “Now, if you can’t?”

He trailed off and pivoted subjects, the message lingering long enough.

Better than you, ����apountry. And certainly better than me.

Six days into free agency, the Broncos were a team trying to win a fourth Super Bowl by staying within the family.

What standout running back did they sign?

Nobody.

What tight end did they pursue?

None.

What receiver were they going to pay to help Bo Nix?

Zip.

At headquarters, Payton and general manager George Paton had in the back of their minds that they could acquire Jaylen Waddle from the Miami Dolphins. By Sunday, March 15, it was basically done.

There would be no Ides of March reckoning.

Only Payton’s Eyes of March cackling.

“I saw the stories (about Broncos approach) and I didn’t believe it. ����’s not, ‘Let����ap run it back.’ I hate that term. Let����ap understand that it is anything but that,” Payton said when I asked him about how his team will take the next step after the offseason moves. “When you win 11 of 13 one-score games (in the regular season and 12-3 overall), like you saw the flip in just one year in Kansas City (falling flat in one-score games). How do you improve your team? And the better you get, the harder it is to do. So you just weren’t patient enough for us to trade for Waddle. Your stories had been written.”

My column was. It was posted on Feb. 22 with the headline: “Who does former Oregon Duck Bo Nix need as a target for Broncos? Jaylen Waddle, of course.”

I told Payton this and prepared to duck, though it was impossible to move at the crowded breakfast table at the Arizona Biltmore.

“You had 10 other suggestions,” Payton scoffed, apparently confusing me with somebody else, perhaps my twin brother.

But ever helpful, he offered advice, always appreciated in the current media climate.

“Listen, you can come get one of these jobs,” Payton said, pointing to a room full of coaches. Five or six of those coaches will likely get fired within 10 months, leaving plenty of time to update my LinkedIn resume.

This is Payton. This is how we have come to know him. Sensitive to criticism, and for good reason. He is right a lot.

Will Waddle allow the Broncos to take the next step, while navigating a schedule tougher than the mountain stages of the Tour de France?

That is debatable. What is not are Payton and Paton’s results.

The Broncos increased their win total by three games in 2023, two in 2024 and five in 2025.

Improvement this season will be measured by two more victories at the end of the season. There is a strong chance Denver is better and goes 12-5 or 11-6.

The only thing that matters is crossing the finish line at SoFi Stadium in February.

Waddle represented the one big swing, the moment to become “opportunistically aggressive,” as co-owner Greg Penner put it Monday, with a playmaker who fits well in the locker room.

Otherwise, Payton is counting on continuity to pay dividends.

His approach is strategic and collegiate. This is the fourth year of his Broncos’ program, so he has upperclassmen who not only know the standard but set it.

“We recognize where we are at with Bo (Nix’s) contract and our team. The mistakes that two-thirds of the teams make is to try to win the day, win the draft day, win the hiring cycle day, win the free agency day, and we are interested in winning,” said Payton, who boasts 33 victories over the past three seasons, compared to the franchise’s 35 in the six years prior to his arrival.

“That����ap why our fan base is extremely important to us, but we are going to do what we think is best for our team when this puzzle is finished at the end of June.”

The question is no longer if the Broncos did enough, but do they have enough talent on offense to stiff-arm the Bills, Ravens, Chargers and Patriots?

It helps that Nix remains ahead of schedule in his recovery. He will be cleared for the offseason program in May, and there is no indication that he will be forced to play any differently as a concession to ankle surgery.

Payton is convinced that Nix and the Broncos developing the clutch gene will continue to pay dividends. And there is also one way to avoid regressing to the mean in nail-biters: don’t play so many of them.

It was impossible to listen to Payton and not sense his confidence in next season’s offense.

So, he brought back tight end Adam Trautman, citing his blocking. And stuck with running back J.K. Dobbins, highlighting the person. The latter was a surprise because of Payton’s longstanding desire to have players available for practice and games.

“Dobbins was a priority, ahead of all others. Now that will anger people. We know that he has been injured, and we understand that the injuries haven’t been soft-tissue driven,” Payton admitted. “He is someone who is one of those compound multipliers, like he brings 10 others along with him in a positive light.”

Perhaps Payton felt like the public pressure would be less this offseason because of the Broncos’ breakthrough in 2025. He is experiencing what even two-time champion Mike Shanahan went through: the reservoir of goodwill siphons quickly when Super Bowl trophies are the expectation.

What the Broncos have done this offseason is not wrong, given Payton’s track record. But he has made himself the fulcrum of a fascinating debate: Did he value loyalty over production? Did the Broncos need another move?

The draft offers a chance, especially at running back and linebacker, to fix problems, upgrade positions, and draw conclusions.

“Frenzy is what you don’t want. That it has to happen. Chaos. Ahh! ����’s all marketing,” Payton said. “Study. Make the right decision. Stick with our plan. Tune out the noise.”

Love or loathe him — I enjoy his combative nature — Payton knows best. Until he doesn’t.

He played it slow during the first week of free agency, then got fast in a hurry by completing a blockbuster trade for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.

Payton and the Broncos have spent more than a year prioritizing retention, but he insists that assuming anything from 2025 will be the same in 2026 is folly.

This is the challenge of arriving on the doorstep of a Super Bowl only to come up short. What you did worked well, but not well enough. Ifs and buts are easy to come by, especially after quarterback Bo Nix broke his ankle in overtime of the AFC’s divisional round.

Change for change’s sake doesn’t make sense, but neither does stasis.

“The better you get, the harder it is to improve your team,” Payton said Tuesday at the NFL’s annual spring meeting.

He spoke and answered questions from that unique perch: Well-situated as a contender with a quarterback in the midst of his rookie contract and also warding off any notion of complacency.

Here are five takeaways from Payton’s 27 minutes with reporters:

The Broncos know the stakes of having QB Bo Nix in his rookie contract window

What Payton said: “Everyone would say, ‘Hey, you’ve got Bo on his rookie deal.’ Well, no kidding.”

What it means: Teams with talented young quarterbacks who are still cheap are in the best position to build a complete roster. There’s really no way around that fact. Nix is entering his third professional season and will play with a cap charge just a shade above $5 million.

The implication of what Payton said is that he senses an external notion that perhaps the Broncos didn’t get aggressive enough to build around Nix in the midst of this window.

The PG-rated version of his response: Baloney.

In his mind, though, the Broncos had already done much of their building when free agency opened in early March.

That����ap what the 10 contract extensions over the preceding 18 months were about. That����ap what the last-minute run of deals for unheralded-yet-important pieces like Alex Palczewski, Justin Strnad, Alex Singleton, and Adam Trautman were about.

Payton chided anybody who cast the offseason as wasted before Denver swung the trade for Waddle.

The numbers mostly back Payton up. The Broncos retained virtually every core member of their offense and defense. �ٱ�Ա����,��, is in the middle of the pack in cap space (No. 19 at $18.8 million) but ranks seventh in active cap spending. Only Seattle has less dead cap than Denver.

The Broncos have loaded up the roster; they are just betting that doing so with their own players is the better path to the Lombardi Trophy than bringing in extensive outside help.

Jaylen Waddle can be a force multiplier in multiple ways

What Payton said: “Whenever you get into a big-name free agent or a trade of this magnitude, the all-the-other-stuff is important research. When it comes to Waddle’s all-the-other-stuff, it was 10, 10, 10, 10. Obviously, he will help us.”

What it means: Waddle is a really good player. That much is obvious. The Broncos traded the rough equivalent of a first and a fourth-round pick for him because they think they’re acquiring much more than that.

Start with what Payton refers to as the “all-the-other-stuff.” Payton got glowing reviews on the receiver from former quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, one of the coach’s favorite former players and a trusted resource, as well as legendary former Alabama head coach Nick Saban, Broncos corner Pat Surtain II and more. Payton calls certain players “force multipliers” in the locker room. Running back J.K. Dobbins is one. Defensive lineman Malcolm Roach is another. So, too, is Courtland Sutton. Denver thinks Waddle can be that, too.

He should have a similarly broad impact on the field. Payton said Waddle can play inside and outside and referred to his route tree as “extensive.” The coach’s favorite part about his new pass-catcher’s skill set: “He’s extremely fast and he stops fast.”

That����ap the kind of player who can not only make an impact on his own — the Broncos wanted a high-caliber route-runner and believe Waddle is that — but who can also make life easier for the other receivers and Denver’s running game, too.

He’s the kind of player who can improve a team even when a team is good enough, as Payton said, where improving becomes a more difficult challenge. That, ultimately, is why the Broncos paid the price for Waddle. He checks every box they set out to find.

A creative option at inside linebacker — and a breakout candidate on the edge

What Payton said: “You’re going to see (Jonah) Elliss take some snaps inside. That����ap something we’ve discussed relative to our depth on the edge.”

What it means: Perhaps the single most interesting personnel note from Payton is an impending position change for Denver’s third-year defender. Time will tell if the move sticks, but it says as much about another player on the roster as it does about Elliss himself.

This, in some ways, is a Que Robinson move. The Broncos think they might have stolen a really good player in the fourth round of the 2025 draft in Robinson, who is long, strong, plays tough against the run on the edge, but also has real pass-rush juice.

Robinson, though, was often a gameday inactive as a rookie behind Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper, Elliss and Dondrea Tillman. They’re all back for 2026. So perhaps Elliss can provide some quality play on the inside and free up time for Robinson in Denver’s OLB rotation.

Payton called the switch a matter of “looking at your assets” and lauded the skill set of Elliss.

The head coach noted that two of Elliss’ brothers, Kaden and Christian, have played in the middle of the field, and also that Zach Baun flourished in Philadelphia when he moved to the middle of the field.

If Denver gets anything resembling that kind of production, of course, the move will be a home run. At the very least, it’ll be a fascinating project to follow this summer.

Breaking news: The Broncos coach is not the warm and fuzzy type

What Payton said: “I don’t have anything warm and fuzzy in my golf bag. Except my towel.”

What it means: Payton was asked, essentially, if he could occasionally play the good cop with Nix or anybody else. He dropped one of his funniest lines of the day in response.

In more practical terms, though, Payton made an interesting comment in suggesting that Davis Webb’s promotion to offensive coordinator and play-caller will likely change the complexion of Webb’s day-to-day relationship with Nix to some degree.

“Bo is in there with (new quarterbacks coach) Logan Kilgore now. Logan will be his warm and fuzzy.

Now, Davis and myself will be like, ‘Hey! What are you doing?’

One of the more fascinating subplots of the 2026 Broncos will be how Payton helps groom Webb as a play-caller. When Payton first took that role under his mentor, Bill Parcells, Parcells was extremely hands-on. Will Payton operate the same way? Will he push Webb to coach Nix in any form or manner differently now that he’s in the coordinator role rather than at the front of the QB room on a daily basis? Does Webb need to do anything differently now that he’s in front of the entire unit rather than one room?

Webb doesn’t have to have the same approach as Payton had when he was a young play-caller and Payton doesn’t have to have the same approach Parcells did all those years ago. But the similarities in both are readily apparent.

Sean Payton’s flag football coaching career will not go down as illustrious

What Payton said: “Well, that was humbling.”

What it means: Payton coached a bunch of NFL players and former players — including legendary former quarterback Tom Brady — against the U.S. national flag football team earlier in March. The tournament was originally supposed to be in Saudi Arabia, but was moved to Los Angeles due to the war in Iran.

What happened: The NFL guys got their clocks cleaned by the national flag football team. And Payton, who had Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh along as his defensive coordinator, had his eyes opened.

“You remember the ‘Home Alone’ series and Macaulay Culkin was inside the house? Well, the national team was Macaulay Culkin and I felt like Harbaugh and I were the two guys outside tripping over the garden hose. ����’s an entirely different game. It was cool to be around those guys.”

Payton left the weekend with a prediction regarding the 2028 Summer Olympics in L.A.

“When this was announced, there was this feeling that there would be 10 NFL players on that roster and I’ll be surprised if there’s one,” he said.

Yes, the move for Jaylen Waddle cost Denver its first-round pick. Yes, the team absorbed the three years and $50.4 million left in base salary on Waddle’s deal. But in sheer cap-value terms, it’s pennies on the dollar. After restructuring Waddle’s deal post-trade to convert his 2026 salary to a signing bonus, Waddle will cost just $4.9 million against Denver’s cap room in 2026. And if it all goes horribly wrong, . Presto.

As it stands, then, Denver managed to land one of the highest-impact additions of the 2026 offseason without making a massive impact on its financial future. Factoring in the Waddle add, the Broncos now stand at a workable $19 million in available cap room. Plus, they’ll get an $8.2 million bump once Dre Greenlaw’s release processes after June 1.

The franchise now heads into April’s NFL Draft with several remaining roster needs, but just one pick (No. 62) in the first two days of selections. The Broncos’ main avenue for further immediate roster improvement, then, might just come via the buyout or mid-offseason trade market — waters they’ve splashed into before.

Take 2024, for example. After trading for pass-rusher Haason Reddick from the Eagles that April, the Jets knew it would be “next to impossible” to keep starting defensive end John Franklin-Myers on his salary, . Denver had been studying Franklin-Myers’ film since free agency began that March, and swooped two days after the draft to send a mere sixth-round pick for a defensive lineman who racked up 14.5 sacks the last two seasons.

“We saw a guy that could rush, get off the ball, and cause disruption,” Broncos defensive-line coach Jamar Cain told The Post this winter, reflecting on the deal. “I was like, ‘Check, check, check.'”

Two years later, with Franklin-Myers now gone to Tennessee, Denver could elect to pull off the same kind of move to replace him. Across the NFL, there’s a fleet of starting-quality names at positions of interest for Denver — tight end, defensive line, and more — sitting on bloated contracts. If any team chooses to tighten the purse strings and cut bait, the Broncos will have the necessary cap flexibility to pounce. At the right price, of course.

With that in mind, The Post reviewed contract data across the NFL to identify a handful of potential salary-cap casualties that could be fits for Denver. Here’s a breakdown.

TE Cole Kmet, Bears

Cap savings for Chicago: $8.4 million if cut pre-June 1, $10 million if cut post-June 1

2025 stats: 16 games, 30 catches, 347 yards, two touchdowns

Here’s the do-everything, in-line tight end that the Broncos have been looking for. Kmet’s usage as a pass-catcher cratered in 2025 as Bears rookie Colston Loveland emerged, and Kmet is an obvious cut candidate for a franchise that currently has all of $243,078 in available cap space, according to Over The Cap. He’d likely have a strong market, and the Broncos already committed three years and $17 million to Adam Trautman. But it remains a definite possibility that Denver could offload Evan Engram (saving $8.8 million in a pre-June 1 trade), creating room for Kmet or another veteran option.

The 27-year-old Kmet primarily played in-line (62%) in 2025, but has demonstrated slot production in three straight years of 50-plus catches from 2021 to 2023. He’s a red-zone option at 6-foot-6, and is an able blocker. He’d fit well into a Sean Payton building, too.

DL Arik Armstead, Jaguars

Cap savings for Jacksonville: $14.49 million if cut post-June 1

2025 stats: 16 games, 5.5 sacks, 28 tackles, eight quarterback hits

If Jacksonville chose to save some coin and offload Armstead with a post-June 1 designation, the 33-year-old defensive lineman would likely be a cost-efficient Franklin-Myers replacement for Denver. The similarities are striking, as interior pass-rushers who have versatility across the line. Armstead was less productive snap-for-snap than Franklin-Myers in 2025, but could also come cheaper than the $7.5 million Franklin-Myers made last season.

Armstead would fit right into the Broncos’ collection of former San Francisco 49ers, from Talanoa Hufanga to D.J. Jones and Mike McGlinchey. Plus, he’s a culture guy, winning the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 2024.

LB Christian Elliss, Patriots

Cap savings for New England: $5.06 million if cut pre-June 1, $7.31 million if traded pre-June 1

2025 stats: 15 games, 94 tackles, three passes defensed, three quarterback hits

The Patriots probably wouldn’t trade Elliss to the AFC foe that came four points from putting them out of a Super Bowl in 2025, making this a much more likely addition if New England cuts Elliss. The Colorado native and Valor Christian alumnus emerged as a starting-level inside linebacker in 2025, and Denver is in need of more linebacker depth after cutting Greenlaw. Elliss could reasonably push Justin Strnad for a starting job or serve as depth and an impact special-teamer, where he’s contributed for a few years between Philadelphia and New England. His brother Jonah also just so happens to be a Bronco.

TE Colby Parkinson, Rams

Cap savings for Los Angeles: $7 million if cut pre-June 1

2025 stats: 15 games, 43 catches, 408 yards, eight touchdowns

Back to the tight-end market. Los Angeles has four capable tight ends on its roster and needs more snaps for 2025 second-round pick Terrance Ferguson, making a Parkinson move obvious here.

The 26-year-old 2020 fourth-round pick would be another strong in-line option for Denver, playing 80% of his snaps there in 2025. Parkinson stands 6-foot-7 and had monster red-zone production in 2025, which would offer a dimension that the Broncos haven’t had at tight end since the days of Julius Thomas. He could be a snug fit in two-tight-end sets with Trautman, too.

RB Breece Hall, Jets

Cap savings for New York: $14.29 million if traded pre-June 1

2025 stats: 16 games, 243 carries, 1,065 rushing yards, five total touchdowns

Okay, maybe this narrative needs to die. The Broncos have their top-two-RB tandem for 2026 set, with J.K. Dobbins re-signed and RJ Harvey back But Hall-to-Denver will never ��ܾ��ٱ���go away as long as he remains without an extension from New York, and as long as former Broncos assistant general manager Darren Mougey remains the Jets’ GM, and as long as Hall’s former college RBs coach Lou Ayeni remains Denver’s running-backs coach.

Denver would’ve gone after Hall had he hit free agency, too. There’s mutual interest here. But there’s no real reason for the Broncos to give up more trade capital to swing on Hall unless there’s a dramatic shift or injury in their backfield.

“We’ve got another guy that just came in — Jaylen Waddle, you know what I’m saying?” Dobbins said. “Pick your poison, because we’ve got Courtland Sutton, we’ve got the young Pat Bryant, we’ve got a great O-line, we’ve got everything.

“We’ve got an embarrassment of riches, on this team of talent.”

It could soon become a full-fledged humiliation of riches if Denver’s recent offseason moves are any indication. After re-upping with several names during free agency, the Broncos are currently set to run back the same backfield they deployed in 2025: Dobbins, RJ Harvey, Tyler Badie, Jaleel McLaughlin. But they have a clear interest in further upgrading that room.

Before ultimately turning back to Dobbins, the Broncos checked on 25-year-old RB Chris Rodriguez Jr. in free agency, a source with knowledge of the situation told The Denver Post. Even after Denver re-signed Dobbins, they still expressed interest in adding Rodriguez. The former Commander , seeing a greater path to touches after former Jaguars star Travis Etienne Jr. left in free agency.

Now, Denver has clearly turned its attention to evaluating April’s draft for upgrades at RB3, needing another reliable piece in the room behind the oft-injured Dobbins and second-year back Harvey. Sources told The Post that the Broncos are set to host Washington running back Jonah Coleman and Indiana running back Kaelon Black on top-30 draft visits (meeetings in which NFL teams can bring prospects at their facilities to gain more intel for their evaluations).

Either would present interesting options for Denver, at slightly different points in April’s draft. The 5-foot-8, 220-pound Coleman would likely be a target at Denver’s No. 62 second-round selection or its pair of fourth-round picks (Nos. 108 and 111). He’s a classic power back who can do a little bit of everything — 15 rushing touchdowns in 2025, with 31 catches for 354 yards.

Even more tantalizing, Coleman has as safe a profile as any running back in this class. He fumbled twice in 157 rushing attempts last year, allowed one sack, and didn’t drop a pass, according to Pro Football Focus data. Sounds like a Sean Payton guy, particularly considering his glee in talking pass-protection.

“The way they run protections, they described it to me — is pretty much the same thing that we ran in college,” Coleman told The Post at the combine, of an initial meeting with Denver. “Slightly adjusted, just depending on the game plan and stuff. So coming in and learning fast, being able to play fast, is ultimately the goal.”

Black, meanwhile, was a combine snub despite rushing for 1,040 yards and 10 touchdowns for the national-champion Hoosiers in 2025. He’s less of a sure thing, with fewer pass-blocking reps than Coleman and just eight combined receptions across two years in Indiana. If Denver wants a change-of-pace back who can break off chunk gains both inside and outside the tackles, though, .

From Denver’s assortment of known draft visits thus far, too, it’s clear the Broncos are eyeing help at the line of scrimmage and tight end. The organization clearly needs a youth infusion in the wings behind a stable starting offensive front, and Denver won’t be content to bring back the exact same middle-of-the-road TE room — Evan Engram, Adam Trautman, Nate Adkins and Lucas Krull — to Week 1 in 2026.

Including Coleman and Black, The Post has confirmed nine of the Broncos’ permissible 30 top-30 draft visits. Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of some of Denver’s activity, with a month to go before commissioner Roger Goodell takes the stage at the draft in Pittsburgh.

Quarterback

Confirmed top-30 visits: None

���Գٱ��:��Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis had a Zoom call with new Broncos QBs coach Logan Kilgore on Wednesday, according to Kaliakmanis’s agency, Grady Sports. Take most pre-draft calls with a slight grain of salt, as Denver would be operating in malpractice if they didn’t meet with prospects regardless of positional need. Still, it’s entirely possible that Payton could look to bring in a developmental quarterback to compete for a No. 2 or No. 3 job — particularly as Denver has a prime asset in backup Jarrett Stidham.

Kaliakmanis has ideal size at 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, and threw for 3,124 yards and 20 touchdowns last year for Rutgers. He could be a seventh-round target.

Running back

Confirmed top-30 visits: Coleman, Black

Intel: Interestingly, if Denver’s trying to keep any potential interest in Arkansas RB Mike Washington Jr. close to the vest, it’s doing a good job. has had several top-30 visits — but none with the Broncos, a source said.

Wide receiver

Confirmed top-30 visits: Omar Cooper Jr., Indiana

Intel: Well, the Cooper visit was pretty much moot. His camp, naturally, no longer expects Denver to be in play for him in April after the Broncos sent their 2026 first-round pick to the Dolphins in the Jaylen Waddle trade. And a previously-scheduled Denver visit with possible first-rounder KC Concepcion (of Texas A&M) was cancelled after the Waddle deal, a source told The Post.

So, highly unlikely the Broncos target a receiver unless it’s a seventh-round flier. In that case, keep an eye on Michigan’s Donaven McCulley, who has ridiculous size at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds. He’s had a Zoom call with new Denver receivers coach Ronald Curry and a few other staffers, a source said. Mississippi State’s Brenen Thompson, Cincinnati’s Cyrus Allen and Texas Tech’s Caleb Douglas have also had calls with Denver.

Tight end

Confirmed top-30 visits: Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt; Nate Boerkircher, Texas A&M

Intel: All-American Stowers has rocketed up boards after an earth-shattering combine, setting an . Not a typo! The red-zone potential in Payton’s offense is massive. But Stowers might not make it to Denver’s first pick at No. 62. Boerkircher is one of several intriguing Day 2 or Day 3 options for the Broncos; he’s caught just 38 passes in his collegiate career, but is a heavy and capable blocker at in-line tight end.

Offensive line

Confirmed top-30 visits: Jude Bowry, Boston College; Josh Gesky, Illinois

Intel: Expect Denver to find some help here. Bowry is a raw, developmental tackle who recorded the fourth-highest vertical jump (34.5 inches) of any lineman at the combine. Gesky is a sleeper who ran a 4.94-second 40-yard-dash at Illinois’s Pro Day in mid-March, and has been trained in the offseason by former nine-year NFL starter Tony Pashos.

Denver has also had a pro-day meeting and has an upcoming Zoom scheduled with gigantic Memphis tackle Travis Burke, who measures at 6-foot-9 and 325 pounds. Burke had a strong season at Memphis in 2025 and could be another later-round option.

Defensive line

Confirmed top-30 visits: Chris McClellan, Mizzou

Intel: Denver could look to toss in another body into the room to compete for John Franklin-Myers’ old job. Hence, the McClellan visit. Navy’s Landon Robinson, a defensive tackle who racked up 14.5 sacks across three seasons of college ball, also had a post-pro day phone call with Denver, he told The Post.

Linebacker

Confirmed top-30 visits: Kaleb Elarms-Orr, TCU

���Գٱ��:��Athletically, there are few more intriguing linebacker prospects in 2026 than Elarms-Orr. He ran a 4.47 40-yard dash and jumped 40 inches at the combine, while measuring at 6-foot-2 and 234 pounds. That’s nuts. He made plays all over the field last year for TCU, with 130 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and four sacks; he could step right in and compete for LB3 in Denver after the Broncos cut Dre Greenlaw.

Secondary

Confirmed top-30 visits: None

���Գٱ��:��Don’t expect Denver to be especially active here. One agent who spoke with a Broncos representative recently told The Post that the Broncos aren’t looking to draft a cornerback in 2026, with a stacked room and other needs. Denver has done calls with Oklahoma safety Robert Spears-Jennings and Washington cornerback Ephesians Prysock, though.

Parker, the Broncos finally did something! With Jaylen Waddle and Courtland Sutton now our Nos. 1 and 2 receivers, how does the rest of the WR room look? Does Marvin Mims Jr. fill that joker role now that we can put him anywhere on the field? Do we turn Lil’Jordan Humphrey into a tight end?

— David Miller, Commerce City

Hey Parker, the Broncos finally made that big offseason splash trading for Jaylen Waddle. I’m assuming he’s taking the WR1 slot with Courtland Sutton shifting over to WR2. How does the rest of the WR room look now?

— Ryan K., Bennett

Hey David and Ryan, thanks for writing in and for the interesting questions about Denver’s new-look receiving group.

Waddle may well end up with more targets than Sutton in 2026, but there aren’t really set WR1, 2 and 3 roles like that. Guys align by position — Payton wants guys that can play multiple — and then, of course, there are primary options on every passing play. Payton refers to those as tags for certain players. There will undoubtedly be a ton of plays tagged for Waddle.

Perhaps one of the more exciting prospects for both Denver’s offensive coaching staff and for Waddle himself is the manner in which the Broncos will likely move him around. They see him as a guy who can play outside or in the slot.

What����ap interesting about Waddle, in particular, is that despite his diminutive stature, the Dolphins last year used him predominantly as an outside receiver. According to Next Gen Stats, 307 of his exactly 400 routes came after being lined up outside. In 17 games, Waddle lined up in the slot just 22.8% of the time and was targeted out of the slot 16 times.

It would be a surprise if those numbers held in Denver.

Not to say Waddle will be only a slot or even line up in the slot a majority of times — we don’t know yet what his usage will look like — but he’ll likely move around quite a bit.

For comparison, Courtland Sutton, who is about as prototype outside “X” receiver as there is, lined up in the slot more frequently (23.3%) in 2025 for Denver than Waddle did for Miami.

It may surprise some to see the Broncos’ pecking order for who played in the slot most frequently by routes run.

Pat Bryant led the way as a big, power slot, running 170 of his 301 routes from the slot (56.5%). Next came Troy Franklin at 200 out of 480 (41.7%). Lil’Jordan Humphrey (56 out of 174) was at 32.1%. Last but not least, Marvin Mims ran just 62 of his 270 routes from the slot (22.9%).

All of those players will see their roles impacted and one of them may not even be on the 2026 roster unless the Broncos decide to roll with six on their initial 53-man this summer.

Who exactly sees what changes to their roles is yet to be determined, but suffice it to say Sutton and Waddle will be on the field together a ton and then Payton, offensive coordinator Davis Webb, new receivers coach Ronald Curry and the rest of the staff will mix and match third and fourth guys based on situations, matchups and more.

We don’t know exactly how that����ap going to shake out, but we’re not the only ones. Mims himself spoke with Altitude after attending a recent Nuggets game and said he was “really surprised” by the trade. He spoke highly of Waddle and said he was excited to add another playmaker but also added, “It’s interesting to see how I’ll fit in in the offense.”

Marvin Mims tells his initial reaction to the Jaylen Waddle trade: "It really surprised me, bringing in a guy like that. … Offensively you always need more playmakers."

Also, "It's interesting to see how I'll fit in in the offense."

— Parker Gabriel (@ParkerJGabriel)

Parker, this question may take a longer explanation than you have room for in your column (which I enjoy reading by the way), but I’m curious about the Denver coaching staff. I just saw an article that shows Denver has 26 coaches on staff. I was surprised at the quantity but also the titles and even duplicated titles (quality control assistants for offense, defense and special teams). I was particularly surprised that Denver has an inside and outside linebacker coach, and then you see the various run and pass game coordinators. Is there any insight you can provide on how these guys all work together or coordinate their efforts?

Thanks for the consideration!

— F.J. O’Leary, Frisco, Texas

Hey F.J., thanks for writing in and good question.

The Broncos do indeed have a large coaching staff and, like most, there are a variety of titles. Most of the time, a coordinator title (think run game coordinator or defensive pass game coordinator) is a way of giving a coach a promotion — and a raise — to keep him in your building. They can also help you ward off attempts from other teams to interview your coaches, since a club can block an interview for a lateral move but not for a promotion. Sometimes those jobs also come with added responsibilities in meetings or on game day, but if a staff is already kind of in place, there’s not necessarily a major change. Last year, for example, Davis Webb was made the offensive passing game coordinator and Jim Leonhard the defensive passing game coordinator. They each said at different times that they had a little more responsibility, but it wasn’t like suddenly they were running meetings differently or had a completely different workflow during game weeks.

Now, of course, Webb is the offensive coordinator and Leonhard the DC for Buffalo. Denver rehired John Morton as the offensive PGC and Zach Strief is once again the offensive RGC. He still coaches the offensive line, though, along with Chris Morgan.

Quality control coaches may not have specific titles, but they mostly work with certain position groups. Todd Davis works with inside linebackers. Brian Neidermeyer worked a lot with outside linebackers last year. It’ll be interesting to see how the new trio of offensive QCs splits up. Previously, Logan Kilgore was a QC working with tight ends. Now he’s the Broncos’ quarterbacks coach.

As for the inside/outside linebacker split, that����ap because those groups have very different responsibilities and techniques. In many ways, OLBs are closer to defensive linemen than to inside linebackers.

����’s similar for corners and safeties. Leonhard was the PGC and defensive backs coach last year, but day to day on the practice field, he worked with the safeties, while Addison Lynch worked with the corners. Payton fired Lynch after the season.

The new-look group there is PGC Robert Livingston and defensive backs coach Doug Belk. We’ll see how they split up on-field coaching duties during practice.

With our re-signing of Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad, who do you see covering tight ends as the roster looks now?

— Mark, Albuquerque, N.M.

Hey Mark, thanks for writing in. I see largely the same group covering tight ends as last year — Singleton, Strnad and Denver’s safeties. Nickel Ja’Quan McMillian or a cornerback, depending on the matchup.

There’s a narrative out there that Singleton and Strnad are bad in coverage. They might not be the best coverage linebackers in football, but I think — and, perhaps more pertinently, coaches and people in the building believe — that����ap overblown.

Denver played as much man coverage as anybody in football, but its defensive principles aren’t as simple as lining up across the board and running with the man you’re responsible for, no matter where he goes. Especially in the middle of the field, the Broncos play a lot of match-style coverage, hand-off players, etc. ����’s not as simple as seeing a tight end catch the ball and get tackled in pursuit by Singleton or Strnad and saying definitively that he had responsibility.

Again, this isn’t to say they’re the most dynamic cover linebackers in football. They’re not. But it����ap not as simple as saying they’re bad and can’t do the job, either.

Late in the season, defensive coordinator Vance Joseph had a lot of insight into this. Here’s what he said:
“Our corners are really good players. …  Sometimes, in (offenses’) minds, their better matchups are with backers and safeties. They can control the leverage, which is smart. So we understand that.”

He said he likes to try to control tight ends and running backs by showing pressure looks that force them to think about blocking before going out on a route, referring to it as covering them using defensive structure. But he also acknowledged defenses can’t always do that and also that third downs, in particular, become prime time for targeting tight ends and backs.

“����’s tough to find tight ends, especially on first and second down. But on third downs, that����ap the matchup they want because they get the leverage they want. That����ap just football. ����’s always been that way for my defense. We understand that.”

With Jaylen Waddle on the roster, what’s the big target in the draft? An inside linebacker? A tight end? Do we trade back our second-round pick for most picks?

— Michael Smith, Denver

Hey Michael, great questions. I’m inclined to answer yes, yes and yes. Obviously if there’s a player the Broncos feel strongly about at No. 62, they’ll take him right there. By that time in the proceedings, though, if Denver has a clump of players graded similarly, trading back and recouping a selection or two makes a lot of sense.

����’s impossible to say from here who will be available at No.62, but if you’re talking about tight ends and linebackers, there figure to be multiple or several already gone at each position by the time the late second round rolls around. Beyond just the surefire first-rounders like linebacker Sonny Styles and tight end Kenyon Sadiq, it’d be a surprise if players like Vanderbilt TE Eli Stowers, Georgia LB CJ Allen and Texas Tech LB Jacob Rodriguez are still around as the 60s approach.

Given where the Broncos are roster-wise, you really can’t count them out from taking any position if they think the value is there. I’ll agree with you on tight end and linebacker as top needs and throw running back in the mix, too. They could use a young safety and could stand to add more young, cheap options on both lines as they plan for the future.

Parker, what do you think about running back Adam Randall out of Clemson? He’s a converted wide receiver and is 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds.

— Eric Price, Altoona, Pa.

Hey Eric, thanks for writing in. He’s a really interesting prospect, that����ap for sure. Big guy who can really run. Not the most refined runner at this point, but given that he hasn’t been playing running back very long, he should have considerable development in front of him. Physically, it����ap an uncommon profile and not a type of back Sean Payton’s typically pursued, but if you think there’s a chance he turns into something special, it����ap worth considering later in the draft.

Overall, though, he’s a fun and interesting watch. I’m guessing there aren’t many guys his size with extensive kick return experience.

David Njoku is still available. We should sign him. We need more talent in our tight ends.

— Tom, Boulder

Hey Tom, thanks for writing in. Njoku is indeed still available. So far, we haven’t heard much about any substantial interest shown by the Broncos. That, of course, could change.

Njoku, at his best, certainly would upgrade Denver’s tight end room. Given where the group’s been collectively from a production standpoint the past couple of years, it would be hard to push back too much against such a move.

Njoku, though, hasn’t been at his best in the past two seasons. He’s missed 11 games in that stretch — six in 2024, five last year – and hasn’t come close to his 2024 output of 81 catches and 882 yards.

Njoku’s played predominantly in-line, meaning adding him would be more about Adam Trautman than about Evan Engram. Even in limited time the past two years, Njoku’s been a more dangerous receiver than Trautman. Trautman has been the better blocker by most metrics and Njoku would have a long way to go to catch up to Trautman’s knowledge of the offense and the implicit trust the coaching staff has in him.